Schumachers retirement Long but facinating
peter
Thursday, 05 April 2007
The dramatic circumstances of the Italian Grand Prix and Michael
Schumacher’s retirement will live on for a long time. After his rival
was sidelined by a bizarre stewards’ decision, Schumacher won the race
and then announced his retirement. But it was an amazing few hours,
worthy of a scripted piece of drama. BusinessF1 retraced the moves that
led to that startling finish.
By Tom Rubython On Sunday 10th September 2006 at 3:25pm, precisely the
same time as Michael Schumacher passed the checkered flag to win the
Italian Grand Prix, the staff of Ferrari’s press supremo, Luca
Colajanni, started handing an A4 sheet of paper to journalists outside
the team’s motorhome. It was a one-page press release announcing the
retirement of the most successful racing driver in history, a driver at
the top of his game challenging for the world championship. Colajanni
had been given precise orders by Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo
about just what he had to do and when he had to do it.
It was strange timing, as Schumacher was about to make the announcement
himself in the winner’s press conference after the podium ceremony.
Normally press releases are handed out after an announcement has been
made, or during it – but rarely before. It takes away the point. As so
it turned out when half an hour later Schumacher found himself
announcing what everybody already knew.
The Ferrari team’s haste to announce its driver’s retirement was
indeed bizarre. Colajanni had wanted to pre-empt the driver’s own
announcement as if to make sure there was no turning back.
Montezemolo had exercised a strong presence in the Ferrari garage at
Monza Park all weekend. On qualifying day he hovered around the Ferrari
motorhome waving away journalists’ enquiries about what was going on.
On race-day he had arrived with John Elkann, the most senior member of
the Agnelli family working at Fiat, and Sergio Marchionne, the chief
executive of Fiat. He also had Piero Ferrari in his party. One observer
was mystified at the presence of all these big guns and said: “It was
as though Luca wanted reinforcements.” But reinforcements for what? It
was soon to become clear. Although everything looked normal in the
Ferrari garage and motorhome, underneath the surface a civil war was
concluding, in Montezemolo’s favour. It had run all summer, but was
finally coming to an end. All that Montezemolo now required was for Jean
Todt, the team principal, and Michael Schumacher, the number one driver,
to run up the white flag.
In truth no one knew what was about to happen. Schumacher didn’t want
to retire, at least not that day. And he thought he still retained
enough power to get his way. But Montezemolo had long before given him a
deadline of Monza and told him (expressly against Jean Todt’s wishes)
that it was either driving alongside Kimi Räikkönen in 2007 – or
retirement.
In a previous age no one had dared tell Michael Schumacher what to do.
He had been king of Formula One for 12 years and for half of them was
easily the sport’s most powerful man, eclipsing even Bernie Ecclestone.
Montezemolo hated this situation and had also come to resent Jean
Todt’s role in the Michael Schumacher show. He took the Enzo Ferrari
view that drivers were employees who performed at the behest of their
employers. Todt on the other hand took a collegiate view; the top people
at the team, including Schumacher, were his close friends and far from
being his employees.
But there is no doubt that this combination of opposing management
styles got the job done. And for that reason each had tolerated the
other.
Only once before in the 11 seasons that Schumacher had been a Ferrari
driver, in 1999, had Montezemolo insisted on getting his way.
Officially, of course, none of the above occurred. The official line was
that Schumacher had simply decided to retire many months before and that
Ferrari had signed Räikkönen to take his place, end of story. In fact,
Todt suggested anyone who thought any different was “stupid”.
Everyone, then, is stupid.
There was clearly tension between Todt and Montezemolo that weekend in
Monza. On Friday and Saturday, there had been an uneasy peace as both
men went about their business. Then, on race-day, with less than 15
minutes to the start, Montezemolo broke away from Ferrari on the grid
and went up to Räikkönen’s car. He leaned over the cockpit and gave
a thumbs-up sign, as if indicating that all was going to plan. It was a
strange action to pursue with his team’s close competitor at
Ferrari’s home race.
After Schumacher’s race victory, Montezemolo was delirious with joy
and, flanked by Elkann and Marchionne, in the full glare of television,
he embraced Jean Todt and kissed him. But as Montezemolo kissed him
Italian style and threw his arms around his shoulders, Todt quickly
turned away. It resembled the scene in ‘The Godfather Part III’ when
Michael Corleone embraces his brother Fredo whilst whispering his death
sentence.
Then it was Michael Schumacher’s turn. After being pecked by
Montezemolo, he too resisted his boss’s celebratory embraces and
looked blankly over his shoulder. For Montezemolo, as he embraced the
two men he knew the press release signalling his victory was being
handed out to journalists.
It was now clear to insiders that Montezemolo had won his internal
battle with Todt to turn Räikkönen’s option into a firm contract
drive for Ferrari in 2007. And it was clear that Schumacher’s
ultimatum of ‘Räikkönen’s or me’ had been ignored.
