Mercedes targeting top three spot

Newly-owned Mercedes GP will be aiming for a top three championship position as it heads into its season of title defence in 2010. Having completed a magical season to win both titles after narrowly surviving the pull-out of Honda a year ago, Sporting Director Nick Fry remains realistic as the new decade approaches.

With Brawn's 2009 season having consisted of an ultra-strong start followed by a desperate struggle to retain its lead as competitors' cars improved, Fry is refraining from over-optimistic targets.

"I think for 2010 we have to aim for a top three place in the Constructors' Championship and of course we need to win races," the Englishman explained. "It's very difficult to go beyond that because we don't know at this stage what our competition will do.

"I think Ferrari will be very strong, I think McLaren-Mercedes will also be very strong, maybe Red Bull with Sebastian (Vettel) again, so until we can see where they have developed their cars we won't know exactly where we are but if we're not in the top three I think we're all going to be extremely disappointed."

Schumacher F1 signing slammed by Mercedes board

The works council of Mercedes' parent company Daimler has openly criticised the signing of multiple world champion Michael Schumacher for F1 2010 - suggesting the money would have been better spent elsewhere

It seems that the signing of record-breaking multiple world champion Michael Schumacher by Mercedes Grand Prix for F1 2010 has not gone down quite as well in some quarters as in others, despite the general euphoria that the sport is to welcome back its most successful and crowned driver of all time.

The Daimler Works Council has already been critical of Mercedes' F1 decisions in the past, publicly questioning the Stuttgart manufacturer's increased involvement in the top flight at a time when employees are being laid off on the automotive side and cost-cutting is in full force in response to the ongoing global credit crunch.

When Mercedes purchased a majority stake in double 2009 world championsBrawn GP last month, council member Erich Klemm opined that 'in these economically difficult times, the company should invest in better marketing of its real cars' – and it would appear that the recruitment of Schumacher has elicited a similarly unimpressed reaction.

“For many colleagues, it is unimaginable,” works council leader Uwe Werner told the Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper, adding that the seven-time F1 World Champion's reputed £7 million annual salary is 'hard to justify to our people' when some of Mercedes' manufacturing plants and therefore jobs are being transferred overseas, prompting protests in Germany. “The staff would have understood better if Mercedes had withdrawn from the expensive F1 business altogether.”

Indeed, the board's contention is that Mercedes should have followed the example of fellow car makers Honda, BMW and Toyota in departing the fray to focus on more environmentally-friendly and road car-relevant initiatives rather than continuing to throw millions at F1.

“Mercedes in particular is a company for which sportiness is not a selling-point but rather security and quality,” automobile industry expert Ferdinand Dudenhöffer of the University of Duisburg-Essen in western Germany told the Bayerische Rundfunk radio station. “Why should a driver decide to buy a Mercedes because ofFormula 1? Every car will have to be sold for €200 to €300 more for Mercedes to finance Formula 1.”

However, Daimler chief executive Dieter Zetsche insists that 'it would be a missed opportunity' not to take advantage of the increased global possibilities in F1 now that there are only three manufacturers left – Mercedes, Ferrari and to a lesser degree Renault – with Asian and Middle Eastern markets in particular ripe to be tapped into. Moreover, Mercedes Benz Motorsport Vice-President Norbert Haug is convinced the partnership with Schumacher will be an investment for the future, and will do wonders for the company's worldwide image and consequently sales.

“The whole engagement will sell a lot of cars and make a lot of people aware of the quality of the [three-pointed] star,” the 57-year-old told ZDF public television. “We believe we know how to invest our money.”

Meanwhile, it has emerged that Schumacher has been forced to write an open letter of explanation to the millions of tifosi who are angry at his departure fromFerrari after 14 years together, with some going so far as to brand the 41-year-old a 'traitor'.

“I say [about Schumacher] the same as president [Luca di] Montezemolo – all the best,” the Scuderia's spokesman Luca Colajanni told news agency ANSA. “From now on he is an opponent, and we try to beat our opponents.”

