Schumacher Sport

Cabbie Schumi

2007-12-14T04:07:00.000-08:00

How I wish I was taken for a ride like this? Come to Chennai, Schumi! I would happily lend my Swift to you when you are here.

Ergo & Times Online report too.

Some news about the master...

2007-12-04T04:11:00.000-08:00

Just came across this news item and thought of posting it, as it's been a long time since I posted anything about the supremo.

A super start to 2007

2007-03-19T02:30:00.000-07:00

Kimi Raikkonen looks to fit into Schumacher's shoes very well atleast for now as he went on to win the Australian Grand Prix from the pole position. He was followed by Alonso and Hamilton in their McLarens. As one would generally expect the Englishmen to the hyped and overrated very early in any sport was very evident here as well yesterday as Hamilton was talked about very highly after a podium finish in his debut race. Yes, its a great achievement to have, but has a long way to go. As of now, I am delighted about Scuderia.

Publicly private

2006-11-02T01:43:00.000-08:00

Even if you are a celebrity, why would you want to disclose such private information? May be to proclaim fertility? An aquaintance of mine asked if he would get to see the 'working on' pictures soon.

Without Schumacher...

2006-10-24T01:47:00.000-07:00

The sport looks empty to me without the master, though there are very good drivers like Alonso, Raikkonen and Massa. I would have preferred him to win this year's championship and continue further, atleast for 1 or 2 years, if not more. I don't think he would have been made to fade away if he had continued. There is no one like our Michael Schumacher and he would have continued to win (or push the winner very hard, like this year) as long as he raced. Anyways, I still could not believe that I can't see my lovely champion race on Sundays. Two-time champion Alonso has hailed Schumacher, for a change.

Views on Schumacher

2006-10-23T06:15:00.000-07:00

As Schumacher has raced his last, there were lots of words of praise, but also some tough words.

Massa & Alonso - but it was Michael!

2006-10-23T05:21:00.000-07:00

Massa won his home GP at Brazil yesterday, but Alonso ran away with the championship for the second consecutive time though he finished second. But, it was all Michael Schumacher talk as he finished fourth and ended up second in the points tally - 13 behind Alonso. Michael drove a classic race to finish fourth after starting 10th from the grid and going further down due to a puncture. Only one man could have finished so high after those setbacks and that man did it yesterday with his Ferrari. Despite all such scenes, Brazil wore a mournful look yesterday as it was the greatest ever driver's last race. Ferrari couldn't get the Constructors' Championship too as they fell behind Renault by 5 points.

Actually, there is a lot more to write about yesterday's race, but I don't have the mood with Schumacher quitting. Infact, I am not even sure if this blog would be updated regularly from now on. I atleast hope to update results and standings.

Thanks Michael, for making me love this sport and I will definitely miss you, along with the millions of others.

Respects start to flow in...

2006-10-17T06:08:00.000-07:00

Mika Hakkinen respects our MS who is just one more race away from hanging his helmet.

Given up? Not yet?

2006-10-09T07:24:00.000-07:00

When one thought that the Ferrari ace has stated the obvious by conceding the Championship to Alonso, Damon Hill props up and says that its not so and he says that having known the enigma called Michael Schumacher.

Heartbreak

2006-10-09T07:17:00.000-07:00

What else should I call it when Schumacher's car has an engine failure forcing him to lose the GP at Suzuka? Its not just the race, its also the championship which has gone abegging as Alonso took advantage of Ferrari's failure and managed to win ahead of Massa and Fisichella.

Sensational Schumacher ties points; tenses up the title race

2006-10-02T01:38:00.000-07:00

The title race got more hotter, if it wasn't earlier, after the Chinese Grand Prix where Michael Schumacher showed that he was the real master for the 2354930217th time. Yes, the same story - Michael won the race on wet conditions with his mastery and admittedly, some mistakes by the Renault team.

Renault captured the front row of the starting grid, with Alonso at number one, followed by the Hondas at row two. Raikkonen was at five and the legend was at six. I still expected him to finish first, without even bothering about the weather forecast at Shanghai and I wasn't disappointed. One unsatisfying event was the retiring of Massa which has enabled Renault to go one point ahead of Ferrari in the Constructors' championship. Read through how the entire race unfolded. With two more races to go, both Michael and the cry-baby Alonso are tied up at 116 points. Any bets on who will be the champion?

Ahh and by the way, we are yet to hear from Alonso if his Renault team was involved in fixing to commit those mistakes and help Schumacher win.

Michael magic at Monza

2006-09-11T03:18:00.000-07:00

Michael's win at Monza was sweet for millions of fans where as the press conference after that was a very bitter medicine to take. Michael Schumacher who started second behind Raikkonen from the grid, managed to get ahead of him and won the Italian GP yesterday thereby taking away ten full points with a wonderful drive. Raikkonen came second and a very impressive Kubica finished third. This was the 90th Grand Prix win for the legend. Those who watched the race yesterday would realize that his retirement would leave a big void.

Very honestly, I was personally delighted to see fumes from behind a blue car and a disgusted driver getting out of it with just 10 more laps to go. All these, with him all set to take home 6 points with a third place finish. But, in this process, Massa's car was damaged and was forced to get into an unscheduled pit-stop ruining his chances of even a single point, inspite of pushing Heidfeld in the last three laps. Whatever, its absolutely official that I love to see Alonso fail and miserably at that. The total failure helped our MS to get more closer in the championship race - Alonso is just 2 points ahead of Schumacher with three more races to go. With Schumacher's current form, the difference looks nothing. But, Renault has already begun to lag behind Ferrari in the Constructors' championship. With all these, their dysentry mouths have got them into some trouble with the FIA.

Schumachera to end?

2006-09-06T04:35:00.000-07:00

Bild, the newspaper which always seems to get F1 news ahead of others, has ocme out with the news that Michael Schumacher might announce on Sunday that he is going to retire at the end of 2006. Fingers crossed...

Delighted Massa, Disappointed Schumacher

2006-08-28T03:40:00.000-07:00

Felipe Massa justified his Ferrari attire by claiming his maiden grand prix win at Turkey yesterday. He did the basics right by getting to the pole position on saturday, with a Ferrari front row. But, a silly mistake by the team cost Michael his second place and it could do wonders for Alonso as he grabbed that place ahead of our MS. He was waiting for Massa in the pit lane due to wrong calling in to the pits and thus lost the second place to Alonso. On the dying laps of the race, Schumacher pushed hard on Alonso, but it was a bit too late. After Turkey, Schumacher is 12 points behind Alonso with four races to go. But, the overall standing was good for the Italian team as they are now just 2 points behind Renault.