It was a battle Montezemolo had been determined to win. Six years
earlier, to give the team the very best chance of winning, he had wanted
to hire Mika Häkkinen as team-mate to Schumacher. But he had been
blocked by the twin powers of Schumacher and Todt. This time he was
determined to prevail. He wanted Räikkönen, and if that meant
Schumacher’s departure, then so be it. And he also made it clear he
was not prepared to carry on paying Schumacher his US$45 million a year
in his twilight years. In any case that money was no longer available,
it had been allocated to Räikkönen in a deal skilfully negotiated by
the driver’s manager David Robertson.
In truth Schumacher was not simply being pushed out of Ferrari, he was
not prepared to carry on under the terms that were being offered. So he
reluctantly decided to retire. And in any event it was good timing –
he was going out at the peak of his powers.
Naturally, in the circumstances, the two press conferences, first for TV
and then for the press were sad affairs. Schumacher was very morose. He
clearly saw no happiness in retirement. But he played the company line
and did not vent any feelings of being pushed out. That was not
Schumacher’s way. And the timing of the press release before his own
announcement had given him no room for manoeuvre. It was done on the
express orders of Montezemolo to ensure that he, and not Schumacher, was
setting the agenda.
The sense of despair from Schumacher was obvious. He is the one driver
on the grid who genuinely loves Formula One. He lives and breathes it.
Whilst some other multiple world champions have rushed into retirement,
he seemed set to drive on into his 40s. He was clearly not ready to
retire after 16 seasons of racing, nearly double the average career span
and equalling the career of Ricardo Patrese.
But at the age of 37, he found, like many others, that as far as
Montezemolo was concerned he was past his sell-by date. As
Schumacher’s long-time manager, Willi Weber, woefully observed in a
passing comment to a journalist at Monza: “Michael found he no longer
has the power he thought at Ferrari.” So Schumacher’s retirement was
just as controversial as his entry into the sport at the Belgian Grand
Prix in first practice on Friday 23rd August 1991.
The countdown for Schumacher’s demise had begun on 25th August 2005
when Räikkönen signed a one-year option which gave Ferrari the right,
within a certain time period, to employ him, at a salary of around US$45
million, for three years from 2007 to 2009 with options to renew beyond
that. The option price had never been confirmed but was rumoured around
the paddock to be US$5 million.
Everybody knew that the drivers’ market was headed for a shake-up in
2007. It became clear that the contracts of the three best drivers in
the world, Schumacher, Räikkönen and Fernando Alonso were all expiring
at the same time – at end of 2006. It was a unique event in Formula
One history and meant that all three could be driving at different teams
in 2007. In normal circumstances one or two of the top drivers might be
out of contract at the same time, but never three. However, in truth
nobody expected any of the three to move from their incumbent teams.
Schumacher was an absolute fixture at Ferrari and showing no sign of
retiring. Alonso was winning everything at Renault so why would he move,
especially as Flavio Briatore, the Renault team principal, was his
manager? And Räikkönen, despite coming to the end of his contract, had
options for the future and really nowhere else to go.
And that was how it looked in the summer of 2005 as Räikkönen’s
manager, David Robertson, and McLaren Mercedes team principal, Ron
Dennis, sat down to discuss the Finnish driver’s future. It was to be
the first of the big driver negotiations for 2007.
As far as Robertson was concerned, it was all going to be pretty
straightforward. He couldn’t comprehend Räikkönen leaving. The
contract was up but Dennis had options to renew it well into the future.
These options all stemmed from the original contract Räikkönen had
signed in September 2001. Dennis had paid a small fortune to secure
Räikkönen’s services including a rumoured US$14 million to
compensate Peter Sauber. It was a complex contract – two years (2002
and 2003) at a modest salary and then three years (2004-2006) for a much
larger retainer culminating in the near US$45 million he was being paid
in 2006. But Räikkönen was far from a free agent at the end of his
McLaren contract. By all accounts it was at Dennis’s option to take up
another three years if he was willing to pay an escalating salary.
Dennis had security, but at a price. There is no way of telling what
that price was but it was likely to mean Räikkönen receiving at least
US$60-US$70 million a year by 2009. But Dennis, who had been bamboozled
into agreeing the high price four years before in 2001, just before the
9/11 terrorist attacks when economic conditions had been very different,
did not want to pay, although he still wanted Räikkönen to drive for
him.
By all accounts Robertson was somewhat surprised, even if he didn’t
show it, when Dennis said he wasn’t taking up the option. Although
there is no independent confirmation of this it appears that Dennis
believed he could cancel the option, and thereby his commitment, and
open negotiations with Robertson at a more sensible retainer. After all
Dennis believed, and it certainly looked the case, that Räikkönen had
nowhere else to go.
It appears Dennis genuinely believed Robertson would simply agree a
lower retainer, probably something nearer US$35 million. But it proved
Dennis did not know the man at all. Robertson is an extremely shrewd
individual. Even his critics say he can read the minds of team
principals. He is believed to study their psyche in his spare time so
that he can deal with them more effectively. In his short career in the
paddock he has already negotiated with Frank Williams, Flavio Briatore,
Ron Dennis and Jean Todt, and bested all of them.
