Michael Schumacher has admitted that his decision to try and return to Formula One this year was one of emotion rather than reason. The seven-time World Champion was unable to compete after being asked by Ferrari to replace the injured Felipe Massa following the Brazilian's unfortunate incident in Hungary.With a return for Valencia having made worldwide headlines, Schumacher was eventually kept on the sidelines due to a neck injury sustained in a motorcycle accident in February. "It wasn't really a rational decision, it was an emotional decision which, at the time, made me think, 'why not, it's part-time - it could be fun,' the German told Reuters.
"Having the meeting with Luca Di Montezemolo (Ferrari President), I looked at all the points, in particular that it was Felipe, who is like a brother to me. Part of the reason I retired was to hand the car over to him because he deserved to stay in a team with a top car; so, taking into account that it was him having the accident and having to suffer, it was very easy to convince myself, so I finally said, 'yes, I will try.'"
When asked if he would be interested in returning full-time, Michael's response was clear: "Right now, no."
Source: gpupdate
A car widely renowned as the most beautiful of all time is also now officially the most expensive after a model sold for €20 million at an auction.
Only 39 models of the legendary Ferrari 250 GTO model were ever built, from 1962 to 1964. It was already considered one of the most valuable cars in the world, previously thought to have been worth approximately €14 million. But with the recent record-breaking sale, it seems the Ferrari 250 GTO is even more valuable than had been thought.
The fall of the hammer that sold the car for a whopping €20 million smashed the world record to bits. The previous holder was a 1961 Ferrari California Spyder which sold for about €7 million in May.
Powered by a three-litre V12 engine, the 302-horsepower Ferrari 250 GTO can reach speeds of 283km per hour.
And just who snapped up the wonderful wheels? An unknown buyer from England..
Due to the restricted testing regulations which were imposed upon Formula One for the first time this year, Fernando Alonso has explained that he will not drive a Ferrari on a race track until February, the month before the 2010 season kicks off in Bahrain.With Ferrari set to be the fourth team for which the former double Champion drives for in the sport, Alonso will have only a small number of runs in the car prior to the opening Grand Prix of next year.
"Not a lot, as we are only drivers and not engineers," Alonso replied when asked by the official F1 website just how much he would be contributing to the development of the car. "That doesn't give me a lot of chances to give any input up until February 2010, when I'll get to drive the car for the first time.
"Up until that point, I will try to understand how the team works and prepare for the winter testing as well as I can."
Source: gpupdate