Button wins at dramatic Hungary

2006-08-06T23:59:00.000-07:00

There was too much of drama and anguish at the Hungarian GP yesterday, but it was Jenson Button (Honda) who had the last laugh by claiming his maiden Grand Prix win after starting 14th on the grid. de La Rosa (McLaren) and Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) followed him - yes, a completely new unheard triad at the podium.

The drama started to unfold from Friday when Alonso was penalised 2 seconds even before the Saturday qualifying. This definitely delighted me, if not all Michael fans. But, it didn't last long as the master was also penalised 2 seconds on Saturday. All these left the pole with Raikkonen for the second successive time and he failed to make use of it on Sunday was one of the expected episodes. Briatore has started to have doubts of race-fixings, after Alonso was penalised, probably to save his back-side. But, I certainly believe that someone did just enough to push our MS also behind with exactly the very same penalty.

At the race, both Alonso & Schumacher drove extremely well and got into points positions very quickly though they started from 15th and 11th respectively. The ever-changing weather started to play truant as many of the drivers were not having the right tyres for the surface many times. In addition to that, there were accidents and slipups as well sending out a lot of the racers. Button grabbed the advantage and drove ahead of all others with the championship fighters also trying hard. The first news was great for the Ferrari fans as Alonso was forced out of the race due to a driveshaft failure. This meant that Renault won't take any points from Hungary as Fisichella had also slipped out earlier.

The wonderful opportunity thrown to the Italian team was wasted with just 3 laps to go as Schumacher was forced out of the race with handling problems (i don't know what it is). He was about to finish second at that time, which would have put Alonso in deep trouble for the rest of the season. Massa also was off colour yesterday and he just managed to finish 8th to take home just one point. But, a later disqualification of Kubica (BMW Sauber) helped Massa get one more point and even more importantly, it pushed Schumacher to position eight and there by slashing the difference between Alonso to ten.

The Brawn question

2006-08-03T00:49:00.000-07:00

Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn may not continue in his post for the next season - sabbatical or retirement is a question left unanswered still. Before that, there has been no official confirmation yet for this news as the Italian team has played down the speculation. This Brit has spent 10 seasons with Ferrari, and has worked with Michael Schumacher for all seven of his world title winning seasons.

A roaring hat-trick!

2006-07-31T09:44:00.000-07:00

Michael Schumacher delighted his fans yesterday with a perfect drive at Hockenheim to win his third successive race for this season and his 89th overall. A fabulous drive, it was from the master as he started with his nose just behind Raikkonen who was at the pole. More than the 10 points he earned with this win, Alonso managing just four points with his fifth place finish was a great news. Massa also was fabulous in his vehicle as he finished second after starting third. It largely helped the German and also his Italian team as Ferrari took 18 points and Renault, just seven. Kimi who drove a good race by his car's recent standards, finished third.

Ferrari is now just 10 points behind Renault, with 6 more races to go. Our MS trails behind Alonso by 11 points - but now, it looks less complex than it was 2 weeks ago. But, Schumacher is not partying yet as there is no one better than him to know the real pain. With this series of wins, Ferrari & Michael have made sure that the remaining races are not just a formality and I am fairly sure that the Spaniard would not be enjoying happy dreams.

More Michael confusion

2006-07-26T04:56:00.000-07:00

With Michael not confirming anything about his racing future, the rumours and gossips have a good run all around. Briatore, who was looking at Michael to replace Alonso at Renault, firmly believes that the master will race for one more year atleast. In the meanwhile, some not-yet-confirmed reports reveal that BMW is willing to pay upto $1bn to make Michael drive their car next year. The confusions would continue until we hear a final word from the horse's mouth.

Yet another feather in Michael's crown

2006-07-17T02:44:00.000-07:00

Michael Schumacher, yet again, showed that he is the greatest by adding his eighth French Grand Prix win to his kitty. With this, he became the first driver to win any same Grand Prix eight times. The master enjoyed a perfect race yesterday, as he lead from start to finish. He finished 10 seconds ahead of Alonso, who was followed by Massa in another Ferrari to claim the podium. This was incidentally Michael's 88th career win and 150th appearance on the podium.

Michael would be happy man to leave France, after he showed real better pace than Alonso, leave alone the others. But, Ferrari, as a team have lot to think over for the remaining races, if they want our MS to claim the championship. Michael finishing on top on all races is not enough as the Scuderians have waken up a bit late this year. They also need to make sure that Alonso doesn't follow him in every race. Currently, only the Ferraris look like finishing ahead of Alonso's Renault. So the team should work on better strategies for Massa and enable him to finish ahead of Alonso. Michael is a genius, but Massa is just a good driver - with this in mind, the Massa strategy yesterday was not an encouraging one. Alonso, who could not get ahead of Massa at the first corner, managed to do it with his strategy - two pitstops to Massa three. The Italian team should have definitely thought about this and let Massa on the track with 2 pitstops. But for the genius, when he is in such a mood, the number of stops hardly matter. I only hope the team helps Massa to consistently finish behind Michael, if he is finishing on top and that would put a lot of scare in the enemy camp, who seem to be confident right now.

Good news for F1 fans

2006-07-11T03:53:00.000-07:00

Montoya decided to give a smile to millions of faces by announcing that he would quit F1 at the end of this season. McLaren went a few steps ahead and gave even better news to F1 fans that they would drop Montoya for the remaining season and continue with de la Rosa.
<sarcasm>I wonder what this decision will mean to F1 racing, as Montoya was seen as an important heir to Michael's throne.</sarcasm>

Schumacher back in the hunt

2006-07-03T00:49:00.000-07:00

It was Indianapolis last year, where Michael managed to win a shameful race with just three teams participating. This time, again it was Michael Schumacher who ran away with the honours and it was just nine cars which finished the race. But it wasn't shameful as last year as all the 22 cars started from the grid and it was Michael's third win for the season and also his fifth successive win at this track.

Not just MS finishing first, Ferrari had more reasons to celebrate as Felipe Massa followed the master to the podium. Infact, for MS fans like me, there was even more sweeter news that a certain Spaniard was no where near the podium when the celebrations broke out, though one of his teammates was seen there. This meant that Michael managed to cut short the difference, as he had been claiming for a long time now. With 8 more races to go, definitely, the championship isn't done yet.
The top five drivers as of now...