Anyone who has had negotiations with him of any kind is aware of his
skills. As one associate says: “He is the sort of man, and this is not
said impolitely, with whom one counts ones fingers after shaking his
hand. He probably secretly relishes that reputation.”
It is important to emphasise that at that stage of the 2005 season, in
spite of Robertson’s reputation, Dennis thought he held all the cards.
Räikkönen was dominating the latter half of the 2005 season and
McLaren was the top team. Conversely Ferrari was in the doldrums – why
would Räikkönen want to go there even if he could?
And Renault was out of the equation. Everyone thought Alonso was a
fixture at Renault. When Dennis let Räikkönen’s option lapse he
knew, or at least thought he knew, that he could simply wait for
Robertson to accept his offer.
But Robertson sensed something different. He sensed discontent in the
McLaren organisation, a sense of drift. He had picked up that Adrian
Newey was leaving and that Nick Tombazis might do the same. He also
thought most of Ferrari’s problems were tyre related and solvable; he
knew that Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne had not suddenly become bad
engineers.
But Robertson kept his counsel with Dennis and said he would get back to
him.
Robertson considered his options and marched over to the Ferrari
motorhome to get the lie of the land. He imagined negotiations with Todt
alone would be a waste of time. So he sought to engage Montezemolo and
Todt together. Again the wily operator had picked up their differences
on his radar and thought he might be able to divide and conquer. He was
absolutely correct. Whilst Todt was cool to the idea of hiring
Räikkönen, Montezemolo was more than keen. But there were
complications. Ferrari already had an option with Valentino Rossi and
Todt doubted openly that Schumacher would want Räikkönen alongside
him. But Robertson spoke privately to Montezemolo. Soon the two men
agreed to sign Räikkönen to an option in Ferrari’s favour for a
year, and to pay for the privilege.
But Robertson was not out of the woods. At that point he did not think
Ferrari would actually sign Räikkönen. But it was his leverage on Ron
Dennis. Robertson made sure by judicious leaks to journalist friends
that it got around the paddock about Ferrari’s option. Dennis’s
bluff had been publicly called.
And so matters rested, until the end of the season when Dennis heard on
the grapevine that Räikkönen had signed for Ferrari. Although it was
only an option he guessed immediately what was going on and decided he
was not about to be kept on a string for a year whilst Ferrari decided
his future.
By then the situation with the third driver in the loop, Fernando
Alonso, was becoming clouded as rumours spread that Renault would
withdraw from Formula One at the end of 2006. One very highly placed
pundit whispered in Dennis’s ear that he had heard this would
definitely happen. As sad as that might be for Formula One, Dennis
realised it was very good news for him. As the rumour gained currency,
whatever its truth, it effectively put Alonso into play.
Dennis made an approach for Alonso. He understood, as did everyone else
in the paddock, that at around US$6 million a year, Alonso was
underpaid. Dennis offered Alonso US$16 million a year. The timing of the
move was perfect.
At that point Renault’s prospects for 2007 were at their lowest and
McLaren’s, after its storming season, at their highest. McLaren had
also just announced it had signed Vodafone as title sponsor for 2007; it
had more cash than ever. With all things considered Alonso’s manager
Flavio Briatore had no choice but to advise his driver to accept
Dennis’s offer. He knew Renault at that moment in time would not match
it (although later the situation was to change).
Dennis attached one condition to his offer – he wanted to announce it
immediately despite the disruption it would cause to his existing
drivers. Close friends say he was driven by a desire to get back at
David Robertson and tell the Formula One world how clever he was.
Alonso’s signing was announced to an unsuspecting world just before
Christmas 2005. It caused a sensation, mainly revolving around
Briatore’s position and the obvious conflict of interest. Briatore
took it all in his stride. Interestingly he and Dennis came up with
entirely different stories of how Alonso was signed. But by then it
didn’t matter. After the ravages inflicted on his bank account by
David Robertson, Dennis considered it a good day’s work to get Alonso
for just US$16 million.
But Dennis had seriously piqued his existing drivers and when they heard
the news both vowed to leave the team at the end of 2006. They felt they
had been double-crossed. Räikkönen’s position for 2007 suddenly
looked precarious.
Over at Ferrari, Michael Schumacher was as entrenched as ever and the
Italian team had signed an option with Valentino Rossi for 2007, this
one at the driver’s behest. If Rossi decided to take up his option
there would be no room for Räikkönen. The situation was slightly
complicated when Rubens Barrichello read the tea leaves and saw that he
also would be out at the end of 2006. Honda was desperate to sign him
and he negotiated a release from his contract to take a big money,
three-year deal. To replace him the team signed Felipe Massa on a
one-year contract as a stop-gap. Schumacher expected that it would be
him and Rossi in the cockpit for 2007.
But as 2006 began, Montezemolo realised he didn’t want that. Signing
Rossi was Todt and Schumacher’s plan. He wanted Räikkönen, his man,
in the car for 2007, and started scheming to get his way.
