Maybe Schumacher's return wasn't all that rubbish?

[faster69]

Yes, Hamilton had a lot of trouble adapting to the tyres in 2011 unlike Button who beat him fair and square.

Sure, over a single lap Hamilton was faster than Button, but close to 60 races in identical machinery is a pretty good sample size and Button slightly got the better of him. You put Vettel in a McLaren and he makes Button look like Webber.

[D-Type]

Please! The subject of this thread is Michael Schumacher - not comparisons between current F1 drivers! If you want to discuss current racers do so on the F1 thread.

[BDunnell]

It is a mix of various things. I was genuinely impressed with Schumacher last year. He was a contender of being a top6 driver on the grid in my view. You could get the feeling he could give top drivers a run for their money by the way he was hustling that tyre-eater Mercedes around and outracing Rosberg in the process.

On the other hand Rosberg, regardless of how he is performing right now, was a little disappointing last year. IMO there is no hiding of this. But drivers performances vary, now he has reached a higher level again. One we saw in 2007, 2009 and 2010 - the best Rosberg years.

I agree, but, equally, there was no hiding how poor Schumacher was on occasions too.

[journeyman racer]

Too many excuses for Schumacher. The only reason why Schumacher's return wasn't all that rubbish is because it was worse than anticipated! You can create all sorts of excuses for it. The best indicator I think, considering the Mercs were not outright race winning cars, but were an outside shot for a podium, is that Nico got 5 podiums to Schumacher's 1. That one was hardly a convincing one as well. Nico finished in the points half a dozen times more as well (only asking to finish 10th!), Finished ahead in the title all three seasons. Before he returned, some people expected a serious title challenge from him, if not a win in 11 or 12. At worst, adding another half dozen wins. It was terrible, Schuey fans can't hide from that.

[Doc Austin]

Schumacher may have forgotten how to win, but he still had the best swerve in motorsports.

[555-04Q2]

As one of The Shoe's biggest fans, I was excited to hear that he would be returning to F1 after a 3 year hiatus. But once he arrived, it was evident that the old magic was gone He was still fit, but his driving was downright poor at times. He should have enjoyed his retirement. The only good thing about his comeback is my eldest son got to see him racing and can one day say, yeah, I actually watched The Shoe racing when I was young

[zako85]

It was rubbish. Those years were a wasted opportunity to test the young drivers. It would have been far more productive to have someone like Hulkenberg or Perez driving that car.

[Doc Austin]

It was rubbish. Those years were a wasted opportunity to test the young drivers. It would have been far more productive to have someone like Hulkenberg or Perez driving that car.

Even today I think Hulkenberg in particular has earned better.

I also think Chico did not look all that bad teamed with Button. Remember in the beginning of the year they had a hard time keeping the two from racing each other so hard, and Chico gave as good as he got. I think McLaren knew Chico had a decent year, and their car sucked anyway, which is why they went to such lengths helping him secure a ride elsewhere. It would not surprise me to see him back at McLaren in a few years.

[AAReagles]

Even today I think Hulkenberg in particular has earned better....

Good call Doc!

Thanks for providing the Schumi Swerve pic btw. He danced so well.