Factbox: Michael Schumacher

Seven-times Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher will come out of retirement to race for Mercedes next season.

* Born January 3, 1969 in Huerth-Hermuelheim, Germany

First grand prix

* Schumacher's first grand prix was with Jordan in Belgium in 1991, as a stand-in for jailed Belgian driver Bertrand Gachot. Despite completing only 500 meters in the race, he made an immediate impression.

* He was snapped up by Benetton after that debut, a move that provoked a bitter legal tussle, and scored points in only his second appearance with fifth place in Italy.

* Mexico provided the first podium of Schumacher's career in 1992, and his first win followed later that year in Belgium. Yet he had to wait until Monaco in 1994 for his first pole position.

* Won his first of seven titles later that year, going on to triumph in 1995 (also with Benetton), and 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 (with Ferrari).

* He retired at the end of the 2006 season.

Controversy

* His career was dogged by controversy as well as highlighted by brilliance, the German colliding with Briton Damon Hill to win the 1994 title and trying to ram Canadian Jacques Villeneuve off the track in the 1997 decider.

* During the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix qualifying session the German stopped his car toward the end of the circuit, partially blocking title rival Fernando Alonso, who was on a quick lap at the time. Schumacher was later demoted to the back of the grid for the race.

Records galore

* Schumacher is the only driver to win seven championships in Formula One and he owns many of the sport's records.

* In 2002 he finished every race on the podium, winning the title with six races to spare -- the fastest championship in Formula One.

* In 2004, when Ferrari were dominant, he won a record 13 races in a single season and finished first in seven successive races, also a record for a single season.

* Schumacher won an unprecedented 91 times, one fewer than the combined tally of the next two most successful drivers Alain Prost (51) and Ayrton Senna (41).

Return to Formula One

* Schumacher agreed to come out of retirement in July as a replacement for Ferrari's injured Brazilian Felipe Massa. The German was then forced to cancel due to a neck injury caused by a motorcycle accident in February.

* Schumacher agreed on December 2009 to join Mercedes GP for 3 years deal.

MERCEDES GP SET FOR STUTTGART LAUNCH

Mercedes GP will reveal their 2010 challenger during a launch in Stuttgart in late January, according to reports in the German press.

Earlier this month Nick Fry, Mercedes GP's chief executive, revealed that the teams planned a common launch in Spain in January in an attempt to save costs, but this plan was later scrapped amidst fears that smaller teams would be overshadowed and that there would not be enough cars ready by the proposed date.

In the wake of the collapse, German newspaper Bild has reported that Mercedes GP's launch will now take place at the Mercedes-Benz museum in Unterturkheim in late January.

The report added that Michael Schumacher will only make his debut for the team at the second round of pre-seasoning testing in Jerez on the 10th February, meaning Nico Rosberg will have the opportunity to break in the car a week earlier during testing in Valencia.

- source: planet-f1.com

Petronas deal to sponsor Mercedes GP was a business decision

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 28 — The controversial decision by national oil company Petronas to sponsor the Mercedes Formula One team instead of the Malaysian-backed Lotus F1 racing team was not made without sanction from the administration of Datuk Seri Najib Razak, The Malaysian Insider understands.

Since last week's announcement of the Mercedes sponsorship, speculation has been rife about the future of Petronas chief executive Tan Sri Hassan Merican.

Conservative hawks within Umno have also been questioning the patriotism of the move by Petronas to back Mercedes instead of Lotus F1, which has been touted here as the 1 Malaysia F1 team after the prime minister's political slogan.

But according to industry sources familiar with the deal, Hassan, who is slated to retire in February, had made a strong argument for backing Mercedes to the government.

"Tan Sri Hassan would not have done this without sanction," a source told The Malaysian Insider about the decision.

It is understood that Petronas had considered the relative value to the company's future plans and decided Mercedes would fit into its plans better than Lotus.

