Well, baring Michael Schumacher having a bad physical, we will be looking at Felipe Massa’s replacement in the Ferrari garage.  This brings up some very interesting questions though.  For example; why aren’t one of the two Ferrari F1 test drivers being considered for the role next to Kimi Raikkonen?  What kind of shape will Michael be in after his motorcycle fall earlier in the year?  What is Ferrari trying to accomplish by getting Schumie back into the driver seat?

First, I think that Michael will be competitive, however I do not think he will win.  As much as a lot of us would like to see him win, I’m not sure if he can because of how the car is today along with him not being in an F1 car in over a year.

Michael Schumacher Back In The Saddle Again

So what is it that Ferrari is trying to do here?  I think part of it has to do with the development of the car.  Michael is well known for his abilities in creating and developing a car to become as fast as it can.  We all know that this is not Kimi’s strong point (because he just drives any car well whether it’s good or not) and Massa is still learning from Michael on the optimum setup of a car (who probably is still better than Kimi).  This development of the car will be ideal for Ferrari and potentially make the car even better, stronger and more reliable than the Red Bull and Brawn teams.  Even though they are out of the hunt for the manufacturer’s title, they can still make some huge ground on the competition ahead.

Publicity may help with moral and hopefully bring a new spark to the team.  I think that the devoted Ferrari Tifosi will see and feed of that spark which will translate in bringing new life and new hope to the team.  With Brawn and Red Bull taking the headlines for a majority of the year, this could be the big boost that Italian team have been looking for.  Oh the passion.

As we all hope that Felipe Massa’s quick recovery, I can’t help but wonder how the 40 year old German will do in Massa’s place.  A large part of me hopes that he continues where he left off… but maybe not ahead of Kimi.  The other part of me says that that era is gone and it’s time to let the new bread carry on with the torch.  Either way, Ferrari F1 will be exciting to watch and with new twist, hopefully a new reign.