It may seem ridiculous that Montezemolo had effectively to politic
within his own company, but that is the way it was. Todt had made
Ferrari his own fiefdom, much to the annoyance of Montezemolo. The two
had already clashed earlier this year when Montezemolo wanted to take
Marlboro off the car for 2007 and find a non-tobacco sponsor. Todt
wanted to stay with an eager Marlboro. Montezemolo tried everything he
could to find an alternative and even invited Sir Martin Sorrell, chief
executive of WPP Group, the world’s biggest advertising agency group,
to visit him in Maranello. Ostensibly he wanted to discuss whether WPP
and its network of sponsorship agencies could help with finding a new
title sponsor for 2007.
But Todt found out about Sorrell’s visit. And when Sorrell arrived at
Maranello, he did not meet with Montezemolo but with the Frenchman.
Predictably the discussions went nowhere. Todt told Sorrell he already
had a title sponsor for 2007 and asked him why he was there. Sorrell
wondered that himself and the visit had effectively been a waste of his
time. But as Sorrell was leaving, walking down the corridor on his way
to Ferrari’s reception, Montezemolo jumped out of a door in front of
him and ushered him into a small adjacent conference room. He asked him
what had been discussed with Todt and when Sorrell told him, begged him
to find an alternative to Marlboro. It was all over in 10 minutes and
Sorrell left Maranello shaking his head at the shenanigans he had
witnessed between the two men. Sorrell had no intention of wasting his
time trying to find a title sponsor for a team that already had one.
Todt had already told Sorrell he had done a deal with his friend Louis
Camilleri, the chairman of Altria, the Marlboro parent company.
Camilleri had agreed a five-year deal from 2007 to pay US$200 million a
year. It was the biggest sponsorship deal ever in Formula One and an
offer the team could not turn down.
Montezemolo was in despair after the Marlboro deal was signed. It made
Todt, now seen as a top rainmaker, even more powerful inside the team.
In fact Montezemolo had begun to feel like a stranger in his own
factory. Continually away on Fiat and Italian business, Montezemolo
realised he had made a mistake when he had promoted Todt the year before
to head the whole Ferrari car factory. He had expected him to fall flat
on his face but instead he rose to the task and Ferrari, which had been
in the financial doldrums, began a remarkable recovery under Todt’s
stewardship.
Montezemolo felt he had created a monster in Todt that he could no
longer control. Although the two men had worked together for more than a
decade, they were like chalk and cheese. Behind the rough exterior, Todt
is a self-made, cultured man, an art lover with impeccable taste. In
2005 he had teamed up with Hollywood actress, Michelle Yeoh, got engaged
to her and was in many ways beginning to outshine Montezemolo himself.
By contrast Montezemolo is a proud aristocrat. A member of the Agnelli
family by any other name, he is regarded within the Fiat empire as a
marketing wunderkind.
No one in Maranello can understand why the Todt-Montezemolo alliance has
lasted so long. One observer said: “It is a mystery, Todt’s not
Luca’s sort of person and vice versa.”
It was never part of Montezemolo’s plan to get rid of Todt, he simply
wanted to break up the Todt-Brawn-Schumacher alliance that so
effectively controlled the team. And it appears that the battleground
was drawn over Michael Schumacher, with both men determined to get their
way.
But Montezemolo was more determined.
Montezemolo was not overawed by Michael Schumacher as so clearly was
Jean Todt. That was shown in 1999 when the two men faced up to each
other after Schumacher broke his leg at the British Grand Prix. Even
after he had recovered enough to go testing Schumacher announced on
Sunday 3rd October that he would not be fit enough to take part in the
remaining two races of the year in Malaysia and Japan.
After the accident Eddie Irvine had taken up the running for the world
championship title and badly needed the help of a strong team-mate. But
the last thing Schumacher appeared to want was his team-mate to win the
world championship and he had clearly decided, with Todt’s
collaboration, to see the last two races out. Irvine pleaded with
Montezemolo to intervene.
What happened next was instructive in the differing relationships
Schumacher enjoyed with Todt and Montezemolo. On the afternoon of
Tuesday 5th October 1999, Montezemolo rang Schumacher at his home in
Switzerland to ask if he would change his mind and drive. But
Schumacher’s young daughter Gina-Maria answered the phone and told
Montezemolo that her Daddy was “getting out of his football boots”.
Montezemolo questioned the little girl more closely and ascertained that
she and her brother had been enjoying a rough game of football in the
garden with their father. When Schumacher finally came to the phone,
Montezemolo asked him if indeed he had been playing football. The German
had no choice but to be truthful. Once Montezemolo heard that, he said
to him that if he was fit enough to play football he was fit enough to
drive in Malaysia and Japan. When Schumacher resisted, Montezemolo
reminded him that he was being paid US$2 million a race and would do as
he was told. Schumacher had no choice but to comply and on Friday 8th
October the team announced he would indeed be returning for the last two
races.
The incident had been a lesson for Montezemolo, who realised that a
secret conspiracy existed between Todt and Schumacher.