Alonso races ahead

2006-06-27T01:01:00.000-07:00

Starting fifth from the grid, Michael pushed very hard at the Canadian GP, but was still only able to finish behind Alonso who has got a superb machine in Renault. The Scuderian machine is just not up to expected speeds and what Michael is doing is certainly more than his best. With this fourth successive win, Alonso is almost sure of the championship again.

Alonso wins at Silverstone also

2006-06-12T00:46:00.000-07:00

Schumacher's title hopes suffered further damage, though he is optimistic still, as Alonso drove ahead of Michael to win the British Grand Prix. This win, his fifth in eight races this season, leaves Alonso 23 points ahead of Schumacher with 10 more races to go. Ferrari lag behind Renault in the constructors' championship too with an even bigger margin of 31 points.

Well done, Verdegay!

2006-05-31T02:05:00.000-07:00

Its absolutely unofficial that Alonso was helped by his compatriot to win the Monaco Grand Prix.

Michael Controversymacher!

2006-05-30T03:35:00.000-07:00

Max Mosley has defended Schumacher saying that it just happened and has also defended the decision to strip him of the pole position. The great man himself has, obviously, defended his act in Monaco and feels sorry that it happened, though not deliberately.

Meanwhile, BBC has put together a feature of all the racing controversies that Michael has been part of all these years.

The forgettable Monaco weekend

2006-05-30T03:24:00.000-07:00

Alonso lead from start to finish in winning the Monaco Grand Prix and it was really hurting for a Michael fan like me, especially after being stripped of the pole position. Just one consoling factor was that our MS managed to finish fifth after starting 22nd on the grid. Definitely, a grand prix not to be remembered for long. Needless to say, the road to the championship has become even more tougher for Michael & co.

First home win for Alonso

2006-05-15T02:40:00.000-07:00

Alonso, who started from the pole position, made use of it very well and managed to finish the Spanish Grand Prix ahead of Schumacher. Schumacher who started from the third position could not get his machine past Alonso's though he managed to go past Fisichella's Renault. This win (along with the 1,3 finish) would vastly help Alonso and Renault in both the championships respectively. Now, Michael & Ferrari have a tough fight on their hands to go past Alonso & Renault in the races to come. Felipe Massa also did a good job in his Ferrari finishing fourth.
This is how the drivers stand after the Spanish GP.

Second Row at Catalunya

2006-05-13T07:17:00.000-07:00

The last two races have obviously spiced up my interest and hence a post on saturday after the qualifying session at the Spanish Grand Prix. But, not a very happy line up for tomorrow, as Ferrari's Michael and Massa would start from the second row behind Renault. Alonso would be at the front with Fisichella just beside & behind him.

Sorry Mr. Fernando

2006-05-09T01:00:00.000-07:00

When you start from the pole position and when most of the world expect you to win, especially considering your recent record and the form you and your machine are in, 'second place' is obviously no where near fantastic. More sour grapes here.

For those who thought Imola was a fluke...

2006-05-09T00:18:00.000-07:00

Michael Schumacher showed the world yet again why he is the best ever racedriver - after a completely disappointing last year and a bad start to this year and with a victory in the last race (considered to be a lucky win by many). He was forced to start from the front row, but with his nose behind Alonso's machine, who managed to position himself at the pole for the first time this year. But, our MS drove a near-perfect race and got ahead of Alonso with a fabulous pitstop strategy and there was no looking back for him once he got in front. I actually screamed loudly as MS got to the chequered flag ahead of everyone else. I was even more pleased for Ferrari as Massa made it to the podium behind Alonso.

Unbelievable, really!

2006-04-25T03:54:00.000-07:00

I don't want to get too excited with this extremely satisfying win at Imola, but I am surely looking forward to more wins from our MS.

Michael to take Fernando's place?

2006-04-16T22:55:00.000-07:00

According to Schumacher’s agent Willi Webber, Renault boss Flavio Briatore wants Michael Schumacher to drive for his team next season following their loss of Alonso to McLaren. Schumacher has already worked under Briatore at Benetton early in his career and won successive world titles in 1994 and 1995. This makes our fingers even more crossed on whether our MS will continue racing after this year and if he does, would he be seen again in the Scuderian Red.

Expected disappointment

2006-04-03T06:24:00.000-07:00

If you are a Ferrari fan, it was better if you had got caught up with something else rather than watching the weekend telecast from Melbourne. Hopes fading even more quickly...

The Fisichella weekend

2006-03-20T21:49:00.000-08:00

Though our MS foresaw happiness at Sepang before the weekend, Ferrari would have left Malaysia in a wistful mood. It was a complete Renault show this year with last year winner Alonso finishing second behind his teammate Fisichella, who started from the pole, drove a near-flawless race and secured the third win of his career in style.

Even the lesser known teammate of our MS, Felipe Massa finished fifth for his first points with Ferrari, one place ahead of Michael. Inspite of this not-so-good outing, the contenders still fear Ferrari and our MS. But somehow, I get a feeling that we are going to witness a repeat of last year atleast with respect to Ferrari's fortunes.

Raikkonen in Red?

2006-03-15T03:24:00.000-08:00

More speculation here, thanks to a McLaren insider.

Michael pushed to second

2006-03-14T02:32:00.000-08:00

World Champion Alonso started off the season in the perfect possible way by winning the opening grand prix at Bahrain. It would have been more sweeter for him because Ferrari looked a much better machine this time compared to the last season and infact Ferrari started from the front row. So, Alonso did the catching up and eventually overtook Michael as well to finish on top. MS wasn't far behind finishing a very close second with Raikkonen, who started last from the grid, made amends and filled up the podium.

Good start to 2006

2006-03-11T20:19:00.000-08:00

Due to other commitments and work, I was not able to see the qualifying session yesterday and I didn't find the time to browse too and hence read the news only this morning when I opened my morning newspaper. Needless to say, I was delighted that our MS, who had a disappointing 2005, equalled the late Ayrton Senna's record of 65 pole positions yesterday by setting the fastest time in qualifying ahead of his teammate Felipe Massa.

I am always confident about MS' ability. What impressed me most was Massa taking the front row - this means that the machine is nice this time and won't let Michael down. I hope for a 2004 repeat.