Petronas is hoping that through its collaboration with Mercedes Formula One, it will be able generate business growth in the lubricants market.

Hassan and the Petronas management are understood to have argued that while the Lotus brand had huge historical significance, it did not sell many cars compared with Mercedes.

The Malaysian Insider understands that Petronas, which has been involved in Formula One for more than a decade now, was not looking at just establishing a brand presence through its motorsports sponsorship.

"It is about building a market for lubricants, and that can be achieved better with Mercedes and Michael Schumacher," a source told The Malaysian Insider, in reference to the return to racing of the legend in the Mercedes team.

Another factor that was considered in Petronas' decision was the fact that despite the government's backing, the Lotus F1 team would not be known as the 1 Malaysia F1 team. It has been officially entered as the Lotus F1 team.

The Petronas decision has piled the pressure on Lotus F1 boss Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes, who also controls AirAsia, to bring in the funds needed for his team.

Fernandes had hoped to bring Petronas on board given that his team has government support and his airline is a major purchaser of aviation fuel. The Lotus car company is also owned by Proton.

With no other local company either having the funds or seeking a global presence, Lotus F1 is likely to have to go global in its search for a major sponsor.

Lotus F1 was understood to have been seeking US$85 million (RM297 million) in funds from Petronas.

- Malaysian Insider

Hill warning for Schumacher

Damon Hill has warned Michael Schumacher to expect an 'unpleasant' return to Formula One.

Whilst the sport's supremo Bernie Ecclestone is anticipating a 'jaw-dropping season' in 2010, former world champion Hill feels it will not all be a bed of roses for the seven-time king on his comeback.

Schumacher last week ended three years in retirement by signing a 20 million pound, three-year deal with Mercedes GP.


Despite his many titles and records, Schumacher was also renowned for his controversial side, one of which led to his first crown in 1994.

Hill missed out on the championship by a point, accusing the German of deliberately causing a crash in the final race of the season in Adelaide that forced them both out.

Hill, who went on to take the 1996 crown, believes the 40-year-old will arguably now face the sternest examination of his glittering career.

"At some point the season is going to get very tough, going to get unpleasant and it might bring back memories of why you retired in the first place," Hill told Schumacher on BBC Radio 5 Live.

"We'll have to see. A season is a long time and it will put Michael through a severe test of his ability."

Hill also feels world governing body the FIA will need to be whiter than white should Schumacher fall foul of the law, in particular as his close friend and former Ferrari team principal Jean Todt is now the president.

"There's going to be a lot of interested viewers watching the sport for that one, because the suspicion was always that Michael got a little bit of favouritism from the FIA," added Hill.

"I think the FIA are going to have to be on their toes to make sure there is no suspicion of that in the coming season."

Schumacher's return has at least fanned the flames ahead of what is certain to be one of the most enthralling seasons in F1 history.

Ecclestone, for one, cannot wait as he said: "It is fantastic for Formula One that he has turned into a comeback kid."

"But at the same time it's good for Michael. When drivers have put in many years they sometimes lose focus and motivation - probably that was one of the reasons for his retirement in 2006."

"But now he has again put all his strength together and has a 100 percent motivation level that will give us many exciting races in 2010."

"I always said Formula One is a strong brand. It has demonstrated time and again it can pull itself up by its own bootstraps."

"All indications point to a jaw-dropping season. Fans will love it."

Despite his time away from sport, and the fact he will turn 41 on January 3, Ecclestone has no doubt Schumacher can go on to add to his record haul of titles.


"Forget about winning races - I have him on my bill for winning the championship," exclaimed Ecclestone.

The sport itself, at the end of a turbulent year that almost saw it torn apart by a civil war and with two further manufacturers opting to withdraw in BMW and Toyota, will also benefit enormously.

As Ecclestone remarks, the sport needs characters, with Schumacher one of the most charismatic, as well as controversial.

