Bleed It Out

Race 18 : Abu Dhabi (13 November 2011) 

Hasil finish ke-lima yang diraih Schumi di GP India memberikan tambahan kepercayaan diri pada diri juara dunia tujuh kali yang berharap bisa finish di posisi yang sama pada sisa dua race terakhir yaitu di Abu Dhabi dan Brazil. Juara dunia tujuh kali ini berharap timnya bisa tampil bagus di GP Abu Dhabi ini terlebih ini merupakan partai kandang bagi Aabar, perusahaan investasi yang memiliki 40% saham tim Mercedes. 

Sementara itu, menjelang GP Abu Dhabi, muncul perselisihan di media Jerman soal komentar yang diucapkan Schumacher dengan media Swiss, di mana pebalap Jerman ini mengatakan bahwa Swiss adalah satu-satunya rumah yang dimilikinya. “Switzerland is the only home I have,” ujarnya saat wawancara dengan media Swiss, Neue Zuercher. Kontan ucapannya ini membuat berang media Jerman yang mempertanyakan nasionalismenya sebagai seorang Jerman padahal selama ini Schumacher disebut-sebut sebagai putra terbaik Jerman. Bahkan media terbesar Jerman, Bild sampai menurunkan berita ini sebagai headline dengan judul: “Schumi, what should we take this to mean?”

Tentu saja Schumi langsung menanggapi kegusaran media di tanah airnya ini. Schumi yang selama 15 tahun terakhir ini tinggal di rumahnya di Swiss sejak ia pindah ke tepi Danau Jenewa bersama istri dan dua anaknya dan ternyata merasa kerasan di sana, menjelaskan penafsiran media yang salah atas ucapannya. Yang dimaksudnya adalah sejak ia bersama istri dan kedua anaknya pindah ke Swiss dan merasa nyaman dengan rumahnya di tepi Danau Jenewa itu, maka ia merasa itulah satu-satunya rumah yang dimilikinya, hal inilah yang diungkapkannya dalam wawancaranya dengan media Swiss, “The fact that Switzerland is clearly the only home I have is probably because I left home when I was very young and have spent a lot of my life abroad,” ujar Michael pada media Swiss, Neue Zuercher. 

Pernyataannya inilah yang langsung menyulut kontroversi di media tanah airnya. Padahal ucapannya ini bukan berati ia menyatakan bahwa dirinya bukan orang Jerman. Ia menganggap media Jerman yang mempermasalahkan nasionalismenya sudah salah kaprah. Dengan berapi-api ia menegaskan bahwa dirinya adalah seorang Jerman. Ia adalah seorang warga negara Jerman dan kemana-mana ia selalu membawa paspor Jerman!

“Rubbish! Of course I’m German, I have a German passport, and I look forward to it every time I come to Germany,” tegas Schumi mengakhiri pertikaian media di negerinya soal nasionalismenya.

Entah apakah kontroversi ini mempengaruhinya atau tidak, nyatanya Schumi yang pada balapan-balapan terakhir tampil bagus hingga memunculkan spekulasi bahwa ia akhirnya bisa melewati perolehan finish rekan setimnya, nyatanya mengalami akhir minggu yang tak terlalu menggembirakan di Abu Dhabi ini. 

Saat qualifying, Schumi catatan waktu Schumi hanya mampu menempatkannya di urutan start ke delapan, kalah 0.8 detik dari rekan setimnya yang akan mengisi grid ke-7. Namun Schumi tetap berharap saat race bisa meraih hasil yang lebih baik terlebih bila startnya berjalan bagus seperti biasanya. Tapi sayang balapannya tak berjalan sesuai harapannya meski sebenarnya Schumi tampil bagus saat start dan berhasil menyalip Rosberg tapi setelah dua lap, Schumi terpaksa menyerahkan kembali posisinya kepada rekan setimnya itu. Bahkan Schumi sempat keteteran bersaing dengan dua pebalap Froce India, Adrian Sutil dan Paul di Resta hingga akhirnya ia harus puas hanya mampu finish ke-7 ketinggalan 20 detik lebih dari rekan setimnya, Rosberg. Selisih poin antara dirinya dengan Rosberg pun kembali melebar dan kini jadi selisih 7 poin. Tinggal tersisa satu balapan lagi. Sao Paolo, Brazil, dan Michael berharap bisa memetik hasil lebih baik di sirkuit Interlagos, Brazil. 