He had run up against it before when he had wanted to hire Mika
Häkkinen to partner Schumacher. Then Todt had told Montezemolo that
Schumacher would not have it and would leave. In effect Schumacher was
so powerful he could dictate terms and Montezemolo could not risk
calling his bluff. But Montezemolo believed Schumacher would have stayed
and was left smarting by his rebuttal at the hands of the two men.
So when the chance came to sign Kimi Räïkkönen in the summer of 2005,
Montezemolo was determined to grab it. After a poor season when the team
had won nothing bar the controversial United States Grand Prix,
Montezemolo sensed that Schumacher’s reign was coming to an end. He
would be nearly 38 when his last contract ended in 2006.
So when David Robertson came calling, Montezemolo was all ears.
Robertson brilliantly played off Montezemolo and Todt against each
other. According to sources at Ferrari, Montezemolo didn’t want to get
into a situation next year where he was looking for a top-line driver
and everyone was signed up. Montezemolo is in instinctive man and, as
one person close to Ferrari observes: “He decided to put the
bunsen-burner under the situation.”
That person confirms that Montezemolo had been bitterly disappointed
when he couldn’t sign Häkkinen and it had always rankled: “The
aggravation with Todt has been there the whole time but came to a head
at Monza. Luca had wanted to see Häkkinen in the other car. He believes
it is 200 per cent about the drivers.”
During the 2005 season Montezemolo decided he didn’t want Valentino
Rossi even though he had a firm option to join the team. He persuaded
Rossi not to take it up and stay in MotoGP. This decision upset
Schumacher who could see what it meant. Rossi had had a programme mapped
out to familiarise himself with the car prior to a 2007 debut.
Schumacher
said at the time: “We are sad not to see him here. I think he has a
very high talent
and could have done it in terms of driving.” Ross Brawn, the Ferrari
technical director and a strong Todt-Schumacher ally was also upset and
said: “We were very impressed with what he was able to do. It would
have been very exciting. He was very impressive in all the running we
did, otherwise we wouldn’t have taken him so seriously. It would have
been a nice challenge to have. It’s a shame.”
Rossi’s announcement fuelled speculation that Ferrari had already
decided upon its 2007 driver line-up and that Kimi Räikkönen would be
named as Michael Schumacher’s team-mate for next season. But by
midsummer it was far from decided and a full-scale battle was going on
inside Ferrari. There was a stand-off, which would continue until the
deadline to take up Räikkönen’s option.
Meanwhile, David Robertson was sensing that Ferrari might not take up
Räikkönen’s option and that Schumacher would not drive alongside
him. That prompted him to renew relations with Ron Dennis and make sure
his options were still open there. But with McLaren’s 2006 car having
flopped and the three top technical men, led by Adrian Newey, having
left the team, conditions were totally different. So in May, Robertson
started serious negotiations with Flavio Briatore to take Räikkönen to
Renault. Robertson found a team principal who very badly wanted to do a
deal. The downside was that the retainer was half what he had been
getting at McLaren and half of what he had been offered at Ferrari. But
against that was a very competitive car; in May it was the most
competitive car.
The negotiations were a surprise as Briatore had clashed with Robertson
in 2001 and openly criticised him and his methods. But now the Italian
turned on the charm offensive and entertained Robertson, and his son
Steve, on his boat in Monte Carlo. He also introduced them to his
ravishing new girlfriend, Elisabetta Gregoracci, and she worked her own
charms on the two men as they toured the Renault team principal’s new
yacht in Monaco harbour.
Briatore was ready to forget the past if there was a deal to be done.
And he badly needed the deal. By this time his position was very
different to how it had been in December 2005. Now the future was clear
and Carlos Ghosn, the Renault chairman, had made a long-term commitment
to the team and even turned on the cash spigot. Briatore was able to
offer Räikkönen a decent retainer, said to be US$21 million but with
the added opportunity to accept outside endorsements, which could have
been worth another US$10 million.
The two men held detailed negotiations and Briatore personally spent a
lot of time wooing Robertson. Later Briatore would angrily tell friends
that he felt Robertson had been wasting his time and had been committed
to Ferrari at the same time as he was offering Räikkönen to Renault.
However, this was not the case. Robertson had been negotiating in the
genuine belief that Ferrari would not take up its option because of
Schumacher.
All through the early summer, civil war raged behind the scenes at
Maranello. But Schumacher found his power to get his way had gone.
Montezemolo appeared not to care whether he stayed or went. At the
German Grand Prix, which Schumacher won with Massa second and
Räikkönen third, the Ferrari number one driver put on a very public
show of affection for his team-mate and totally ignored Räikkönen. It
was a classic Schumacher display: he was demonstrating publicly to
Montezemolo how he wanted it to be and how good it could be. But
Montezemolo was totally unmoved. In fact insiders say it hardened his
resolve to dislodge the superstar. And in August, Robertson was proved
wrong when Montezemolo signed the contract with him. No one close to
Ferrari was surprised, as one insider says: “Luca, being the
politician that he is, closed off every rat hole.”