2005-12-20T23:56:00.000-08:00

With the celebrations following Renault's world title win barely subsided, Alonso has stunned the formula one fraternity by announcing he will leave the Renault team after 2006.

The announcement came less than a week after mobile phone company Vodafone said it would sponsor McLaren from 2007, ending its contract with Ferrari after next season.

It was widely believed that, as a manager, Briatore played a role in his driver's negotiations, but the Italian claims Alonso came to an agreement with Ron Dennis' team on his own.

Does this make way for us to see Kimi in the Scuderian Red? But Haug's comments would have thrown a shock to Montoya.

2005-12-12T23:27:00.000-08:00

Michael Schumacher says he has decided to cut short his winter break and resume testing this week because he doesn't deserve a holiday after such a disappointing season in which he finished a distant third. Can MS fans hope for a better season ahead?

2005-10-16T07:24:00.000-07:00

World champion Fernando Alonso won the season-ending Chinese Grand Prix to end his season in style and handed his team, Renault, their first ever constructors' title. Alonso started from pole position and held off Mclaren's Kimi Raikkonen for his seventh victory of the year. Toyota's Ralf Schumacher was third on the podium.

Our MS' season ended in embarrassment when he collided on the installation lap before skidding out. He began the race from the pit lane in a spare car after crashing with Minardi's Christijan Albers on his way to the starting grid.

Ferrari was third after McLaren in the Constructors' championship and our MS, with a paltry 62 points, managed to finish third in the Drivers' championship table behind Alonso (133) and Raikkonen (112).

2005-10-09T06:50:00.000-07:00

Raikkonen showed his class and won the Japanese GP by producing a last-lap masterstroke to overtake Fisichella in the last lap and leaving the Renaults to end up with one after the other - the new World Champion Alonso was third in the other Renault. Though the 2-3 finish was good enough for them to secure the lead in the Constructors' Championship, Flavio Briatore complained about the stewards. Just makes one think that Renault can never be happy, like a cry-baby just waiting to complain about "something".

McLaren wasn't helped by Montoya who ran out of room, taking to the gravel trap on trying to pass Villeneuve. But, Kimi was obviously delighted at the exciting win after starting 17th from the grid and also being behind Fisichella until the last lap.

Michael Schumacher (remember him?) finished 7th and took 2 points for himself and his team.

2005-10-08T18:59:00.000-07:00

More than the qualifying for today's race, the meeting amongst the F1 bosses and drivers was the centre of attraction yesterday at Suzuka, as the discussions were about the new qualifying format for 2006.

Under extremely wet conditions Ralf Schumacher captured the pole for Sunday afternoon's Japanese Grand Prix. The pole position was his first of the season and sixth of his F1 career. BAR Honda's Jenson Button would be starting on the front row with Ralf. The weather turned extremely wet and nasty as the final five drivers just attempted to complete their laps including newly crowned champion Fernando Alonso who was just 16th quickest.

2005-09-25T20:38:00.000-07:00

McLaren-Mercedes may have dominated the Brazilian grand prix yesterday but Fernando Alonso was not particularly bothered. Third place was good enough to earn the six points he needed to become the youngest world champion in the history of F1. Kimi Raikkonen, his closest challenger, did not even have the consolation of winning the race as he came home 2.5sec behind his team-mate Juan Pablo Montoya to finish second.

Alonso has achieved this championship in only his 68th grand prix, by seizing the world title from our MS for the first time since 1999. "It is difficult to put into words how this feels," said Alonso after finishing on the podium for the 13th time in 16 races this season.

As far as Ferrari was concerned, it was a much better show with MS & RB finishing 4th and 6th respectively. Though Alonso has confirmed the Drivers' Championship, McLaren are now on top of the Constructors' Championship with two more races to go. Renault is just 2 points behind them. But with the improved showing by both the McLaren drivers, the Constructors' title seems to be theirs as Montoya too believes.

2005-09-25T00:22:00.000-07:00

Alonso will start today's Brazilian Grand Prix from pole position after his championship challenger Kimi Raikkonen buckled under the pressure in qualifying yesterday. The Finn, who has won three of the last four Grands Prix, will now have to fight his way up from fifth on the grid after what could be a crucial mistake handed advantage to his Renault rival. Alonso needs just six more points - third place today would settle the title in favour of him.

The Scuderians left the large amount of fans disappointed by taking positions 7 (MS) and 10 (RB).

2005-09-11T08:22:00.000-07:00

Though Juan Pablo Montoya started from the pole, the other McLaren Kimi Raikkonen won the Belgian Grand Prix for the second year in a row to keep Renault's Fernando Alonso waiting for the Formula One title. Alonso needed to out-score Raikkonen by four points to become Formula One's youngest world champion, but he has to wait now as Kimi drove like a champion and secured his sixth win of the season. Alonso, who finished second after Montoya crashed three laps from the end, thanked Montoya - "Once again I had help from McLaren and was able to take two more points."

Thanks to Rubens, Ferrari managed to get 4 points from the race after Michael had a collision with Takuma Sato and was forced out.

2005-09-06T20:43:00.000-07:00

Just a very short note that Montoya won at Monza and Kimi's chances of claiming the world championship looks very bleak now with Alonso enjoying a 27 point lead over him with just four races remaining in the season.

2005-08-29T21:33:00.000-07:00

To the shock of some home fans, Michael Schumacher has issued a warning asking not to expect much from the team at next weekend's Italian Grand Prix. The seven times world champion has delighted his fans by winning at Monza four times in the past, but he is not even expecting to grace the podium this year. It may not be a total shame considering the Scuderian performance this season.

2005-08-29T21:10:00.000-07:00

Stopping all rumours and speculation, our MS has said he could not imagine driving for any other team than Ferrari and he would even welcome Raikkonen as a team mate. But, Ferrari and McLaren have denied a German press report that Finland's Raikkonen would drive for Ferrari in 2007.

Schumacher will be joined at Ferrari by Brazilian Felipe Massa next season after Rubens Barrichello departs to BAR.

2005-08-24T06:17:00.000-07:00

Following reports in the German paper Bild, Mercedes have had to deny trying to recruit Michael Schumacher for the carmaker's partner McLaren. Mercedes denied its talks with Schumacher were about his personal racing. Schumacher said of the rumours: "I do not want to discuss rumours about me leaving Ferrari. Everyone knows how strong the bond between Ferrari and myself is."