Free Practice 1: 

Schumacher : 15th (1:43.389) 

Rosberg : 8th (1:42.130)

Free Practice 2: 

Schumacher : 7th (1:40.553) 

Rosberg : 20 th (1:44.265)

Michael Schumacher’s Friday Quote: 

Michael Schumacher (7th, 1:40.553): "I am reasonably happy with our work in the two sessions today, and considering that we managed to work the car well, I'd say it was a good day. Obviously we have our limits to operate within, but we maximised what we have in hand, and the car felt very good. We now have to see how we can transform this work into our weekend and maybe grab some more points on a track which today was very consistent."

Free Practice 3: 

Schumacher : 10th (1:40.938) 

Rosberg : 5th (1:40.135)

Qualifying: 

Schumacher : 8th (1:40.662) 

Rosberg : 7th (1:39.773)

Michael Schumacher’s Saturday Quote: 

Michael Schumacher (8th, 1:40.682): "It was quite a tight qualifying today. I aborted my last lap in Q1 to save tyres, and having some fresh tyres left is the good news from Q3 as well. Overall it was a normal qualifying where we would probably not have much more in the pocket. I also expect a straightforward race and we will try to make the most out of opportunities that arise. The tyres should not be a big issue here, and we tested their behaviour in P2 yesterday which took place at the same time as the race. The fact that the track temperatures will drop during the race might be good for us as we struggle a bit with the tyre temperatures here." 

Race: 

Schumacher : 7th 

Rosberg : 6th

Michael Schumacher’s Sunday Quote:

Michael Schumacher (7th): "A reasonable race today and some reasonable points I would say. Considering that we did not manage to find the perfect balance yesterday, we managed to get the maximum out of our situation today. But then, I did lose some small parts of the car which cost us some balance, and towards the end I had a slow puncture, which is why I had to park my car at turn two. The tyres gave up rather early in the first stint but that was due to our tyre strategy yesterday when we wanted to save a fresh set for the race. I therefore had quite used tyres for the start. We now have to look into the data and make sure we are well prepared for the last race of the season which we want to finish as well as possible." 

No More Sorrow

Race 17 : India (30 Oktober 2011) 

Usai mengalami balapan yang tak mengesankan di sirkuit Yeongam, Korea, Schumi berharap bisa meraih hasil positif di balapan perdana GP India yang kini memiliki sirkuit bernama Buddh International. Schumi menilai karakter sirkuit Buddh International cocok dengan mobilnya karenanya ia menilai seharusnya ia dan timnya bisa meraih hasil yang lebih baik dari sekadar finish di urutan ke-7 dan 8. Meski menurutnya sesi qualifying bisa jadi menyulitkan tapi belakangan ini ia merasa mobilnya jauh lebih tangguh saat balapan. Walau karakter sirkuit di India ini cocok sekali dengan mobilnya, tapi Schumi masih tak berani terlalu muluk mengharapkan kemenangan, karena menurutnya hal itu masih jauh dari jangkauan. Walau begitu ia tak menampik bahwa ia dan timnya tentu saja berharap bisa mencicipi kemenangan dan itulah yang tengah dilakukan oleh timnya saat ini. Fokus dan terus memperbaiki kinerja tim dalam menciptakan masa depan baru di Mercedes sehingga mereka bisa memetik buah kerja keras mereka ini secepatnya. 

“I think it is very important for all of us, that is what we are her for. All of us involved in teams know the taste of winning races and the championship, and that is what we are her for,” tegas Schumi mengenai harapan besar dari dirinya sendiri dan timnya yang ingin kembali merasakan kemenangan tapi sayangnya waktu mereka belum tiba. “We know we are in the situation we face right now-only way is to keep focused. We are building future of Mercedes and we wants to take fruits of that sooner rather than later,” ujar Michael dalam konferensi pers hari Kamis menjelang GP India. 