When Schumacher learned the news, he told Montezemolo he wanted until
the end of the season to make up his mind about whether he would stay
and partner Räikkönen. In the meantime, he didn’t want any
announcement made about Räikkönen. But Montezemolo was not having any
of that. He wanted the situation resolved and told Schumacher he wanted
his decision by Monza, when he would announce Räikkönen. By then it
appears Ross Brawn had also decided he would leave if Schumacher did.
That news was leaked to journalists to pile pressure on Montezemolo.
The writing was on the wall. Montezemolo had come this far and was not
about to turn back.
Montezemolo won the battle: Schumacher would not drive with Räikkönen
and would
instead announce his retirement. But the
decision was very much against his will.
He would have rather carried on with Felipe Massa as his team-mate. Now
the seven
times world champion, still only 37, has to decide what to do next and
where life will take him.
Meanwhile, none of the pronouncements so far can be taken for granted.
Despite the 17 years since Enzo Ferrari’s death, Ferrari is still a
very Machiavellian organisation and Jean Todt, predictably, is seething
about losing this public battle with Montezemolo. He knows he will never
have the same type of relationship with Räikkönen that he has had with
Schumacher. Insiders, however, insist that Todt’s job is safe and that
he has too many friends inside Fiat for Montezemolo to contemplate
sacking him. And they
add that Montezemolo, who is not regarded as malicious, genuinely
doesn’t want that and knows Todt is the best man to run
Ferrari. One says: “Whatever Luca is, he isn’t stupid.”
But another outside observer says that Todt has been wounded by what has
transpired and doesn’t believe the story is concluded, as he says:
“Todt is the most malicious person on two legs and he will hold that
against Luca.”
Next month to mark the end of Michael Schumacher’s final year in
Formula One, BusinessF1 writers look back at Schumacher’s
extraordinary career off-track. From the secret backer who financed his
early career to the astonishing battle between his first two managers,
Willi Weber and Burkhard Nuppenny, for control of his career. The
amazing tussle between Jordan and Benetton for his services. His
contract machinations with Flavio Briatore and his wooing by Jean Todt.
We look closely at how he earned nearly US$600 million in 15-and-a-half
years of competing in the sport
--
Peter
Charles Perry
"peter" <sco...@blackhole.do-not-spam.me.uk> wrote in message
news:8NnmNXBb...@ntlworld.com...
> Business F1
> Thursday, 05 April 2007
>
previous seasons?! Sad.
Charles Perry P.E.
AC
> Thursday, 05 April 2007
>
> The dramatic circumstances of the Italian Grand Prix and Michael
> Schumacher's retirement will live on for a long time. After his
> rival was sidelined by a bizarre stewards' decision, Schumacher won
> the race and then announced his retirement. But it was an amazing
> few hours, worthy of a scripted piece of drama. BusinessF1 retraced
> the moves that led to that startling finish.
>
Fascinating read, thanks. If you can, please post next months article.
Couple of things:
How the hell can any one know all that?
Why did MS 'have' to etire, rather than go else where?
And....
No wonder some suggest that the the whole IP / Spy scandel is othing
more than an evil Ferrari plot.........
AC
a_Frank
>
>"peter" <sco...@blackhole.do-not-spam.me.uk> wrote in message
>news:8NnmNXBb...@ntlworld.com...
>> Business F1
>> Thursday, 05 April 2007
>>
>> The dramatic circumstances of the Italian Grand Prix and Michael
>> Schumacher's retirement will live on for a long time. After his
>> rival was sidelined by a bizarre stewards' decision, Schumacher won
>> the race and then announced his retirement. But it was an amazing
>> few hours, worthy of a scripted piece of drama. BusinessF1 retraced
>> the moves that led to that startling finish.
>>
>
>Fascinating read, thanks. If you can, please post next months article.
>
>Couple of things:
>
>How the hell can any one know all that?
>
>Why did MS 'have' to etire, rather than go else where?
>
That would be my question too. In one sentence they say 'eats and
breaths F1 and want to drive into his 40s', in another he retires.
Will anyone in his right mind look at Rossi when he retires and say
that he was all washed up when he moved to Yamaha ? Nah, Rossi had
option to stay at Honda and made it very clear that he moved teams for
a challange and a challenge he got. Yet, he still enjoys it and always
ready to smile. A true racer.
Dunno, there are a lot of reasons why MS may have retired for, none of
which is really our business, but if i was him and loved the sport as
much as he is said to be, i'd be at Williams or even Spyker trying to
give them a leg up.. be it at half or quarter pay. The 2.8% annual
interest on my few hundred million bucks will cover the bills that my
lousy 10-20Mill(plus about same in endorsements) yearly wage won't.
--
Regards, Frank
Mark Jones
>news:8NnmNXBb...@ntlworld.com...
>> Business F1
>> Thursday, 05 April 2007
>>
>> The dramatic circumstances of the Italian Grand Prix and Michael
>> Schumacher's retirement will live on for a long time. After his
>> rival was sidelined by a bizarre stewards' decision, Schumacher won
>> the race and then announced his retirement. But it was an amazing
>> few hours, worthy of a scripted piece of drama. BusinessF1 retraced
>> the moves that led to that startling finish.
>>
Very interesting, thanks.