Asked if this was again the time for characters in F1, Ecclestone replied: "There is no doubt about that."

"Michael, as we all know, was and is one of the most outstanding characters F1 has ever created."

Schumacher's wife Corinna, meanwhile, has confirmed she is firmly behind her husband's return, despite admitting it will turn their 'family life upside down'.

"When he told me (Mercedes GP boss) Ross (Brawn) had called, I immediately felt he was on fire again," remarked Corinna.

"As a matter of fact, Michael's passion for racing is enormous and without this deep passion all that would not have been possible. This passion made Michael who he is today."

"He knows exactly what he's doing, and he knows as well that I'm always supporting him."

"Michael simply needs challenges. That's just the way he is. I can really understand his decision and, to be honest, I actually think it's great."

Michael Schumacher Return of the F1 Champion

Interview Ross Brawn on Schumi-Comeback

MERCEDES GP PERONAS F1 TEAM PICTURE GALLERY

MERCEDES REVEAL F1'S WORST KEPT SECRET

Wednesday 23rd December 2009

It's not often that you turn to Kimi Raikkonen for sage insight into F1, but his reaction to the Mercedes driver recruitment plan was bang on. 'They just want German drivers' was Kimi's analysis before heading off to the WRC.

So, Michael Schumacher has finally signed for Mercedes - not exactly a turn-up for the books when you consider who the boss of the Mercedes team is. Ross Brawn has engineered all of Schumacher's World Championships, both at Benetton and at Ferrari.

Publicly Ferrari were happy to let their great champion follow his heart and away from a contract. In private it might be interesting to hear what they had to say. Because now their former ambassador will be doing his best to beat them up on track - Schumacher has never been one to give any quarter and you can't see that changing now.

In a way his defection/move to Brawn is kind of Luca Montezemolo's fault. When Ross Brawn came back from his Ferrari sabbatical, he was ready to take over Jean Todt's role and lead the team in 2008. The job went to Stefano Domenicali instead and Brawn was out in the cold. Thus Brawn moved to Honda which morphed into Brawn.

The genie came out of the bottle when Schumacher was offered Felipe Massa's drive and couldn't fulfil it thanks to the neck injury. Then all the jigsaw pieces started to fit into place.

Mercedes must have been negotiating to take over Brawn for some time, maybe even earlier than September. It was always suspicious why the white liveried cars weren't attracting more premium sponsorship, considering they were guaranteed a large chunk of screen time. Maybe they knew they didn't need the cash and couldn't offer sponsors multi-year deals when they knew Mercedes would be prescribing the livery for the following season.

It's easy to imagine this kind of conversation going on in September:

Nick: We ought to tie Jenson into a new deal, he's going to win the World Championship.
Ross: Hold on there Nick. I've been talking to Michael, and he's still keen on an F1 return.
Nick: Great idea big guy, you know Mercedes are fed up with McLaren never hiring German drivers.
Ross: Michael hasn't quite got the all-clear yet, but he's pretty sure the injury's sorted.
Nick: Okay, then we can use that as an undisclosed bargaining tool to offer Jenson not-very-much money.

During the last races of the season BBC commentator and F1's pundit-meister Martin Brundle said that it was extraordinary that Brawn hadn't tied up Button to a deal for 2010 and couldn't see what the delay was.

Button's side maintained that they weren't asking for that much money - considering he'd dropped a considerable amount from what Honda had agreed to pay him.

Then the Mercedes deal was announced and it all started to appear a bit fishy - Button's talks stalled, Mercedes insisted they wanted the best two drivers they didn't have to be German. They signed conveniently-German Nico Rosberg, but though Nick Heidfeld was talked about, they really needed a proven race winner in the team, not drivers who'd rarely been on the podium.

"This will be an international team. Mercedes-Benz is a global player," said Norbert Haug. "We definitely do not want to have a pure German team. It's an international team and we want to have the best drivers in the car."

Well, oopsie, look what you've done now.

