Formula 1
Schumacher to decide his future this year
The question of when Michael Schumacher will retire has been asked many times and it seems the answer may be forthcoming in 2006. The former champion had to give up the title to Renault's Fernando Alonso last year after Ferrari suffered a poor ...
Edited: Jan 10, 2006, 5:05 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The question of when Michael Schumacher will retire has been asked many times and it seems the answer may be forthcoming in 2006. The former champion had to give up the title to Renault's Fernando Alonso last year after Ferrari suffered a poor season which relegated Schumacher to third in the standings.
Michael Schumacher.
Photo by xpb.cc.
The Maranello squad was not competitive enough to be in the title fight and Schumacher said if the situation continued this season he would not be encouraged to continue racing. "If I don't have the chance to win races and challenge for the title I don't think I'll want to extend my career," he told Germany's Der Spiegel magazine.
"If we want to progress we need more staff," he added in regard to Ferrari. "In Formula One you cannot afford to stand still. I need to know where we're heading." Schumacher's contract with Ferrari expires at the end of this year and reportedly he will decide his future mid-season.
There have been rumours that Michael, who turned 37 last week, could move to another team but the general consensus of opinion is that the seven-time champion will stay with Ferrari until he quits. He has previously said as much and it does seem unlikely that he would want to start over somewhere else.
Should Schumacher decide it's time to hang up his helmet, McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen has persistently been tipped to replace him at Ferrari. Alonso will race for McLaren in 2007 and it's thought that Raikkonen will be the one who departs rather than Juan Pablo Montoya. However, it's only speculation and, as usual, we'll just have to wait and see.
Ferrari has yet to confirm a launch date for its 2006 challenger but it's likely to be towards the end of this month. The team will be back at work on the test track at Jerez next week, as will most of its rivals. So far Toyota is the only team to have revealed its new car but the Renault R26 is due to make its appearance at Jerez.
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Formula One goes back to work
Next article New commercial association for Honda
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Juan Pablo Montoya
Team Penske and Chevrolet announce multi-year extension of IndyCar partnership
IndyCar
IndyCar
Team Penske and Chevrolet announce multi-year extension of IndyCar partnership
Juan Pablo Montoya admires Franco Colapinto's "aggressive" approach despite Baku crash
Formula 1
Formula 1
Azerbaijan GP
Juan Pablo Montoya admires Franco Colapinto's "aggressive" approach despite Baku crash
Williams tipped for "huge step" forward at Azerbaijan GP with major upgrade
Formula 1
Formula 1
Spanish GP
Williams tipped for "huge step" forward at Azerbaijan GP with major upgrade
More from
Ferrari
Robert Kubica announces exit from AF Corse’s privateer Hypercar in WEC
WEC
WEC
Monza
16 h
Robert Kubica announces exit from AF Corse’s privateer Hypercar in WEC
Charles Leclerc penalised for Liam Lawson clash; Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman also punished after F1 Brazilian GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
16 h
Charles Leclerc penalised for Liam Lawson clash; Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman also punished after F1 Brazilian GP
Latest news
Fermin Aldeguer defends himself after Francesco Bagnaia crash: “It wasn’t a crazy move”
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Qatar GP
16 min
Fermin Aldeguer defends himself after Francesco Bagnaia crash: “It wasn’t a crazy move”
George Russell has lost 90 points to Max Verstappen in F1 2026 runner-up battle
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
1 h
George Russell has lost 90 points to Max Verstappen in F1 2026 runner-up battle
Aprilia: “Marco Bezzecchi couldn’t avoid the collision; Marc Marquez moved in on him"
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Qatar GP
2 h
Aprilia: “Marco Bezzecchi couldn’t avoid the collision; Marc Marquez moved in on him"
How the Racing Bulls pendulum is swinging back towards undeniable Liam Lawson
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
2 h
How the Racing Bulls pendulum is swinging back towards undeniable Liam Lawson
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe