Schumacher cancels F1 comeback
Aug 11, 2009 - 02:00 PM
All that hype and preparation will amount to nothing. Specifically for Michael Schumacher who has canceled his F1 comeback thanks to a pain in the neck sustained after a motorcycle injury earlier in the year. A disappointed Schumacher said, “Yesterday evening, I had to inform Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo and Team Principal Stefano Domenicali that unfortunately I'm not able to step in for Felipe. I really tried everything to make that temporary comeback possible, however, much to my regret it didn't work out. Unfortunately we did not manage to get a grip on the pain in the neck which occurred after the private F1-day in Mugello, even if medically or therapeutically we tried everything possible.”
Schumacher added, “The consequences of the injuries caused by the bike-accident in February, fractures in the area of head and neck, unfortunately have turned out to be still too severe. That is why my neck cannot stand the extreme stresses caused by Formula 1 yet. This are the clear results of the examinations we did on the course of the past two weeks and the final examination yesterday afternoon. As there were no improvements after the day in Mugello, I decided at short notice on Sunday to do that thorough examination already yesterday.
Theories will definitely rise that will say he backed out due to lack of practice in the F60. But Schumacher had been training in the F2007 and was scheduled to do more tests on Wednesday. “I am disappointed to the core. I am awfully sorry for the guys of Ferrari and for all the fans which crossed fingers for me. I can only repeat that I tried everything that was within my power. All I can do now is to keep my fingers crossed for the whole team for the coming races,” he added.
With this chapter seemingly closed, the bigger question for Ferrari is that they have lost two weeks of prep time and are back to not having a replacement for Felipe Massa. Test drivers Luca Badoer or Marc Gene -- both termed useless by former champion Niki Lauda -- are favourites for the job now.
http://www.racingpad.com/formula1-ne...s-f1-comeback/