2005-08-23T01:01:00.000-07:00

Michael Schumacher refused to quash speculation that he had met with McLaren sporting chief Norbert Haug to discuss a possible move from Ferrari. A report in daily Bild, the country's most popular newspaper, claimed the 36-year-old Schumacher had twice held secret talks with Mercedes chief Haug and was angling for a move from Ferrari.

2005-08-22T04:17:00.000-07:00

Kimi Raikkonen of McLaren-Mercedes won the inaugural Turkish Grand Prix from the pole on Sunday, increasing the pressure on season-points leader Fernando Alonso. The Finn's fifth victory of the season - and seventh career win - left him 24 points behind Alonso in the season standings with five races left. Alonso was second in a Renault, with Raikkonen's teammate Juan Pablo Montoya finishing third. McLaren should have had a 1-2 sweep, but on the second-last of 58 laps, Montoya wasted it by driving wide on a turn and let Alonso slip by. Renault has a narrow edge over McLaren in the constructors' championship: 130-121, but in the drivers' championship, it increasingly looks like Alonso with him consistently finishing second. Michael Schumacher endured a horrible weekend. He skidded off in qualifying, started from 19th on the 20-car grid, and went off the track after 16 laps following a minor collision with Mark Webber of Williams-BMW, who later hit out at the seven-time world champion for the collision.

2005-08-08T22:05:00.000-07:00

Former world champion Mika Hakkinen has revealed that Schumacher was a great adversary, and that he regards the German not only as 'the greatest', but also doubts that anyone will ever come close to matching his achievements. "I doubt if anyone will be able to repeat what he has done," the Finn told Gazzetta dello Sport. "Neither Alonso nor Raikkonen come close, Michael is the greatest." Asked who he thought might assume the mantle of the sport's dominating force, following Schumacher's eventual retirement, Hakkinen said: "I don't think anyone will be able to. Before adding: "Kimi (Raikkonen) will sooner or later become World Champion.

2005-08-03T03:12:00.000-07:00

Rubens Barrichello will leave Ferrari at the end of the current Formula One season, the Italian team said on Tuesday. The Brazilian’s place as number two driver to Michael Schumacher will be taken by his compatriot Felipe Massa, who moves from Sauber.

The media speculation on Rubens' decision is about his conflict with Michael and also there are stories saying that he might be racing for BAR next season.

2005-08-01T19:19:00.000-07:00

Too busy and hence just this update - On saturday, Michael drove like we all know him and started from the pole position, but had to settle for the second place as Kimi whizzed past him just after his second pit-stop.

2005-07-26T07:05:00.000-07:00

For the first time this year, I happened to watch the race live, thanks to the amount which I finally decided to spend on the STB. As it has been usual this year, Michael continued to disappoint me with a lacklustre show by finishing fifth, after starting fifth on the grid. I was so delighted to see him race past Button & Fisichella and get into the third position immediately at the start, just behind Kimi and Alonso.

Kimi was looking the best driver in the best car during the first half of the race until his car had hydraulic problems and he had to pull out. Alonso used the oppurtunity and grabbed the first position as anyone would expect. But the most unexpected to me was our MS not taking the second position and letting Montoya and Button take the second and third positions respectively.

It was very obvious that the Ferrari wasn't pulling well enough and so the team has to do something soon to get Michael back to winning ways. And this doesn't mean that he cant win with less support from the car, but the machine also has a role to play.

2005-07-19T22:06:00.000-07:00

With Alonso & Raikkonen showing amazing improvements, Ferrari and our MS have decided to stop bothering about the title this year. Instead they would be concentrating to bag a few wins in the remaining races and lose with a bit of respect to the leaders.

2005-07-11T20:38:00.000-07:00

Whether Michael has given up or not, I have given up hopes of our MS winning the championship this year as McLaren hit one more nail on Ferrari/MS with a 1-3 finish at Silverstone. Surprisingly, it was Montoya who won and Raikkonen (51 pts) finished third behind Alonso (77 pts). The Scuderians finished a disappointing 6 and 7 with Rubens (31 pts) following Michael (43 pts). I, honestly, don't want to write much this time too with Michael & Ferrari not showing any signs of improvement this season.

2005-07-05T00:21:00.000-07:00

Even our MS seems to have given up the hope of winning the championship this season, as Fernando Alonso was in top form at Magny-Cours, storming away from the pack to claim his first French GP win at Renault's home race. Kimi & Michael followed him to the podium.

2005-06-20T00:24:00.000-07:00

Michael Schumacher claimed his first win of the season at the US Grand Prix on Sunday when seven of the 10 teams pulled out in a boycott due to concern over tyre safety. Only six cars started the race as rest of the teams refused to compete after the warm-up lap. They had pleaded in vain for an extra chicane to slow down the cars because of concern over the durability of Michelin's tyres.

Michael Schumacher, Rubens Barrichello, Tiago Monteiro, Narain Karthikeyan, Christijan Albers, Patrick Friesacher - when you see this grid line up, it isn't any rocket science to predict the winner and runner-up. Yes, our MS sailed to the easy victory in one hour 29 minutes 43.181 seconds, 1.5 seconds ahead of team mate Barrichello. They were never troubled by the much slower Jordan and Minardi drivers who finished one lap and two laps behind respectively. All the six were on Bridgestone tyres. India's Narain Karthikeyan failed the grab the chance of a podium finish and ended up fourth behind his team mate. After this dismal race, Michael is now third in the drivers' standings on 34 points behind leader Fernando Alonso of Renault on 59 and McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen on 37.

Boos rang out from the stands at the Brickyard track, which were packed with an estimated 120,000 spectators. Many fans had left before the end and some threw cans and bottles on to the track in disgust. A Formula One race had never previously started with so few cars on the grid. The previous lowest number was 10 for the Argentina Grand Prix in January 1958.

A few answers from our MS on non-racing topics.

With Ralf, you can be sure that he would crash if the country is US.

2005-06-13T00:39:00.000-07:00

Raikkonen drove to his third victory of the season at Montreal yesterday with the Scuderians following him to the podium. It was a very eventful race with the championship leaders Alonso & Renault being forced out of the race mid-way. Though, Raikkonen started from seventh and won the race, the race belonged to Rubens Barrichello who started from the pits and ended up third on the podium with his teammate Michael Schumacher finishing second after having started from the front row, a touch behind BAR's Button. Our MS is still seeking his first victory of the season, but was pleased with his runner-up effort. With both the Renault cars not finishing, McLaren and Ferrari, to an extent would be happy as they have reduced the gap with the leader. Ferrari would be the happiest team to get out of Canada as they managed 14 points inspite of McLaren's all 10 from Raikkonen. If Ferrari, MS & RB can keep up this momentum and if Alonso/Renault can keep missing out a few races, its not yet curtains for Ferrari and Michael.

