The blogs are in, and the strong opinions are out. What do you think? Who is the sportsperson of the Noughties? Not happy with the options? Write your own sporting tribute and let me know. I can almost taste the adrenaline in my mouth. Delicious.

Parece que o retorno de Michael Schumacher às pistas pode se confirmar. Rumores indicam que o acordo de três anos do heptacampeão com a Ferrari ainda não foi assinado.

Desde que se aposentou, o alemão ocupava o cargo de consultor do time de Maranello e com a renovação, o heptcampeão concentrará os trabalhos no desenvolvimento de carros de passeio da montadora italiana.
 
“Só posso confirmar que o acordo entre Michael e a Ferrari foi anunciado em setembro, em Monza”, disse Luca Colajanni, porta-voz da Ferrari ao Express.

“Eu não sei se o acordo foi assinado no sentido físico. Mas, como em uma família, a palavra das pessoas envolvidas têm algum valor ou não?”, acrescentou.

[Fonte: amigosdavelocidade.uol.com.br]

With the 2010 Formula One season fast-approaching, Fingertips Sport expert Simon Wright takes a look at the championship contenders

The 2009 Formula One World Championship may have only reached its conclusion a month ago, under the glittering Abu Dhabi floodlights, but in this glamorous sport news happens 365 days a year and there has been plenty already in this off-season.

New world champion Jensen Button has dumped Brawn GP to link up with Lewis Hamilton in the British dream team at McLaren Mercedes. For this British hotshot, it became all about money and not loyalty – something which isn’t new to him (the on/off move to Williams in 2004-2005).

Jenson should have learned his lessons from this switch, but that does not appear to be the case. He should be prepared for a big shock at McLaren, where he will not be as molly-cuddled as he was in his BAR/Honda/Brawn days.

His move might be more of a mistake following Mercedes’ recent decision to buy a 75% stake in the Brawn team and rename it Mercedes GP. If Button had stayed, he would have likely had the full backing over Nico Rosberg (confirmed by the team this week).

No offence to Adrian Sutil and Nick Heidfeld, but it must worry them that Mercedes would prefer to sign a 40-year-old who hasn’t raced competitively since 2006.

Though racing is still in his blood, whether a certain Michael Schumacher can still cut it in the age of Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel et al remains to be seen. What does that say about Germany’s F1 drivers? With Vettel tied down long-term at Red Bull Racing, is Michael going to make the fairytale dream a reality?

Toyota has departed from the sport and so has Kimi Raikkonen. Will either be missed? Not a bit. Toyota has invested millions of pounds into a spectacular failure with no wins and a general lack of direction. Raikkonen may have been champion in 2007, but in this day and age, you can’t just turn up, drive the car, go home and expect millions for it.

Kimi will do well in rallying, but his demise, plus the serious possibility that Heikki Kovalainen won’t be on the grid next year could prove that Finnish drivers are just not that fast.

Robert Kubica must have thought back in October that his career was back on track, with number one status at Renault and a say in his team-mate for next year. Now, he is waiting anxiously on the team’s short-term future. A lack of 100% commitment suggests the French team are thinking about pastures new.

Finally, it’s good to hear the progress of the new teams heading for the F1 journey next season. Manor have snapped up Toyota refugee Timo Glock, Lotus are looking well prepared and the name Senna will return to F1 racing next season with Bruno joining Campos.

Half the grid is full; still plenty can happen before Bahrain 2010.

For all the latest news and views and sports check out Fingertips.net

Triple world champion Niki Lauda believes the rumours that Michael Schumacher will make a Formula 1 comeback next year are highly implausible.

A lingering neck injury forced Schumacher to abort plans to deputise for Felipe Massa at Ferrari during the summer, but he has recently been tipped for a 2010 return with the rebranded Mercedes Grand Prix team.

The fact that the seven-time champion was a Mercedes protégé in his youth, his close ties with team principal Ross Brawn, and the regret he expressed at missing his opportunity to race again have all fuelled speculation that he might be tempted to join Nico Rosberg in an all-German driver line-up.

Schumacher’s spokeswoman has insisted no negotiations are taking place, but Mercedes – which now owns 75.1% of the Brackley-based squad and is likely to have a big say in driver choices – has not denied that it is targeting the 40-year-old.

But Lauda, who walked away from F1 in the middle of the 1979 season and then made a successful return in 1982, finds it hard to believe that Schumacher would make a full-time comeback.

“I don’t believe that there is one single grain of truth in [the rumours], at least from all the signals that I get,” he told F1’s official website.

