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Schumacher back in F1 after three-year retirement
The Associated Press
December 29, 2009
BERLIN — Seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher is coming out of retirement to drive for Mercedes in 2010, saying Wednesday that he expects to contend for the title again.
The German, who turns 41 on Jan. 3, announced his comeback after three years away from the sport that he dominated for the first half of the decade — putting an end to weeks of speculation.
"Three years of absence gave back all the energy that I'm feeling right now," Schumacher said in a telephone conference. "I feel ready for some serious stuff."
"I still feel absolutely on the edge. It's thrilling and exciting," he said. "I believe I can be absolutely competitive."
Schumacher, who will partner Nico Rosberg in an all-German team for the 2010 season, said he and Mercedes are in discussions about a deal through the 2012 season.
"We are talking about a three-year deal. It's not a one-off thing," Schumacher said. "We are looking for some continuation."
Financial terms were not disclosed, but Germany's Bild daily — which first broke news of the deal — reported that Schumacher would earn $10 million under an initial one-year contract.
Schumacher competed in 249 F1 races from 1991-2006 with Jordan, Benetton and Ferrari.
He won the F1 driver's championship in 1994 and 1995 and five straight years from 2000-2004. He set records with 91 race wins and several other milestones in the sport which still stand.
"Our aim can only be to fight for the championship," Schumacher said.
"What do you expect? I have won it (the title) seven times; I'm now with the team that won both titles last year, we have on top Mercedes as a partner and team owner," he told the British Broadcasting Corp. "So you cannot expect anything else than to go for the world championship, and that's what we're aiming for."
Schumacher had planned a short-term comeback with Ferrari last season to fill in for the injured Felipe Massa, but he had to call that off due to a neck injury from a motorcycle accident.
"I made sure myself, and 100% with the neck there are no more issues," he said. "There has been enough time now for it to heal completely."
Schumacher had been working as a consultant with Ferrari since his retirement, attending some F1 races. He said he had not envisioned a permanent comeback until approached by Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn— the man who oversaw the German's seven world titles: five with Ferrari and two with Benetton.
Brawn said he was convinced that Schumacher would be competitive.
"He's the best judge of what he can do and I trust him implicitly, and he told me he can do it so I'm very confident," Brawn said. "He's always been his own best critic."
Mercedes took over the Brawn GP team that won the drivers' and constructors' championships in its first season in 2009. Jenson Button, who won the drivers' title with Brawn, has since left for McLaren while Rubens Barrichello has gone to Williams.
Schumacher's return gives him a chance to pay back Mercedes, which steered his pre-F1 career.
"The one reason I seriously thought about my return is because an old friend asked me," Schumacher said. "Mercedes gave me a chance to enter Formula One and throughout the years we were never able to work together, but now I have that chance. I am happy to give back for what Mercedes gave me in the early days."
"I was not thinking I would have an offer," Schumacher said. "I could not have imagined I would have returned. Due to this special combination, that no one could have planned in advance, I just thought, 'Why not?"
Schumacher acknowledged that parting company with Ferrari was "certainly not an easy step."
He said he still feels "strong solidarity and loyalty to these guys who have accompanied me and have always built great cars for me."
Rosberg said it would be "fantastic" to have Schumacher as his new teammate.
"It's a great challenge for me to be up against one of the best drivers of all time," he said. "I'm sure that we will form a very strong partnership as he will have lost none of his speed."
Schumacher's brother, former Formula One driver Ralf Schumacher, said he understood his older sibling's decision to sign with Mercedes.
"I wouldn't have hesitated either," he said. "I know this fulfils the dream of many German Formula One fans. There couldn't be a better Christmas present for all those fans."
Former champion Niki Lauda, who himself quit the sport after winning his first two world titles but returned to win a third in 1984, predicted that Schumacher will be among the front-runners "from day one."
"The Vettels, Hamiltons and Alonsos will be thinking, 'We'll show this old guy how it's done,"' Lauda said on German radio. "But I fear that they will have to watch out."
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Turning the final lap
By Ricky Craven
December 29, 2009
With the ending of the 2009 NASCAR season, so, too, has my partnership with Yahoo! Sports.
