Michael Schumacher looking to capture eighth title in 2011
A lot has been said for and against the performances of Mercedes GP and its drivers, especially Michael Schumacher. However, the seven-time Formula One champion is committed to his goal of claiming a record eighth title in his illustrious career.
Schumacher surprised one and all with his return to Formula One last season for Mercedes. There was a speculation that the legendary German would return to the sport in 2009 following a head injury to Felipe Massa. Schumacher was all set to represent
Ferrari but after conducting some initial tests, the veteran driver declared that he was unfit to race.
This almost made certain that Schumacher would never return to competitive racing. However, the legendary driver proved everyone wrong by returning to the sport after a gap of three years. His return with Mercedes was below par and he couldn’t manage
to win a single race in 2010. His best result was a fourth place finish in the Korean GP, but he didn’t manage to get on the podium even once.
On the other hand, his team-mate Nico Rosberg proved to be much more competitive and scored 142 points; 70 more than Schumacher. This brought the German veteran under a lot of criticism and many claimed that he would once again retire from the sport
at the end of 2010.
All this criticism didn’t bother Schumacher and he is yet again racing for Mercedes. This time he has vowed to be stronger compared to last year. His performances in the pre-season testing have given a glimpse into what fans can expect in 2011. Valencia
didn’t prove to be one of the better circuits for Mercedes and Schumacher. The team claimed to have achieved what they were aiming for, but the lack of pace was a big concern for Mercedes fans.
The performance at Valencia led Schumacher to face further criticism, this time from Mcalren-Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, who claimed that Schumacher would not be one of the title contenders in the upcoming season. He further said that Schumacher
would have a similar outcome as 2010.
Just one day after the comments from Hamilton, Schumacher responded to the Briton. However, the response was not verbal. It came via strong lap times at day-two of testing at Jerez. While Rosberg kept on struggling with the lack of pace, Schumacher
set the fastest time on day-two of testing and ended up as the third quickest overall in the four-day session at Jerez.
His time was better than both the Mclaren drivers, and Hamilton may end up regretting his comments about Schumacher at the end of the 2011 season. The seven-time champion has made it clear on many occasions that he has returned to the sport to win
and that he will be eying the title this year. He was rusty in 2010 and didn’t have the car that supported his driving style.
However, a lot has changed this year and Schumacher’s confidence is sky high. He will be looking forward to take full advantage of the Pirelli tyres. Schumacher struggled on the Bridgestone tyres in 2010 but Pirelli will work in his favour especially
with the strong front tyre, something the German prefers.
Barcelona and Bahrain will host two more testing sessions before the inaugural race of the 2011 season. If Schumacher is able to deliver consistently in the upcoming tests, he will head into the first race with a lot of confidence.
Schumacher is focused on proving that he is still one of the best drivers in Formula One. His record speaks for itself and with the talent that Schumacher possesses, an eighth title might not elude him for too long.
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