>Fascinating read, thanks. If you can, please post next months article.
>
>Couple of things:
>
>How the hell can any one know all that?
>
>Why did MS 'have' to etire, rather than go else where?
I think Schumacher stated on a few occasions that he only wanted to
drive for Ferrari.
--
- Jones
aaaaarrrrrrghh!!
Anand
>>>
>>> The dramatic circumstances of the Italian Grand Prix and Michael
>>> Schumacher's retirement will live on for a long time. After his
>>> rival was sidelined by a bizarre stewards' decision, Schumacher won
>>> the race and then announced his retirement. But it was an amazing
>>> few hours, worthy of a scripted piece of drama. BusinessF1 retraced
>>> the moves that led to that startling finish.
>>>
>>
>>Fascinating read, thanks. If you can, please post next months article.
>>
>>Couple of things:
>>
>>How the hell can any one know all that?
>>
>>Why did MS 'have' to etire, rather than go else where?
>>
> That would be my question too. In one sentence they say 'eats and
> breaths F1 and want to drive into his 40s', in another he retires.
> Will anyone in his right mind look at Rossi when he retires and say
> that he was all washed up when he moved to Yamaha ? Nah, Rossi had
> option to stay at Honda and made it very clear that he moved teams for
> a challange and a challenge he got. Yet, he still enjoys it and always
> ready to smile. A true racer.
A true racer, but now constantly bitching about the so called
_Bridgestone advantage_ Ducati seem to have...
> Dunno, there are a lot of reasons why MS may have retired for, none of
> which is really our business, but if i was him and loved the sport as
> much as he is said to be, i'd be at Williams or even Spyker trying to
> give them a leg up.. be it at half or quarter pay. The 2.8% annual
> interest on my few hundred million bucks will cover the bills that my
> lousy 10-20Mill(plus about same in endorsements) yearly wage won't.
--
Theres gonna be some sweaty palms in the pits because the mechanics
will be looking at this, thinking, Oh-oh, its gonna be down to us
this afternoon.
CatharticF1
@ntlworld.com:
> Business F1
> Thursday, 05 April 2007
>
Thanks for the post Peter, as much as I like to think there could be such
visibility within Maranello I remain skeptical of the Author's motivation
and certain that he's not been thorough. As I mention the previous time art
of this was published (in presumably another article):
Most articles tend to reveal the motivation of their writer at some point.
I'd like to draw your attention to this:
In painting his picture of the reason behind Michael's absence and then
reappearance after breaking his leg, the author writes that Montezemolo
questioned Schumacher's daughter on the phone on the 5th of October, 1999.
She apparently responded that her Daddy was getting out of his football
boots. The author then writes that Luca ascertained that Schumacher had
been enjoying a 'rough' game of football with her and her brother. There
are two issues with this. The deliberate choice of perjorative and self-
obviously incorrect adjective and even just how much Luca could have
gleaned from such a young child.
His son was 6 months old then, and even his daughter who reportedly spoke
so eloquently on the phone to Luca, was 3 months away from her 3rd
birthday.
Credibility..?
--
CatharticF1
McLaren - breaking regulations with impunity.
AC
"CatharticF1" <efer...@heaven.net> wrote in message
news:Xns99A8A53F2DA51...@202.83.64.15...
The football 'reason' was floating around at the time. Either its true
or its what Luca wanted the world to belive.
Like I said before though, Im suspicious of the comprehesive detail in
this article. Even so, most of it fits with whats already in public.
It reads like an article that pulls together everything in, with some
logical specualtion.
But, isnt this the type of thing that adds to the mythos that Ferraris
fans love? I love all these stories. Not just the Ferrari are big gits
stories, all the teams have this kind of drama going on. I know many
think it distracts from the racing, but I thik it adds to it. It makes
the drama of the racing even more potent.
AC
peter
>On Tue, 11 Sep 2007 00:30:15 GMT, "AC" <x...@xxx.xxx> wrote:
>>"peter" <sco...@blackhole.do-not-spam.me.uk> wrote in message
>>> The dramatic circumstances of the Italian Grand Prix and Michael
>>> Schumacher's retirement will live on for a long time. After his
>>> rival was sidelined by a bizarre stewards' decision, Schumacher won
>>> the race and then announced his retirement. But it was an amazing
>>> few hours, worthy of a scripted piece of drama. BusinessF1 retraced
>>> the moves that led to that startling finish.
>
>Very interesting, thanks.
>
>>Fascinating read, thanks.
Even taking into account any bias the author may have and how much is
actually verifiable, it is still a very interesting read.
>>
>>Why did MS 'have' to etire, rather than go else where?
>
>I think Schumacher stated on a few occasions that he only wanted to
>drive for Ferrari.
>
I tend to agree it was stay with Ferrari or retire.
When Schumacher didn't get the driver line up he
requested/wanted/demanded (delete as applicable) for the 2007 season he
had to retire as a matter of pride.
--
Peter
AC
"a_Frank" <fa...@notthis.optushome.com.au> wrote in message
news:bc3ce3hflku9dccla...@4ax.com...