2005-06-05T20:43:00.000-07:00

Even if our MS is not thinking of retiring, the world champion's 'wonder guru' has had enough. Balbir Singh, the Indian-born physiotherapist who has been at the German's side for the past 10 years and throughout his Ferrari career, wants to spend more time with his family and will step down at the end of the season. "Balbir is one of the few men that I could and can trust 150 percent," the seven times champion told Germany's Bild newspaper.

2005-05-31T22:20:00.000-07:00

Michael Schumacher says he has no intention of quitting despite suffering through his longest winless streak since joining Ferrari. He has not won since the 2004 Japanese Grand Prix - a span of eight races. Even though he is the oldest driver in the series, Schumacher feels he still has what it takes to compete against the next generation of F1 drivers. He has also shown surprising confidence by saying that he is not even close to giving up the title.

2005-05-30T20:28:00.000-07:00

Fernando Alonso watched leader Kimi Raikkonen crash on the final lap and went on to capture the European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring in Germany. The Renault driver crossed the finish line 16.567 seconds ahead of runner-up Nick Heidfeld. This was his fourth of the season and fifth of his F1 career.

Immediately after the start, Webber, Ralf and Montoya collided at the entrance to the Mercedes Arena. The worst affected of this were the Ferraris as they were caught behind the confusion. But they did well to race up with Rubens finishing third on the podium and our MS in the fifth position. About Raikkonen's illuck, the tire on his McLaren was vibrating wildly as he crossed the start/finish line to start the last lap. As he was braking to enter the first turn, the right-front suspension exploded sending the McLaren into the gravel pit and handing the lead to Alonso. Alonso (59) now owns a 32-point lead over both Raikkonen (27) and Trulli (27) after seven races this year. The sorry Scuderians, MS and Rubens have 16 and 15 points respectively to their names.

The next race, the Canadian Grand Prix, is scheduled for Sunday, June 12th, where Jean Todt expects Michael to get back to his winning ways.

2005-05-24T23:31:00.000-07:00

Toyota driver Ralf Schumacher has criticised older brother Michael for a 'crazy' move that saw the pair come together during the Monaco Grand Prix at the weekend. Ralf eventually finished sixth overall, just a tenth of a second ahead of Michael in his Ferrari, and the younger sibling did not hold back when asked his assessment of the incident. "He's crazy. He should have switched on his brain before trying a move like that. Another millimetre and one of us could have been dead," Ralf said. The seven-time champion did not share Ralf's view though, claiming he had simply been attacking like he would do again if presented with a similar opportunity - "I am a full-blooded racer. We're not on a Sunday outing." The Schumacher household would be an 'interesting' place right now.

Michael's team-mate Rubens is also said to have complained about him to Jean Todt.

2005-05-23T00:06:00.000-07:00

Raikkonen reigned supreme by leading the Monaco Grand Prix from start to finish on Sunday to win Formula One's most glamorous race. Wearing a diamond-encrusted helmet, the Finnish 'Iceman' celebrated his second win in a row while Renault's title frontrunner Fernando Alonso was chased home in fourth place with his rear tyres almost gone. Williams would have been a happier team with their men Heidfeld and Webber finishing second and third respectively.

Michael Schumacher finished seventh followed by Rubens Barrichello at eighth - some solace for the battered Ferrari. The Indian driver, Narain Karthikeyan had a mechanical failure and retired out of the race.

"It's a special place to win," Kimi said after the win as he thanked the Williams' drivers for pushing Alonso behind.

2005-05-19T02:01:00.000-07:00

Alonso's current boss and Michael's ex-boss believes that our MS is well past his prime and should quit the sport now. Briatore says even last year MS wasn't enjoying himself, but just kept on winning.

2005-05-17T21:35:00.000-07:00

Ferrari are reportedly willing to carry seven-time champion Michael Schumacher beyond 2006 and could offer a one-year extension to his current contract which expires in 2006. Could this be because the board at Prancing Horse is undecided between Alonso and Raikkonen to replace the great MS ? But, McLaren boss Ron Dennis is however confident that he will retain the services of Raikkonen and has even offered a lifetime contract to him.

2005-05-15T21:18:00.000-07:00

After Eddie Irvine and Alain Prost, it is Niki Lauda who has commented on Michael Schumacher's championship hopes. Like Irvine, the three-time World Champion also thinks that Michael will not win the title and also has explained why. "Renault and Alonso are just too perfect this season, the championship is already over for Michael Schumacher. I think Ferrari have the fastest car, faster than Renault and McLaren Mercedes," declared Lauda. "But the team need good tyres and they do not have them."

2005-05-12T23:23:00.000-07:00

When many, including his own brother, are writing off Michael, former World Champion, Alain Prost wants to see our MS fight and win the eighth title this year and quit the sport on high this year itself.

2005-05-12T03:05:00.000-07:00

McLaren and Renault may be refusing to write off Michael, but his brother Ralf says that the 34-point deficit his brother has to Alonso is too great for even for Michael to pull back. "You have to be realistic, Michael is 34 points adrift of Alonso. That is a lot of ground to make up, particularly as Renault will win some of the remaining races. Ferrari may as well write off the title for this season," said Ralf. "As much as I would delight in an eighth family title - it will no longer be," he added.

2005-05-10T20:22:00.000-07:00

After Barcelona, it would be easy to think that Michael Schumacher's run of world championship titles may be over. The gap between Alonso and Schumacher is now a weighty 34 points in the Spaniard's favour. But the German is by no means conceding defeat just yet. "Those who consider us to be out of the running do not know us," he stated.

2005-05-09T21:20:00.000-07:00

Former Ferrari driver Eddie Irvine insists Michael Schumacher's reign as the king of Formula One is set to end. "The guy's awesome. When the pressure's on, he doesn't seem to make mistakes like Michael does. He's the new king," Irvine told BBC Five Live about Fernando Alonso. Intelligent Irvine has also felt that Raikkonen is up there with Alonso and has termed our MS as the most boring champion ever.