Fast forward to December 23rd and they have got an all-German team. And more light can be shed on the driver selection process. Ross Brawn has already said contradictory things. Autosport have run a story where they say Brawn confirmed that he only decided to contact Schumacher about his availability after he knew that Button was leaving the team to join McLaren.

"We were in deep discussion with Jenson and I wanted to bottom those out before we entered into discussions with Michael," he said. "We didn't want to see Jenson leave but I could understand his reasons."

Which entirely contradicts the 'overlapping' quote that appeared today.

Ross has also said: "It overlapped to be honest. I had a loyalty to Jenson but when that started to look difficult I started talking to Michael, and things developed from there.

Michael and I kept very close over the years and I saw from his disappointment over the summer, when he couldn't drive a Ferrari, how much passion he still has for the sport."

Which means Ross knew from the summer that Michael was a likely driver for 2010. The fact that he's only prepared to talk about the contract negotiations in the vaguest of terms with sweeping generalizations about 'the end of the road' and 'overlap' and 'things developing' means that he has either got a very poor memory for the detail or doesn't want to come out and say that they had little intention of hiring Button for 2010.

Does it matter over much? No. Button's happy enough with McLaren and Schumacher's making a return to the only team apart from Ferrari that he could have driven for. We should be grateful that Ross Brawn learned a touch of the Machiavellian while he was at Maranello - it's F1 that wins.

Schumacher will attract enormous value and interest to a sport that needs it right now. And teams at the back of the grid that might have been struggling to get sponsorship will have the extra lure that their car will be competing against the most successful driver in F1 history. If only we could get Kimi back, too.

Andrew Davies

Michael Schumacher signs up for F1 return with Mercedes

Schumacher aborted a comeback attempt last season because of a neck injury

By Andrew Benson

Seven-times Formula 1 world champion Michael Schumacher will come out of retirement to race for Mercedes next year, BBC Sport understands.

The German, who will be 41 on 3 January, has signed a contract and the deal will be announced imminently.

Schumacher will partner compatriot Nico Rosberg in the team that won the drivers' and constructors' titles in 2009 in its former guise as Brawn.

His spokeswoman Sabine Kehm said she could not make any comment.

The German newspaper Bild is reporting that Schumacher signed a one-year deal and it is likely he will have the option to continue beyond 2010 if his returns goes well.

Schumacher will reportedly earn £6.2m after signing up to reunite with Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn, who masterminded all seven of his titles, the first two with Benetton in 1994-5 and the subsequent five with Ferrari from 2000-4.

606: DEBATE I don't like Schumacher but it's a great boost for F1 if he does return  KimiRaikkonen1

Mercedes are known to want German rising star Sebastian Vettel in the long term, but the 22-year-old is contracted to Red Bull until the end of 2012.

Schumacher was forced to call off a planned temporary comeback as a stand-in for injured Ferrari driver Felipe Massa last season because of a neck injury sustained in a motorcycle accident last February.

But Schumacher is known to have had medical checks recently and it must be assumed he has been given the all clear as he would not want to face the same embarrassment again.

He signed a revised contract as a consultant for Ferrari, but he told Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo that he was "very close" to concluding a deal to race for Mercedes.

Ferrari have had to release him from his contract to enable him to race for Mercedes.

His comeback is the most high profile in F1 since Austrian Niki Lauda came out of a two-year retirement for the 1982 season to race for McLaren.

He's not at the peak of his game, but he's still good enough to win races Eddie Irvine

Lauda, who was 33 at the time, went on to win a third world title in 1984.

Juan Manuel Fangio is Formula 1's oldest world champion, the Argentine won a fifth world championship at the age of 46 before retiring.

Schumacher has been training hard in preparation for a return and, assuming his neck is fully healed, is not expected to have any problems with fitness.

His former team-mate Eddie Irvine told the BBC last week that he expected Schumacher would win races, even though he would not be as powerful a force as before.