Penilaian Schumi mengenai qualifying ternyata benar. Catatan waktunya di sesi kualifikasi tak terlalu baik. Catatan waktunya hanya mampu menempatkannya di grid 12, selisih 0.8 detik dari rekan setimnya yang mengisi grid ke-7. Tapi Schumi tak terlalu khawatir dengan hasil yang diraihnya di babak kualifikasi ini. Namun berkat hukuman penalti turun 5 posisi yang diterima Petrov akibat perbuatannya pada Schumi di GP India, maka posisi start Schumi pun naik dari P12 ke urutan 11. 

Hari Minggu, saat balapan, lagi-lagi Schumi menampilkan start yang mengesankan. Di akhir lap pertama ia berhasil melompat ke P8 tepat di belakang rekan setimnya. Performa Schumi sepanjang balapan terus meningkat dan dengan strateginya akhirnya Schumi sukses finish ke-lima tepat di depan rekan setimnya. Hasil ini kembali memperkecil kembali selisih poin mereka menjadi hanya tinggal 5 poin saja. 

Free Practice 1: 

Schumacher : 5th (1:28.531) 

Rosberg : 6th (1:28.542)

Free Practice 2: 

Schumacher : 21st (1:31.804) 

Rosberg : 19th (1:31.098)

Michael Schumacher’s Friday Quote: 

Michael Schumacher (21st, 1:31.804): "This is a very interesting track with a challenging layout, and it's certainly enjoyable to drive. As we expected, off-line it is extremely dusty but the racing line became quite grippy over the day. This morning, I was happy with the balance of the car, however this afternoon was more challenging for us. We weren't really able to get into working properly for various reasons, including the red flag, and therefore tomorrow we need to work on the set-up for both qualifying and the race." 

Free Practice 3 : 

Schumacher : 11th (1:27.217) 

Rosberg : 8th (1:26.873)

Qualifying: 

Schumacher : 12th (1:26.337) 

Rosberg : 7th (1:25.451) 

Michael Schumacher’s Saturday Quote: 

Michael Schumacher (12th, 1:26.337): "Qualifying today was not really very good for us. At first I hit some traffic, and then on my final run in Q2, there was again vibrations on the set of tyres which I used which was not helpful. Saying that, this certainly does not explain the time gap to Nico so we need to understand what the reason was for that and get on top of it. As for the race tomorrow, this should work out better for me, and my aim undoubtedly is to score some points. I'm not really sure which side of the grid will be the better one, so I will just take it from there and try to gain as much as possible." 

Race:

Schumacher : 5th 

Rosberg : 6th

Michael Schumacher’s Sunday Quote:

Michael Schumacher (5th): "I am obviously happy about the race today. We achieved the maximum that we could hope for, and as a team we maximised our potential. Fifth and sixth places are a great result for us. On top of that, my car was very nicely sorted for the race and very stable. At the start, everything worked out according to my strategy as I deliberately didn't want to use KERS in the first two corners and save it for the long straight where I knew that I could make up some positions. In the second stint, I managed to maintain my tyres so I could stay out longer and that was enough for fifth place. What's really important at the moment is that we keep pushing and trying to improve, and that is what we achieved today. To the organisers of the first Indian Grand Prix, I would like to send a big compliment; I'm sure that I am not the only one to say that this was a very positive debut."

Leave Out All The Rest

Race 16: Korea (16 Oktober 2011) 

Menjelang GP Korea, kemungkinan Schumi untuk pertama kalinya berhasil mengalahkan total perolehan poin dari rekan setimnya mengemuka, terlebih usai GP Jepang, poin Schumi hanya selisih tiga poin saja dari Rosberg, dan menilai dari penampilan Schumi di sesi latihan bebas, bukannya tak mungkin juara dunia tujuh kali ini akhirnya berhasil mengalahkan peroleh poin rekan setimnya ini. Meski begitu, Schumi memilih tak menghiraukan selisih poin antara dirinya dengan Rosberg. Di hadapan wartawan, Schumi menyatakan ia tak hirau dengan apakah poinnya akhirnya bisa berada di depan rekan setimnya atau tidak. Yang lebih penting baginya adalah kinerja timnya yang berada di arah yang tepat sehingga mereka bisa mendapatkan mobil yang benar-benar mumpuni. 