“There was a window of opportunity after Felipe’s accident and had Michael been fit he would have taken up that chance to race for three or four races – to prove himself, get the adrenaline rush, and see where he stood in the pecking order.

“But I cannot believe that he would be up for a full season.

“Why then he did stop racing in the first place? But that is my personal opinion.”

Lauda believes the Mercedes takeover of Brawn GP will serve the German manufacturer’s marketing interests perfectly, particularly since the team will compete in the iconic Silver Arrows livery made famous in the 1930s.

But the Austrian says that with reigning world champion Jenson Button having defected to McLaren, Mercedes needs a star driver to strengthen its challenge and keep Rosberg on his toes.

“The takeover of Brawn GP was a masterly achievement,” said Lauda.

“Now it is important to proceed in this same manner by having a very close look at the important issue of the driver line-up.

“With the Button departure, Rosberg is at the moment their only driver – a good man for sure, but good men get even better with a team mate that gives them a hard time 24 hours a day.

“That is positive, performance and development-wise.

“They have to be very careful now in their selection, trying to get a top man for the second cockpit.

“Otherwise the advantage will be on Red Bull’s and [Sebastian] Vettel’s side – and they might find themselves riding on Red Bull’s coat tails.”

[Fonte: itv-f1.com] - Traduzir para PT/BR, clique aqui.

When Juan Pablo Montoya arrived for his first Indy 500, the story is that he took a tour bus around the track.

10 years later, the Colombian is probably the only driver to have raced at Indy in two different directions and three kinds of machinery.  Montoya won the Indy 500 in 2000, has competed in F1 races at the Brickyard (driving clockwise), and now competes in the Brickyard 400 as a Nascar driver.

Bus tours not included.

Name any other driver who can claim such a feat.  For good measure, throw in wins at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona.  Say what you want about Jimmie Johnson and his four titles, Montoya is the most versatile and talented driver on the grid.  There is no arguing with Johnson’s dominance, nor that of his crew chief, Chad Knaus.  But for sheer talent and the raw ability to get into a race car–any kind of car–no one beats Montoya.

In Nascar, success begets success.  This goes a long way towards explaining the Hendrick team’s dominance in the sport (although it does not explain why Dale Earnhardt, Jr. continues to flail on the same team as a four-time champion).  Johnson is at the peak of his abilities right now, and his team is right there with him.  He finds a way to win, and he has learned to be consistent week in and week out (something Kyle Busch hasn’t grasped).  The Chase, contrived as it is, rewards consistency.

Montoya finished 8th in the Chase this year, but this year he delivered the goods.  Many thought Montoya was foolish to trade the rarefied air conditioning of F1 for the cold beer and corndogs of Nascar.  Why would anyone making tens of millions of dollars in F1 trade that for a grueling 36-race calendar?  Racers, that’s who.

This is a driver who won the Indy 500 in 2000, and was “traded” to the Williams F1 team for 2001.  In the Brazilian Grand Prix that year, Montoya forced world champion Michael Schumacher onto the grass in an overtaking maneuver that shocked and thrilled the paddock.  Wheel-to-wheel with one of the best racers in history, and no backing down.  Yet, after a few seasons, Montoya lost patience with Williams, with the utter Englishness of it all.  He joined McLaren.

McLaren was a terrible fit for Montoya, and many wondered what Ron Dennis was thinking with that move.  It was hard imagining Montoya in the cool calm collective that is McLaren.  It did not help Montoya’s case with the team that he also injured himself off track, under circumstances that probably involved reckless behavior.

At the US Grand Prix in 2006, Montoya collided with his teammate.  There are many forms of sin in racing, but the most unforgiveable sin is to take out your own teammate.  Montoya’s F1 career–his driving career–seemed done.

After a telephone chat with Chip Ganassi, Montoya announced a shock switch to Nascar for 2007.  He was ridiculed by those in F1 who said that Nascar was beneath his talents, and others who said he was beneath Nascar.  Yet, to his credit, Montoya produced a road win at Sonoma in his first year (although, in fairness, he took out his teammate for the win.  La plus ca change….)   He even joined Ganassi drivers for a win at the 24 hour race at Daytona.  Fast in any kind of machinery indeed…..

This year Montoya reached the next level and was competitive in the Chase up to the bitter end.  Perhaps Ganassi’s tie-up with the DEI organization made the difference, maybe it’s just maturity and experience finally showing through.  His driving remains aggressive, but he is showing more patience in races.