I think back to the first column I wrote for Yahoo! leading into the 2007 season. It was quite a transition for me, from being sometimes written about while a competitor on the circuit to offering my view of the sport, its drivers (many of whom I’ve competed against) and, I hoped, bringing to light a few intangibles – things you may not have known before clicking on the site that day.
I appreciate very much the opportunities and experiences I have had and being part of a team again. That team (like those I raced with) has qualified personnel who are exceptional at what they do, specific to their area. I wish to single out Jon Baum and Jay Hart – two who coached me and two I consider friends (even if Jon is as loyal to the Yankees as I am to the Red Sox).
To put things in perspective, it is 7:38 a.m. as I write this. I’m sitting next to my 4-year-old, Lydia, who is tapping away on her “Leapster” as diligently as I am my laptop. Lydia is in the middle innings of taking over the world, or at least it feels that way when you’re on the receiving end of her orders and directions. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Riley and Everett have just left for school. Riley, my oldest and a senior this year, is an exceptional young lady who many say shares my determination but acquired my wife’s intelligence. Richard Everett is 13, nearly my height, which represents the only advantage he has on his older sister at this time.
Over the past year, he and his friends have become avid dirt bikers, something I did as a kid and have been able to enjoy with him.
I share all this because it illustrates me having reached my goal – spending more time with my family – when I ended my driving career in 2005. Working with Yahoo! has allowed me to do this while remaining connected to NASCAR. For that, I say thank you.
You, the readers, have been a barometer for me. Among other things, you’ve rewarded me with praise if you enjoyed or agreed with my views and opinions. And you challenged me when you disagreed. Both were great and both were necessary.
I believed when I was driving that the fans of our sport were the engine that drove us faster and further. In the last three years, I’ve identified that, to a degree, you are also shareholders in the sport – with voting rights on what you like, dislike or would change.
I appreciate all of you who support NASCAR.
Working with Yahoo! has allowed me to view my profession from a different angle, and I hope I was able to give readers a different perspective from someone who has been there. My goal was to offer insight into the grind of a 36-race schedule, how challenging the turns are at a particular track or how a rain delay can affect a driver and his crew.
I hope I was able to show you how I watch a race. How, when looking for an indicator of how strong a particular car is and what that driver might be up against on that particular day, I focus on how strong the car performs in the first three or four laps of a restart. How on flat tracks I focus on the very center of the corner, because it, more than any other part of the track, separates the good from the bad. How at Daytona my attention is on Turn 2, because that’s the corner that will challenge drivers to lift. Those who didn’t would more than likely prevail.
I’ve enjoyed all that I have done in the last three years. I hope you have as well.
Thank you again to everyone at Yahoo! and to all who supported me in this new endeavor.
Happy holidays.
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Hornish a three-time champ in IndyCar
By Tom McKean
December 29, 2009
We introduced you to Sebastien Bourdais on Monday as we roll out the nine candidates for ESPN.com's Driver of the Decade -- in alphabetical order -- over the next two weeks. Our panel of experts has voted for its top drivers. You will get your turn when we stage a SportsNation fan vote on Jan. 8.
The Driver of the Decade will be revealed on Jan. 11.
Meet candidate No. 2 …
A three-time IndyCar Series champion during the decade (most of any driver), Hornish stormed onto the scene in 2001 when he became the youngest champion ever (age 22) in a major North American open-wheel series. That same season, he also became the first IndyCar champion to clinch the title before the final race of the season.
The next year, Hornish became the series' first two-time champion.
Then, in 2006, he won the title and the Indianapolis 500. Although he won the title via a tiebreaker, Hornish rightfully deserved the championship, considering he had double the wins than co-points leader Dan Wheldon.
That 2006 title came with Penske. His first two championships came with Panther Racing. Certainly an impressive feat to win titles with two different teams within the span of four years.
Hornish's 19 wins in the series since 2000 are the second-most of any driver (Scott Dixon passed him this season), and Hornish has been out of the series competing in Sprint Cup for the past two years.