2005-05-08T21:44:00.000-07:00

The good times don't seem to return for Ferrari and MS as they met with another disappointing weekend at Spain and he had to retire after 46 laps with flat tyres, after starting eighth from the grid. Our MS was in the third place when his tyres let him down. This is his third retirement in five races this season from which he has managed a paltry 10 points. The leader Alonso, who finished second yesterday has 44 points. Though Michael's chances look to be fading fast this year, he is confident of extending his fight.

After starting from the pole, Kimi Raikkonen spoilt Alonso's homerace by finishing ahead of him to the chequered flag with Toyota's Trulli coming in third to complete the podium. Raikkonen, in his McLaren, blitzed the field with a demonstration of near-perfect pace and flawless driving as he took the lead from the fifth pole position of his career and pulled away virtually unchallenged to claim his first win this year and third of his career. His last win was at Spa last year.

2005-05-06T00:02:00.000-07:00

Reacting to the ban imposed on BAR-Honda, Alonso showed his wisdom by claiming that Ferrari also cheat along with BAR.

Our MS in his sarcastic best has commented that the Spanish GP would lack competition without BAR and Button.

2005-05-05T23:24:00.000-07:00

Jenson Button's BAR-Honda team has been banned from competing in the next two grands prix after being found guilty of "highly regrettable negligence" at San Marino. The verdict, way short of the season-long ban called for by motor racing's governing body FIA, was handed down by FIA's International Court of Appeal in Paris. The court ruled the car Button drove to finish third at Imola was underweight. In addition to this, BAR-Honda has retrospectively been thrown out of the San Marino race and stripped of the points it picked up there, its first points of the season. Button's teammate Takuma Sato finished fifth and also loses his points. The team has also been handed a six-month ban, suspended for one year. And I agree with Tifoc's views.

While BAR-Honda vigorously denies it used an illegal hidden second fuel tank and boss Nick Fry is "appalled" by his team's two-race ban and plans to fight the verdict of the FIA's International Court of Appeal.

But, FIA president Max Mosley said he felt the sentence meted out by the four-judge panel at FIA's Paris headquarters had been lenient.

2005-05-04T23:37:00.000-07:00

In 2002, Fiat came out with a limited edition Palio in India based on Sachin Tendulkar, naming it Fiat Palio S10 and made their monies with the Tendulkar buzz. Now, for the UK market, they have come out with a limited edition Stilo. The Michael Schumacher Fiat Stilo special series has made its first appearance at the Paris Motor Show last year. A 3-door model, this new car comes with special 17" alloy wheels and a Zender kit, ie front and rear bumpers, skirts and rear spoiler all in the same colour as the body. Naturally the car comes in red - a special 'Racing Red' body colour also contributes to the car's sporty look, emphasised by the 'Michael Schumacher' logo on the rear-section skirts and hatch, with a plaque on the facia indicating the car number and is also fitted with a very large sky window as standard.

2005-05-02T21:56:00.000-07:00

Another Narain Karthikeyan from India or is he the Indian version of Michael ? Let's wait and see !

2005-05-02T21:30:00.000-07:00

Alonso and Michael seems to play hide and seek with the media and fans as they claim each other as the favourite at Barcelona.

2005-04-27T21:14:00.000-07:00

Shell's latest low density fuel is one of the major factors in Ferrari's improved show at Imola. As MS fans, we can only hope that he gets even faster and ends Alonso's winning spree.

2005-04-24T20:40:00.000-07:00

Fernando Alonso produced one of the finest defensive drives in the history of the formula one world championship to win the San Marino grand prix yesterday. But even as he stood on the podium at Imola's Autodromo Enzoe Dino Ferrari, accepting the cup for his third victory in a row and the fourth win in four races for his Renault team, he knew that the man who finished in his slipstream casts a shadow that threatens to engulf the rest of the season. Yes, that man was the greatest ever Michael Schumacher who bounced back from his error in qualifying to cross the line just a fraction of a second behind the Championship leader. Two-tenths of a second was all that separated Alonso from Schumacher at Imola as he took the chequered flag for the third successive grand prix. Alonso took the points, Schumacher the plaudits, after carving through the field from 13th place. "It was the hardest fight I have had," Alonso said, after the sublime drive from our MS.

The story of the race was not Kimi Raikkonen who led the race with ease early on before mechanical problems robbed the unfortunate Finn of a possible victory, but Michael Schumacher. Starting in 13th position it looked to be a dismal race for the master. Unperturbed, MS shadowed his brother Ralf Schumacher in 11th position until the first round of pits stops. This was the critical moment in the race for MS as he stayed out on track, put in a string of blistering lap times and once he exited the pits following his first stop, he ran third behind race leader Alonso and Jenson Button in the BAR Honda. Our MS mercilessly closed the 20 second gap to Button, making a decisive and clean move to pass the BAR Honda racer as he got distracted by the battling Williams driver ahead of him that he was trying to lap. The below lap chart shows how terrific our MS was in the race yesterday.

Button finished third and Alex Wurz, who was in a McLaren Mercedes in place of Montoya, finished fourth. Ferrari fans had some special message to Montoya who is injured.

In the meanwhile, Ralf Schumacher has been demoted from the eighth place he collected, while the Indian Narain finished 14th.

Is it time for all MS bashers to rethink and stay quiet ?

2005-04-11T20:55:00.000-07:00

Michael Schumacher has joined four other sportspeople in being voted onto Time Magazine’s list of the world’s 100 most influential people. The list is so diversified that the likes of Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela appear alongside terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. It also comprises people from 31 different countries, including rappers, designers, world leaders, a tsunami survivor and of course the five sportspeople. Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason said of the Ferrari driver "watching Schumacher compete is a chance to see the most complete driver the world has known give a master class in motor racing.”

2005-04-07T22:00:00.000-07:00

Although he is leading the Formula One Championship at the moment and won two out of the first three races Fernando Alonso still thinks Michael Schumacher is favourite for the 2005 F1 World Championship.

In the meanwhile, everyone has a view about the happenings this year, but all the talk is just about the leader Alonso and the master Michael.

2005-04-06T00:31:00.000-07:00

Despite being forced out with a mechanical problem at Bahrain and as team-mate Rubens Barrichello finished ninth, Schumacher still has an eighth crown in his sights. He has reiterated his conviction that Ferrari can bounce back from its disastrous start to this season.

