The Emperor

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Michael Schumacher is being linked with a move from Ferrari to Toyota. The seven time world champion's manager, Willi Weber, is quoted in the German Bild newspaper as openly embracing the possibility, just days after 37-year-old Schumacher warned that he could quit Ferrari if the next scarlet racer is not competitive.

Michael's brother, Ralf, currently drives for Cologne based Toyota, even if he is no longer managed by 63-year-old Weber.

Schumacher left open a 'one per cent' likelihood that he would switch teams at the end of this year in his Der Spiegel interview. Weber explained: “He did that because, in F1, there are always surprises. Even though McLaren have signed Alonso for 2007, there is still a big player on the market.”

F1's biggest player, with an estimated annual budget of now more than $500 million, is the Japanese carmaker. It is also perhaps the only F1 player able to meet Michael's wage demands.

Weber concurred with his champion charge that much depends on the pace of Ferrari's 2006 challenger. “We will see how the season starts,” the German explained, “before making a decision in the summer.”

He even went so far as to insist that having both Schumacher brothers at a single team is no longer a problem. Previously, he ruled out the scenario because - no matter what - one of his pair would be a loser.

“I no longer look after Ralf,” he said, “so it's no longer a problem.”

Curb Zone

 

siko

They surely have the budget for MS...

donau

This is interesting news and totally consistent with the pattern many of the past great sportsmen, some boxers come to mind, have gone down. Nothing wrong with trying to earn a few more big paychecks. After all, what matters is number one, not loyalty to a specific team, Ferrari in this case. I am saying this because I have this age bias although I probably shouldn't. Unfortunately though from own experience I know that people in their 20's and early 30's are generally superior in every physical respect than people when they have passed the 35 mark. Michael Schumacher is still in his 30's, but late 30's, so he may still have a couple of good years ahead of him for all I know. I have never heard him say anything disrespectful of the other drivers in public at least, and therefore I have nothing but good wishes for him to race for another few years. Whilst I know he is not the most popular guy out there, he has brought a lot of excitement to the game and has been the man to beat for several years now.
If Toyota is the team that can provide him with the means to be the most competetive and also pay him what he wants, then great! Hope it works.
Thanks for the interesting post TycoonGTR!

Curb Zone