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NASCAR's Johnson wins male athlete of the year
By JENNA FRYER
December 29, 2009
CHARLOTTE, NC — There was little recognition outside the racing world when Jimmie Johnson won his first NASCAR championship.
Same with his second, and again with his third.
But four straight championships? That's a different story.
Johnson, the first driver in NASCAR history to win four consecutive titles, earned mainstream recognition Monday when he was honored as the Male Athlete of the Year by members of The Associated Press.
Johnson received 42 votes from editors at U.S. newspapers which are members of the AP. Tennis star Roger Federer (30 votes) and Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt (29) were the only other athletes with totals in the double- digits.
Although Tiger Woods was named Athlete of the Decade, the golfer received only nine votes for Athlete of the Year. He was tied with NBA star Kobe Bryant and slugger Albert Pujols in fourth place. Woods, who was ranked No. 1 in his sport but failed to win one of golf's majors this season, was never a top contender - even before the sex scandal that unraveled his personal life following a Nov. 27 traffic accident.
For Johnson, the first race car driver to be named the AP's Athlete of the Year in its 78-year history, the award is the validation he's been waiting for since he began his historic run in 2006.
"We'd been wondering the last few years, 'When is this going to hit?'" he said. "It seems like the answer is now. The wave is finally peaking, and we don't know where it's going to take us. The fourth straight title takes it out of our sport and makes it a point of discussion - like, 'Wow, a race car driver won this thing.'"
The 34-year-old Californian again schooled the competition, winning four of his seven races this season when the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship began in September. Two-time champion Tony Stewart dominated the "regular season," but it was Johnson and his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team that turned it up when the stakes were highest.
In the 10 Chase races, Johnson finished outside the top-10 only once: when he wrecked at Texas with Sam Hornish Jr. three laps into the eighth race. The crash proved Johnson's mettle, as he sat inside his car, helmet on, for more than an hour as crew chief Chad Knaus led a total rebuild of his Chevrolet so that Johnson could return to the track.
Although the 38th-place finish decimated his cozy lead in the standings, he shrugged off any potential challenge by rolling into Phoenix the next week and leading 238 of the 312 laps en route to a victory that turned the season finale into a low-key Sunday drive for Johnson.
"I'm pretty sure that dude's Superman," said teammate Mark Martin, who finished second in the standings, 141 points behind Johnson.
The march into the record books has attracted attention for Johnson far beyond NASCAR's insulated garage. HBO Sports' award-winning "24/7" program has tabbed Johnson for a four-episode series that will chronicle his preparation for the 2010 season-opening Daytona 500.
And he received widespread attention earlier this month when he donated $922,000 in educational grants to 26 schools in California, North Carolina and Oklahoma.
Now comes the AP honor, which Johnson said reinforces what he's always believed - that even though he's a race car driver, he's "100 percent" an athlete.
"I've looked at other sports, particularly baseball, and I've seen plenty of out-of-shape, fat players," said Johnson, who counts among his close friends former NFL player Jason Sehorn, and MLB players Brian and Marcus Giles.
"So to anyone who wants to go head-to-head with me in athletic ability, let's go. I talked a lot with Jason Sehorn about this, and I don't know how exactly you measure athletic ability, but I know my 5-mile run time will destroy most NFL players."
As Johnson boasted of his personal best - 34 minutes, 55 seconds - his wife, Chandra, yelled "Overachiever!" in the background. It's a bit of a joke between the two since Johnson gave a two-year commitment to a New York City-based trainer he calls "the Chad Knaus of the body."
His focus can be fanatical, but Johnson still finds time to maintain his work hard/play hard attitude - and proved it with a raucous South Beach celebration after the season-finale. The bash left him admittedly weary during the next few days, during a round of media appearances. And when the New York City mayor's office designated a "Jimmie Johnson Day" earlier this month, the champion suggested "everyone should have the day off and go have margaritas."
It's a balance between play and work that he's mastered, and firmly believes he can ride to a fifth title. Johnson recently signed a five-year deal to drive for Hendrick through 2015, and Knaus has predicted the team can keep up its rate of success over the next several years.
"The cool thing," Johnson said, "is we're...
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