Montoya has won the Monaco Grand Prix in F1, the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, and the Indianapolis 500.  He’s won twice in Nascar and regularly finishes in the top five.  Find me a more complete racer.

Juan Pablo Montoya is always on the limit.  And that’s why he’s a racer we like.

We are contemplating to launch a global P1Mag format in English language in 2010. We would like to offer you a first peak on how our e-paper looks in its current German version. As a bonus we’re offering our latest silly season report in English about the background on Schumacher, Räikkönen and Kiubica regarding Mercedes GP.

You can download it for free from the official P1Mag homepage

Dear colleagues, please be so kind to quote P1Magazin when breaking the story about Nico Rosbergs likely team-mate to your readers. Thank you !

Updates on this story HERE

Ferrarista tenta bater Rubens Barrichello na disputa na pista de Cotia, na Grande São Paulo

O brasileiro Felipe Massa definiu a equipe com que irá disputar a tradicional prova de kart das 500 milhas da Granja Viana. O piloto da Ferrari terá na sua equipe a companhia de Lucas di Grassi, Felipes Apezzato, Felipe Lapenna, Júlio Campos e o irmão Dudu. A competição irá ocorrer no dias 4 e 5 de dezembro em Cotia, na Grande São Paulo.

Um dos favoritos para integrar a equipe de Massa, Popó Bueno alegou motivos particulares e declarou que não irá participar do evento este ano. Em seu lugar entrou o paranaense Júlio Campos, vice-líder da Stock Car Light. Apesar da mudança, o ferrarista crê que sua equipe está forte para conseguir o tricampeonato da prova paulista.

- Acho que montamos um grupo forte, em condições de encarar a equipe do Rubinho (Barrichello).

Barrichello é o maior vencedor das 500 milhas da Granja Viana, com oito vitórias, mesmo número de Tony Kanaan. Além de Massa e Rubinho, outro destaque da prova paulista será o ex-piloto de Fórmula 1 e Fórmula Indy, Christian Fittipaldi, que correrá ao lado de Mário Haberfeld, Felipe Guimarães e Victor Maia.

[Fonte: esportes.r7.com]

A few days ago Mercedes boss Norbert Haug told German publication Bild am Sonntag that there might be some surprises in store when the new MercedesGP team announced its driver line-up for 2010.

Well yesterday’s confirmation that Nico Rosberg was joining the squad wasn’t exactly the surprise we’d been hoping for. Afterall, it had been a pretty poorly kept secret that the German was bound for Brawn, the only difference between when the news broke in hushed whsiper a few months ago and yesterday’s announcement was the departure of Button to McLaren, which made Rosberg Merc’s new team leader and left a vacant seat next to him.

The surprise therefore is over exactly who will partner Rosberg at Mercedes in 2010.

There’s been a lot of chat over Michael Schumacher making a return with the team which ran him in sportscars 20 years ago. It’s a beautifully romantic idea, but doesn’t add up. Quite apart from his health and the question marks over the strength of his neck, there’s the Ferrari contract, the protestations from Ross Brawn that it is never going to happen, and the confirmation from Michael’s own people that negotiations were never begun.

There are loud rumours that Mercedes will be a German super-team, to combat the English super-team at McLaren, and that Nick Heidfeld is the favourite to land the remaining seat at the team. While he’s hardly Michael Schumacher, Nick’s a safe and fairly quick pair of hands. He is an underwhelming choice however and hardly fulfils the promise of a shock.

Who, then, suits that description?

If Mercedes is still reeling from its failure to grab German wonder kids Vettel or Hulkenberg, they may well have their sights set on Adrian Sutil. At 26 he is still pretty young, and with the last year racing at Force India he has an understanding of the Mercedes powerplant. He’s marketable, like Rosberg, but one feels that Mercedes Grand Prix in 2010 would probably be a bit too pretty with both of them on board. They might as well rename the team Premadonna Grand Prix. No, I jest. They’re both solid, hard working guys. But are they a mega line-up? In all honesty, they are not a Hamilton / Button. Sutil still makes too many mistakes, and Rosberg still fails to get the most out of his cars.

Today’s announcement, then, that Force India will be testing Paul di Resta and JR Hildebrand in the rookie test days at Jerez could be a little more than appears at first sight.