2005-04-04T03:06:00.000-07:00

Yet another 'RenaultSport' as Fernando Alonso drove masterfully from pole position to victory for the second consecutive race, winning the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday. It was the third victory of his career, and now he has 26 points and leads Trulli by 10, who finished second in his Toyota, also for the second time in a row.

Alonso said, "To score 26 points out of 30 possible is brilliant, but we need to stay cautious: we have only done three races out of nineteen in a very long season". "I think that if we stay competitive like we are," he added, "and if we can avoid mechanical problems, then we will be hard to beat."

Though our MS started from the front row, he and his teammate failed yet again, this time in the new car - but the reliability just wasn't there. For the first time in 58 races, since the German Grand Prix in the summer of 2001, Schumacher dropped out of a race because of a technical problem on his car. As he attacked Alonso for the lead on Lap 12, he suddenly found he had a hydraulic problem and was forced to quit the race. Michael managed to put up a brave face after 3 successive failures. But, aren't we losing hope ?

2005-03-31T05:02:00.000-08:00

With the Ferrari team not in good shape this season so far, there has been another incident in which a Ferrari has been severely damaged in addition to damage to property too.

2005-03-30T21:44:00.000-08:00

Montoya will miss this weekend's Bahrain GP after injuring his shoulder. The Colombian suffered a hairline crack in his shoulder in a tennis accident and has been advised to rest. His place at Sakhir will be taken by test driver Pedro De La Rosa while Alex Wurz will step in as third driver tomorrow. But, who will complain about our MS ?

In the meanwhile, news from the Ferrari camp is that MS is confident of fighting back with the new F2005. Its worth a recall for MS fans that he won the inaugural GP at Bahrain last year.

2005-03-28T23:51:00.000-08:00

Ralf Schumacher gets over the moon with 12 points from 2 races..alas, its the team and not him. He is very confident that Toyota would terribly do well this year. Malaysia was the first ever time a Toyota driver was on the podium and it wasn't Ralf.

2005-03-28T22:24:00.000-08:00

2 lacklustre races by Ferrari & Michael - the mouths are already out saying Renault could outdo Ferrari and Fisichella would pip Michael for the crown. Common Bernie, F2005 isn't out yet ! Wake up Scuderia !

2005-03-28T22:17:00.000-08:00

Our MS is clearly unhappy with the frequent change of rules in qualifying and he whines about it after being no where near competing in the first 2 races of the season. Would he have complained if he had won at Australia and Malaysia ?

2005-03-23T05:25:00.000-08:00

Bad news for Renault & Co. ? Impressive test debut for F2005 - Barrichello is delighted.

2005-03-23T05:07:00.000-08:00

Our MS, as usual, sounds confident to about getting back to winning ways sooner after 2 dismal races in Melbourne & Malaysia.

2005-03-21T21:20:00.000-08:00

The 'Complainer' turns towards Ferrari this time. Does he know that his team has managed just 2 points more than Ferrari's old car ?

2005-03-20T19:21:00.000-08:00

This is, certainly not the image that I and a few million people wanted to see today. But, this year its been RenaultSport as Fernando Alonso gave Renault its second consecutive Formula One victory when he won the Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang. Alonso has been the only man to be on the podium for both the races. He finished 24.3 seconds ahead of Toyota's first ever podium finisher Jarno Trulli with Williams' Heidfeld completing the podium numbers. All this, after our MS had predicted Renualt to win at Sepang - but why is he predicting such things instead of gearing up to win and defend his title. After the 2 losses, already our MS has started to fear his chances of winning again this year. If the 2 races are anything to go by, it looks highly unlikely for Michael and his Scuderia to defend their titles. For all Ferrari fans, the celebrations they are used to for quite a few years haven't taken off this year with 2 lacklustre races. Ferrari is currently placed 4th along with Williams with 10 points and Renault is the clear leader with 26. A greater pain to SchumiSport fans is that our MS is overall 11th in the 12 drivers who have got some points.

Fisichella was very unlucky to miss out yesterday after having a collision with Webber and was denied was any points. Fisichella, who won the race in Australia, insisted he was not to blame despite clearly locking his brakes and sliding into his rival. Webber gesticulated angrily to the Italian after climbing out of his stricken Williams and although he remained calm he apportioned the blame squarely on Fisichella's shoulders.

In the mean while, India's Narain Karthikeyan improved his showing and finished 11th.

2005-03-14T21:38:00.000-08:00

We all know that India is very much in the F1 map through Narain Karthikeyan. There's now an Indian connection to Ferrari and Schumacher too, after TCS started providing IT and engineering services to Ferrari.

2005-03-14T21:17:00.000-08:00

Malaysia feels that our MS is the hot favourite to win their home GP. Not surprisingly, he has won 3 out of the 6 races there after starting 5 of them from the pole. Some more fact & figures about the Malayisan GP. But, does it all matter to our MS ?

2005-03-14T21:14:00.000-08:00

Iran's best female racing driver, Laleh Seddigh is fast emerging as one of Iran’s foremost race car drivers, leaving the best of the men racers behind in her saloon car. She has been nicknamed "a little Schumacher", obviously not Ralf !

2005-03-13T19:45:00.000-08:00

Eddie Jordan (foolishly?) reveals that he chose our MS to drive based on money and not on talent and there is talk that his F1 career might not have taken off at all. But, if Mr. Eddie had opted for someone else, Jordan wouldn't have the fame that the 'greatest' drove for them first. MS is such a talent that he would anyway have been into the circuits racing for someone before Scuderia picked him !

2005-03-11T03:19:00.000-08:00

Inspite of our MS missing out in Melbourne, Jeff Pappone feels that 2005 would be another Ferrari-Michael Schumacher championship year. He cites the changes in rules as the main reason for this and says that the pit-stop strategies and refuelling give us boring races.

2005-03-09T20:30:00.000-08:00

Though our MS failed to score any points with the car at Melbourne, he didn't miss with the ball as he scored the first goal for his team in a 2-1 win in a local vollage match at Dungun.

2005-03-07T22:51:00.000-08:00

Inspite of officials confirming that no action will be taken against Schumacher or Heidfeld for the collision, the media have started their stories and this time their fingers are point at our MS. In the meanwhile, Schumacher is staying cool and has gone for a holiday with his family before the next race at Sepang and is also confident that the Australian weekend mess was an one-off thing and he would be back at the top soon.