Dear Michael. Please retire. Now.

10 place grid penalty for Spa - is that enough? I would have at least added a suspended sentence of some sort

As badly as it's all going I don't think it makes sense to quit just yet. He's been through a nightmare 2010, surely he has to stick about and hope that the 2011 car is capable of putting him up front? If it's not then it's definitely time to quit, but if he goes now and next year's car is a racewinner he'll feel even more of an idiot than he does today. So I'd expect to see him in F1 next year, praying that the team get things right. Whether that's for the best or not is up for debate.

We all know that most of the time it's the car that lets you win a race and not the driver. The driver helps a little bit mind you.

Rosberg has had one (?) podium in 2010, but I can't remember if it down to skilful driving or as a result of a safety car lotto result.

As Jimmy said, I don't quite think it's time to be calling for his drive to be handed to someone else, but that as the car is just not /that/ fast, he needs it to improve.

I would have at least added a suspended sentence of some sort

Suspended sentences aren't really punishment enough, that would essentially mean he would have got away with it. The grid drop is fine. If he does it again though, (which if you look at the other times he's done it, there is a good chance he will), he shoud be banned from some races.

That time he lost his second place for trying to drive Villeneuve of the road at Jerez was a pointless punishment really. Knowing Schumacher he wants to win. Second place is not good enough for him so by taking second place from him served no purpose. He would have been thinking, "Well I didn't want second place anyway so you can have it... I don't care...", or something like that.

Micheal is a hard racer but today incident was ridiculous.

I meant a suspended sentence on top of the grid penalty

he gets a penalty for a dangerous overtaking based action, and the penalty puts him behind 9 more cars whom he's gonna have to overtake... gonna be a lot of cars off the road in Spa!

Nico has had three podiums, and has finished ahead of Michael in 9 of 12 races (probably would have been 10 if Mercedes could have got all four wheels on properly!). The Mercedes may not be a race-winning car, but Nico is showing it can be driven better than Michael is doing. I think Michael has to ask himself if he is being honest when he thinks he can challenge for the title next year, as if you can't beat your teammate it doesn't matter how good your car is.

Scummy....7 driver's world championship ... Fangio little 5 championship... but Fangio is a Gentleman inside and outside the tracks... and Schummy???? I don't think.

I think he should have to sit out the next race. Also, all he is doing is embarassing himself; he needs to hang it up after the season. Nothing Schumacher does on track surprises me - he has gotten away with so much during his career. But to put Rubens at risk after all the years that Rubens dutifully played the number two man to Schumacher makes this incident all the worse.

not the best thing i've ever seen, but webber did the same thing to massa in 2008 at fuji, didnt he? he didnt get penalised, although i think he gave massa more room. thoughts?

actually, i take that back. webber didnt really squeeze massa very much, just put his car on the right, then massa went around the pit wall.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elyxIhMW_No

The man is a cheat. He was before and nothing's changed. Kick him out for the good of the sport and the safety of the other drivers.

A wise driver would push breaks if he sees that there's no place to go. Probably Barrichello expected that the wall would magically disappear and the track would be built in front of his car?

If Barrichello had braked, his car would have been going slower, and so he WOULD have ended up in the wall, or if he avoided that then there was every chance of tyre to tyre contact between the two cars - which is what killed Gilles Villeneuve and maimed Didier Pironi.

Schumacher should have been given a one race ban for the good of the sport.

They could have locked wheels or anything and both of them could have been in severe trouble and I don't mean from the stewarts.. Agressive driving is one thing but that was ridiculous.

To paraphrase Mr Blackadder. "Dear Mr Schumacher. Please please please. Stop."

Fully agree with the article, Schumachers return has been an embarresment..........but now he has become a dangerous embarresment......................GO NOW!