First of all the announcement shows that Vijay Mallya’s promise to bring an Indian racing driver to F1 was worth fairly little. The team ran Hildebrand, Neel Jani and Karun Chandhok through a simulator test and promised a seat at the rookie test to the quickest driver. My sources tell me Chandhok was quickest, followed by Jani, and Hildebrand was plum last, by a fair margin. Jani (half Indian) and Chandhok (properly Indian) have both been passed over for the slower man. I’d wager it had something to do with finance. So much for your promise, Vijay.

The second driver at the test however is down to the team’s engine deal with Mercedes. Could Merc be using this test day to evaluate Paul di Resta for promotion to Formula 1? Could it be a genuine shot for the Scotsman?

Tonio Liuzzi has a deal to race for Force India next season. The team will have one spare seat, which looks likely to go to Sutil if he doesn’t go to Mercedes, and with Hildebrand and his finances looking good for the third driver seat at Force India or possibly even USF1, what are the chances that it is di Resta that ends up at Mercedes alongside Rosberg in 2010?

Don’t forget that di Resta beat Vettel to the F3 EuroSeries crown in 2006. His credentials are outstanding, but I have always questioned Mercedes’ common sense (or distinct lack of) in thrusting brilliant single-seater talent into DTM. how is one supposed to prepare for the pinnacle of single seater racing in closed wheel motorsport? Doesn’t make sense, does it?

There is one other possibility, however. Recent comments out of Renault boss Carlos Ghosn suggest all is not well chez Renault. The prospect of the team pulling out of F1 if it does not find a buyer for the team (or at least a substantial percentage investor) grows ever stronger. And if it does, that puts Robert Kubica back on the market. Could it be that Mercedes is simply playing the waiting game for the highly rated Pole? It’s not out of the realms of possibility.

So could di Resta be the shock Mercedes have promised? Will it be Sutil? Will we see the romantic return of Michael Schumacher or could Robert Kubica be with his third team in as many months?

It’s the only really big question left in this winter’s driver market. I just hope that the surprise is as big as we’re wishing.

Incluso aunque Mercedes no hubiera comprado Brawn, Nico Rosberg hubiera pasado al equipo de Brackley para 2010, insiste el director ejecutivo Nick Fry. El lunes se reveló que el antiguo piloto de Williams es el primer piloto de Mercedes GP.

Se ha rumoreado durante meses que Rosberg se iba a marchar a Brawn y Fry confirmó que las conversaciones se han mantenido durante la temporada 2009.

“Nico se iba a incorporar a Brawn bajo cualquier circunstancia,” declaraba a la prensa, entre sugerencias de que la firma de Rosberg fue una primer indicación de la influencia que han ejercido los nuevos propietarios del equipo.

“Estamos muy satisfechos de que las circunstancias hayan funcionado tal como lo han hecho, pero la negociación se realizó principalmente con el equipo Brawn, conmigo y con Ross,” añadía Fry.

Algunos expertos consideran a Nick Heidfeld como la elección más probable para ser el compañero de Rosberg, pero también se ha vinculado a ese puesto a Michael Schumacher y Kimi Räikkönen.

Robert Kubica también podría ser una posibilidad, dependiendo del resultado de las deliberaciones que está realizando Renault sobre su compromiso con la F1.

[Fonte: es.f1-live.com] - E.M. © CAPSIS International - Fuente: GMM

Wir freuen uns alle sehr, dass Schumi endlich wieder Gas gibt.

BBC Sport brings you a regular round-up of the gossip in newspapers and on specialist websites around the world.

Michael Schumacher is not interested in beginning a new career in F1 with Mercedes Grand Prix, Ross Brawn has said – as the Englishman revealed that he is looking for two experienced drivers.
Full story: crash.net

Mercedes motorsport boss Norbert Haug has re-ignited rumours of Michael Schumacher’s pending signing after refusing to deny that the German could race for Mercedes Grand Prix next season.
Full story: planet-f1.com

Mercedes DTM front-runner Paul di Resta and American JR Hildebrand will drive for Force India in Formula 1’s upcoming young driver test at Jerez on December 1-3.
Full story: autosport.com

Campos Meta 1’s car for its debut Formula 1 season has been homologated by the FIA following a series of tests last week.
Full story: autosport.com

Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi and seven-time Formula 1 world champion Michael Schumacher were among more than 300 drivers competing at the SKUSA Supernationals karting event in Las Vegas, USA, at the weekend.

Full story: formula1.com

Have your say and share your views in the comments  – get writing now…

Reference Source: BBC Sport

Trouxe um videozinho pra vocês hoje.. Cortesia de um amigo meu, que me apresentou ele..