"The speed will be there, though he won't be as fast as he was seven years ago," Irvine said.

"He's not at the peak of his game, but he's still good enough to win races as he has such an immense talent. It's still four wheels, a steering wheel and an engine and there's never been anyone better than Michael."

Irvine said he thought Schumacher would be at a disadvantage in wheel-to-wheel racing compared to the younger generation of drivers such as 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton.

"Lewis isn't going to back off, but Michael will have to because he'll be 41," Irvine said.

Mercedes GP F1 Team Will Win $43 Million From Petronas

Petronas will pay Mercedes GP F1 team about €30 million ($43 million) per season for its position as main sponsor, according to some unofficial informations in the international press.

Mercedes GP announced Monday the signing of a publicity contract with Petronas oil group, a contract that stipulates that the Malaysian company will become the main sponsor of the Formula 1 team.

The two sides kept secret the value and the length of the contract, but the international press speculates that Petronas will pay Mercedes GP about $43 million every season. The amount of money is almost similar with the one that Henkel would have payed Mercedes if the contract with the German would be juridical legal.

At this amount will be added the TV rights of the 2009 season, currently estimated at approximately €50 million (about $72 million). Practically, Mercedes GP now has a €80 million ($114 million) budget for the 2010 season without including the direct investments made by German automaker.

MERCEDES GP SIGNS LONG-TERM AGREEMENT WITH PETRONAS

From: www.brawngp.comMercedes GP is delighted to announce the signing of a long-term agreement with PETRONAS which will see the Malaysian national oil and gas company become the title partner to the new Silver Arrows works team.

From 2010, the new team will compete in the FIA Formula One World Championship as the Mercedes GP PETRONAS Formula One Team and will carry the distinctive PETRONAS branding across the car and team liveries.

Leveraging Mercedes-Benz’s rich motorsport heritage and the long-standing involvement of PETRONAS in Formula One, the new title partnership also paves the way for future collaborations between the two companies. For PETRONAS, thepartnership will enable the oil and gas giant to generate sustainable business growth, particularly in their downstream lubricants market, through the strategic partnership and business alliance with Mercedes-Benz, one of the most prestigious global automotive brands.

The Mercedes GP PETRONAS Formula One Team’s challenger for 2010 will make its track debut in its new livery at Valencia on 1 February 2010 for the first of the pre-season tests ahead of the 2010 Formula One season.

PETRONAS will continue to be the title sponsor of the PETRONAS Malaysian Grand Prix, scheduled to be the third race of the new season, which will take place at the Sepang International Circuit on 4 April 2010.

Norbert Haug, Vice-President of Mercedes-Benz Motorsports, said: "We are very pleased to begin our long-term partnership with our new title partner PETRONAS. Daimler, our premium brand Mercedes-Benz and PETRONAS will work together both on and off the track and I am sure that everybody involved will guarantee their absolute dedication to success. PETRONAS’ home base in Kuala Lumpur is located in the middle of a fast-growing region for the automotive industry which makes this new partnership even more valuable. Within the limits of the new Formula One resource restrictions, the Mercedes GP PETRONAS Formula One Team will be well positioned to achieve our goals. We will all strive to present efficient success in the future knowing at the same time that the new Formula One season with some fundamental rule changes will be a particularly challenging one."

Ross Brawn, Team Principal of the Mercedes GP PETRONAS Formula One Team commented: “Everyone at Mercedes GP is delighted to confirm our long-term agreement with PETRONAS and we look forward to working closely with our new partner in the future. The collaboration of the premium automotive brand Mercedes-Benz and a company as prestigious as PETRONAS gives our team a fantastic base from which to achieve our ambitions of competing at the top level of Formula One and building on the success of 2009 which saw the team achieve the Constructors’ and Drivers’ Championships. Our plans for the new season are progressing well, as is the development of our 2010 challenger, and we look forward to seeing the car run in the new Silver Arrows and PETRONAS livery at the Valencia test in February.”