Let's face it, we've all been armchair experts at some stage be it football f1 boxing athletics etc we can sit at home and think "why didn't you do that" "why didn't you shoot" "why didn't you hit the apex". M Schumacher became an armchair fan like the rest of us, with surprising confidence he claimed he was going for the WDC. Most realists would not be surprised by his performances this year. If we put his previous career into context there were plenty upon plenty of question marks on what he could e capable of in a neutral environment against a decent driver and competition. M Schumacher got carried away and thought "I can take these youngsters". Reality kicked him in the teeth. He has been spanked by Rosberg who was never ranked as one of the very top drivers. M Schumachers driving has shown lots of signs of desperation with little composure. Truck load of mistakes into the bargain as well. His attitude has changed since the start of te season too. It seemed he had mellowed out a bit but as his beatings continued, dished out by Rosberg and even the likes of Alg in the TR he has rapidly lost all coolness. His driving is ragged and desperate now. Maybe he is experimenting maybe he isn't, if he is it has come from pure desperation. In his interviews he is back to his old arrogant rude self as he often was first time around when he was under pressure or produced one of his numb nuts moves. He is slow, he is arrogant, he appears to have psychotic traits and it really is pitiful for all watching. He comes across as a very sad man in his 40s with a few screw lose. A shame because when he entered the arena in 1991 he appeared to be a happy go lucky type. M Schumacher has desperate traits, he will do anything to get his away without giving a second thought for others. life is too short to have such little compassion for human life. His teammates father Keke was a one time world champion who perhaps didn't achieve as much as he perhaps could but still to thi day all that saw him race will look back with fond memories of his skill charisma and conduct within the sport. Being a decent human being comes before winning. It's been said many times already but M Schumacher now really is the F1 version of Tyson in his latter year of boxing... A pathetic case. Still, it generates much interest because people are curious about those who display such destructive careless behaviour. The even sadder aspect for M Schimacher was that even in his "Succesful" years people were never fully convinced by him due to his unique circumstances... Tyson on the hand really was a phenominal talent in his prime. I actually feel for M Schumacher. The guy genuinely has psychological issues and being in te public light. His blatant flaws are there for the whole world to see. He can't help being who he is.

Totally agree mp4

Can a driver with the most illustrious career in the history of our sport really have been THAT good if he can't get the speed out of his car achieved by his far less experienced teammate just because the tyres don't suit him ?

Like most racing fans I was excited by the thought of Schumacher mixing it with Hamilton, Button and Co and when he was paired with Rosberg ( a driver I have always rated highly ) I thought that he would quickly gain the advantage.

However it really pains me to see him return to the track and struggle, particularly as he has faired so badly against Rosberg in the same car.

So is it time to re-appraise the Schumacher legend ?

Undoubtedly Schumacher is a highly skilled driver but maybe he's not actually quite as good as an Alonso, Hamilton or a Vettel ?

We have an example of Hamilton who can get lap times out of the McLaren that Jenson can only dream about when the car is not set up just how he likes it. That probably makes Lewis the better driver overall for most fans, particularly on a dry track.

So, could the Schumacher legend be more down to the unique combination of the ruthless and highly skilled Team Management of Jean Todt and Ross Braun ?

I've never been a particular fan of Schumacher or Senna for that matter : They may have been fast but in my view there have been plenty of worthy World Champions who have behaved in an honourable way on track.

But I don't raise this question to do him down, I simply don't know the answer.

Funnily enough I've been thinking the same thing here: http://f1.quta.co.uk/front-tyres-design-hurting-schumacher

I've always maintained that Schumacher was one of the best drivers, but was not as good as the stats suggest and not miles ahead of everyone else. To maintain his motivation for 7 titles over 15 years was remarkable, as was his work ethic. On his day when everything was to his liking he was also simply untouchable, such as Hungary 1998.

However the stats ring hollow to me for several reasons.

His move to struggling Ferrari was hailed as brave, but moving to the best funded team and to be with all of the talented (and championship winning) Benetton staff again was hardly brave. In the end he had a car 2s per lap faster than anyone else except his team mate...

Then there's his contract. To have a contract preventing a team mate from beating him was remarkable negotiating skills but again hardly brave.

Then there was the FIA assistance. It's hard to believe, but the previous penalty he received for poor driving standards before Hungary 2010 was... Jerez 1997!!! Conspiracy theory you say?
Try remembering Malaysia 2002: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJJXIgnjug0
Dangerous start line swerve? Check
Given enough space on the inside by Montoya? Check
Go wide into him anyway? Check
Penalty? No worries

So he won 7 titles? What are they worth. In the eyes of Rubens not alot.

I didn't like Senna's on track tactics but Schuie took them to a new level. I always respect Senna for wanting to prove himself against Prost in the same team. I don't think I'll ever respect Schuie.

Agree, Michael may well have won 7 titles but he was never the best driver and he is the reason why.