Como eu não sei o nome dos personagens dessa obra maravilhosa de Deus de algum psicopata, chamaremos o nosso amiguinho curioso de Billy.

E um FFUU de minha autoria também.. (Não ia deixar essa oportunidade passar em branco né?)

Clique aqui para ver o FFUU

É, Billy.. Certas coisas não deveriam ser perguntadas…

What is your aim for next year?

NR: The aim is going to be very high for me. I want to win races at least, and then we’ll see. We need to wait a few months to see how the car turns out but I’m confident that we’re going to have a strong package.

What does it mean to be the first German to race a Silver Arrows grand prix car in over 50 years?

NR: It’s incredible. It is definitely quite a special thing. The last time a German raced a Silver Arrow was 1955, so that’s a very long time ago. It’s about time there was a German in a Silver Arrows again.

Nika Lauda says that you have the talent to take on and beat Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton. What is your reaction to that?

NR: It’s very nice to hear that from him and I definitely believe in myself as a racing driver and I’m really looking forward to next year because for sure I’m going to have a great car and I really believe that I’m going to be able to take them on for sure.

Which of the two of them is tougher competition?

NR: That’s difficult to say. We’ll see next year when they are up against each other. I’m not sure. I raced against Lewis, so I can say for sure that Lewis is a great driver and Jenson is a bit more difficult for me to judge but he is certainly a fantastic driver.

Do you regard yourself as German or Finnish?

NR: I definitely regard myself as a German, quite simply because I grew up with the German culture, we spoke German at home and watched German TV. So overall I’m a German.

You said during the year that you had a lot of options for 2010. You’ve now signed for one of the few manufacturer teams in F1 – how important a factor was that in your decision?

NR: It was definitely a factor that was important in my decision. It’s fantastic to be part of a great manufacturer like Mercedes and that together with the team that used to be Brawn GP is the best possible combination for me.

If the driver in the other car is Michael Schumacher, are you confident that you can take him on and beat him?

NR: I don’t want to comment on that, sorry.

Are you surprised that the driver in the other car is not Jenson Button?

NR: It was never certain [to be]. There was a high chance that it was going to be and now it has turned out not to be. That’s just how it went. I wasn’t that involved with what was going on so it was a little bit of a surprise, but not too much.

Would you like to have a German team-mate?

NR: I don’t really mind who my team-mate is. It’s just important that he fits well into the group so that we can attack together for Mercedes GP.

Have you already been to the factory and what do you know about next year’s car?

NR: I will go to the factory on Wednesday because I also waited for the announcement to be done. I’ve been in contact with Ross and the engineers about next year’s car to keep in touch, but I’m really going to start attacking on that front on Wednesday. I’m looking forward to visiting the factory and also there are a lot of people that I know from past years in F1 and it will be nice to see them again.

Who do you see as your main rival?
NR: I think it’s best to mention teams at this point and the main rivals will most likely be Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull.

You are the first driver to be contracted by Mercedes. How far do you consider yourself a team leader?

NR: It’s something that I would really like to grow into, to become a team leader. That’s what I’ll be pushing to do and you achieve that by working with the team, getting the respect of the team and becoming a team leader in pushing the technical direction and also in terms of results on the track. That’s something that you need to build up and I’m going to try and do that very soon.

Have your say and share your views in the comments  – get writing now…

Reference Source:Autosport.com

Mercedes motorsport boss Norbert Haug fuelled speculation about Michael Schumacher’s rumoured return to Formula 1, refusing to categorically deny the German could drive for the team.

Team boss Ross Brawn told German newspaper Bild over the weekend that rumours of a possible return by the seven-time champion were a “fantasy of the media”.

“Michael would have come back temporarily for Ferrari but he doesn’t want to begin a new career,” Brawn added.

“I think that we have to live with these speculations,” said Haug during a press conference. “What Ross pointed out, I think we have to respect that. I fully understand that these speculations are ongoing as long as we don’t announce who is driving the other car but that’s what we have to live with.”

When asked to categorically deny Schumacher could drive the car, Haug added: “When will you ever say categorically anything in F1? Ross made it quite clear and I really have nothing to add.”

Mercedes GP chief executive Nick Fry was also unwilling to discuss the Schumacher rumours.

“I’ve got nothing to add to that,” he said. “We are here today to talk about Nico Rosberg and we should stick with that subject. Ross has answered the question extremely well.”

Fry said Mercedes was in no great hurry to finalise who would partner Rosberg in its 2010 line-up, but that the decision was likely within the next month.