To be fair, I can understand how, having built team Schumacher
Ferrari, he couldnt face doing that all over again. It mst have been a
massive challenge and effort to revive Ferrari. And, F1 is a dangerous
game. I would hope a driver would go and do the little team thing,
too. But I think we both know thats always unlikely.
But it is odd that Schumacher seemd to just accept things and walk.
Not much of a fighting spirit there. More over, why not accept a
tallented partner, and continue? Thats the sticking ego point.
One the other side of the coin, I dont think we have a candid
Schumacher side of the story. We dont know what his people were up to
behind the scenes.
AC
Suzieflame
You may not know this Pete, but I am the person who introduced Tom
Rubython to motorsport...
Suzie
--
Suzieflame
Brian Lawrence
>>How the hell can any one know all that?
The person who wrote it was Tom Rubython - he knows everything ...
and what he doesn't know he writes anyway.
Without checking my facts I believe he owns or publishes the magazine
himself?
Gongoozler
> Thanks for the post Peter, as much as I like to think there could be such
> visibility within Maranello I remain skeptical of the Author's motivation
> and certain that he's not been thorough.
>SNIP
> Credibility..?
A fascinating article indeed, but I have an idea that doubt has
occasionally been cast upon the accuracy of Tom Rubython's
writings ;-)
http://www.businessf1.net/cgi-bin/premature/weblog.pl?month=200604
http://www.businessf1.net/
--
Trevor
peter
>CatharticF1 wrote:
>> Thanks for the post Peter, as much as I like to think there could be such
>> visibility within Maranello I remain skeptical of the Author's motivation
>> and certain that he's not been thorough.
>
>A fascinating article indeed, but I have an idea that doubt has
>occasionally been cast upon the accuracy of Tom Rubython's
>writings ;-)
>http://www.businessf1.net/cgi-bin/premature/weblog.pl?month=200604
>http://www.businessf1.net/
>
See also:
BusinessF1 Wins Libel Action Against Richard Woods
http://www.f1i.com/content/view/6786/1/
--
Peter
Bigbird
He may have done but thanks to publishing one to many of his "facts" it
is currently in receivership.
--
a_Frank
wrote:
>> That would be my question too. In one sentence they say 'eats and
>> breaths F1 and want to drive into his 40s', in another he retires.
>> Will anyone in his right mind look at Rossi when he retires and say
>> that he was all washed up when he moved to Yamaha ? Nah, Rossi had
>> option to stay at Honda and made it very clear that he moved teams for
>> a challange and a challenge he got. Yet, he still enjoys it and always
>> ready to smile. A true racer.
>
>A true racer, but now constantly bitching about the so called
>_Bridgestone advantage_ Ducati seem to have...
>
All racers do that. It is never them it's always something else.
I think Rossi is just being Stonered and that kid is just getting more
and more confident with each win. Next season should be great when
hopefully Rossi gets his bike and himself sorted.
--
Regards, Frank
Phil Carmody
> When Schumacher didn't get the driver line up he
> requested/wanted/demanded (delete as applicable) for the 2007 season
> he had to retire as a matter of pride.
I've never seen cowardice spelt with only 5 letters before.
Very compact. Might cause confusion though.
Phil
--
Dear aunt, let's set so double the killer delete select all.
-- Microsoft voice recognition live demonstration
Mark Jones
Well, let's not forget the poisoned atmosphere F1 had become for him,
and the point that for about the last 3 years.all everyone talked
about was when he was going to retire.
--
- Jones
aaaaarrrrrrghh!!
ocea
> On Tue, 11 Sep 2007 08:32:44 GMT, peter
>
>
>
>
>
> >Mark Jones <M...@Jones.co.nz> writes
> >>On Tue, 11 Sep 2007 00:30:15 GMT, "AC" <x...@xxx.xxx> wrote:
> >>>> Business F1
> >>>> The dramatic circumstances of the Italian Grand Prix and Michael
> >>>> Schumacher's retirement will live on for a long time. After his
> >>>> rival was sidelined by a bizarre stewards' decision, Schumacher won
> >>>> the race and then announced his retirement. But it was an amazing
> >>>> few hours, worthy of a scripted piece of drama. BusinessF1 retraced
> >>>> the moves that led to that startling finish.
>
> >>Very interesting, thanks.
>
> >>>Fascinating read, thanks.
>
> >Even taking into account any bias the author may have and how much is
> >actually verifiable, it is still a very interesting read.
>
> >>>Why did MS 'have' to etire, rather than go else where?
>
> >>I think Schumacher stated on a few occasions that he only wanted to
> >>drive for Ferrari.
>
> >I tend to agree it was stay with Ferrari or retire.
> >When Schumacher didn't get the driver line up he
> >requested/wanted/demanded (delete as applicable) for the 2007 season he
> >had to retire as a matter of pride.
>
> Well, let's not forget the poisoned atmosphere F1 had become for him,
> and the point that for about the last 3 years.all everyone talked
> about was when he was going to retire.
>
> --
> - Jones
>
> - Mostrar texto de la cita -
Yup.