“It obviously would have been ideal to announce them together but that’s impossible,” he said.

“We don’t have huge time pressure at the moment, but once one goes beyond Christmas and into the new year it becomes slightly more difficult with seat fits in time for the engineers to talk to the driver. I would hope on the other driver to do it before Christmas purely for logistical reasons.”

Have your say and share your views in the comments  – get writing now…

Reference Source:Autosport.com

Nico Rosberg was unveiled this morning as Mercedes Benz GP’s first new driver for the 2010 season.

The highly rated German youngster left Williams after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and was connected with the team before Brawn sold out to Mercedes.  When this happened, it became almost 100% certain that Rosberg would join Benz as the manufacturer looked to German drivers.

“I am really happy to be a part of the Silver Arrows re-launch in 2010 as a driver for Mercedes,” said Rosberg.

“No other brand in Formula 1 can look back on such a long and successful tradition in motor racing. I am very proud that I will now drive for the new Mercedes team and work with Ross Brawn.

“I am more motivated than ever and can hardly wait to start testing with the new Silver Arrow and for the first race of the new season at Bahrain in March.”

Speculation is mounting as to who his team mate will be.  With internet (and Eddie Jordan’s) finger pointing at Michael Schumacher, lets not forget Nick Heidfeld the “maybe” man has been linked with the drive, could this re-spark his career?

Photo from BrawnGP

In a matter of weeks, the driver market has upended itself.  The world champion has left his team and joined the 2008 world champion.  The 2007 world champion is out of racing, his spot taken by the 2005-2006 world champion.  A seven-time world champion is thinking of returning to the grid. 

Got it? 

No one was surprised when two-time world champion Fernando Alonso was announced at Ferrari.  Then, with Kimi Raikkonen seemingly ousted from the scuderia and Toyota announcing its withdrawal from the sport, Jenson Button landed at McLaren.  This earth-shattering news came just weeks after Button won the 2009 title for Brawn. 

My head is beginning to hurt.

At first blush, Button’s move seems hard to explain.  Brawn had thrown him a lifeline after Honda pulled the plug on its adventure in team ownership.  Brawn cleverly exploited the regulations in creating a double-diffuser that placed its car at the sharp end, landing Button his first world championship and a second consecutive British champion.

Button predictably increased his salary demands.  Brawn should have seen this coming, and to not have recognized Button’s increased worth was a mistake.  Perhaps Brawn thought Button would stay out of loyalty.  A quick glance at some of Button’s career moves suggests that he is less than reliable when it comes to cashing in on a promise.

My theory is that Button sensed a resurgent McLaren at the end of the year, once the other teams had caught up to Brawn and Red Bull’s “unfair advantage”.  We saw the title contenders close in on Button at the end of the year.  Possibly, Button calculated that Brawn would never meet his salary demands, whereas McLaren was happy to shell out for two British champions .  Button’s move is characteristic of his career trajectory, similar to his on-again, off-again move to Williams several years ago. 

Raikonnen’s disappearance from the grid next season is hard to explain, although rumors are floating that he will replace Button at the newly rebranded Mercedes F1 team, the three-pointed star having bought Brawn (and presumably thinking Button as well), being shocked to find out that longtime “partner” Ron Dennis had just bought Button for McLaren.  I saw that as a nice “f– you” to Norbert Haug for buying Brawn, and a middle finger firmly directed at Ross for sorting out the double diffuser first.

Now Eddie Jordan, of all people, is saying that Mercedes is in negotiations to sign Michael Schumacher.  The Schumacher-Raikonnen pairing was a near-miss when Michael retired, but it’s obvious from his aborted comeback of earlier this year that the fire burns.   Remember that his comeback was stopped cold by a neck injury.  This could be a pairing for the ages, or a disaster for either driver.

I questioned this story but wondered why Eddie Jordan would put it out without having some sense of the facts.  Eddie’s been known to stretch the truth (in fact, one might argue that’s what got him in to F1), but this is a big chunk of gossip to throw out there without a firm belief in its truth.  Eddie still likes his credibility.

It has all the makings for an incredible 2010.  Alonso in a Ferrari is mouth-watering.  With a decent car, Alonso could easily win his third title and bring the championship home to Maranello next season.  Notice I don’t mention Felipe; I’m sorry but his injuries are too severe for him to be the same driver who nearly won the title in 2008.  Michael in a Mercedes, alongside Raikonnen, is the matchup we all waited for when Kimi went to Maranello.  And two world champions in silver cars, rising above it all.