Sayangnya harapan tinggal harapan. Alih-alih berhasil meraih poin, Schumi malah gagal melanjutkan balapan akibat ditabrak Vitaly Petrov dari Renault. Hasil yang amat mengecewakan, padahal seharusnya Schumi bisa kembali memetik hasil positif terlebih start Schumi lagi-lagi amat bagus. Ia start dari posisi 12 tapi di akhir lap pertama, posisinya sudah naik ke urutan sepuluh besar. 

Penampilan pebalap yang telah 91 kali meraih kemenangan GP sepanjang karirnya di F1 ini terus membaik dan bahkan sempat berada di depan Alonso setelah pit pertama. Dan tengah ia menikmati balapannya sementara Alonso dan Petrov tengah bertarung di belakangnya, tiba-tiba saja Petrov yang niatnya ingin menyalip Alonso tapi malah menabrak Michael Schumacher tengah memasuki tikungan, balapan Schumi pun terpaksa berakhir. Selisih poin antara dirinya dengan rekan setimnya yang semula tinggal berjarak tiga poin pun kembali melebar. Atas kesalahan Petrov ini maka pebalap asal Rusia itu dikenai hukuman turun 5 grid saat start di balapan selanjutnya yaitu di India. 

Free Practice 1: 

Schumacher : 1st (2:02.784) 

Rosberg : 8th (2:04.311)

Free Practice 2: 

Schumacher : 14th (1:54.965) 

Rosberg : 8th (1:53.914)

Michael Schumacher’s Friday Quotes : 

Michael Schumacher (14th, 1:54.965): "Today was one of those Fridays where most of what you do is race preparation, knowing that the conditions will probably be totally different when it comes to Sunday. Through both practice sessions, it was too wet to use dry tyres, while the forecast for the rest of weekend is dry. However you can learn a lot about the car and how it works on the track, and that is what we were doing most of the time today. We now have to look deep into the data we gathered and try to work out the best way to approach the rest of the weekend." 

Free Practice 3: 

Schumacher : 6th (1:39.559) 

Rosberg : 10th (1:39.743) 

Qualifying: 

Schumacher : 12th (1:38.354) 

Rosberg : 7th (1:37.754)

Michael Schumacher’s Saturday Quotes: 

Michael Schumacher (12th, 1:38.354): "To start with the positives of today's qualifying, I have saved two fresh sets of option tyres which is always helpful. On the other hand, it was obviously a pity what happened. Everything went normally in Q1, and from what you can expect of the tyres under normal circumstances, it was absolutely justified to go for just one run in Q2. But unfortunately I could feel that something was not right when leaving the pits as I had vibrations straight away. All that was left for us to do was hope that the gap would be big enough to remain in the top ten but that turned out not to be the case. We will now have a close look into what exactly happened and fully concentrate on trying to make up some positions in the race tomorrow." 

Race : 

Schumacher : DNF (tabrakan dengan Petrov) 

Rosberg : 8th

Michael Schumacher’s Sunday Quotes:

Michael Schumacher (DNF, Accident): "Another unfortunate end to a race which could have been encouraging today. It's a big pity as the car was again very good in race trim and I had already gained some positions. It would have been interesting to see what was possible, and I think we could certainly have taken some points. As for the incident, I didn't see Vitaly coming; I was just suddenly spun into a direction I had not intended to go, and then I saw my rear wing hanging off. It was unfortunate but these things happen when you fight hard - that's racing."

One Step Closer

Race 15 : Jepang (9 Oktober 2011)

Setelah mengalami kecelakaan dengan Perez di GP Singapore, yang mengandaskan harapan Michael untuk meraup poin dan membuat gap perolehan poin antara dirinya dengan rekan setimnya kembali sedikit melebar. Namun Schumi tetap optimis menyonsong GP Jepang dan berharap bisa meraih hasil yang lebih baik. Harapan yang bukan sekadar pepesan kosong, mengingat sirkuit Suzuka di Jepang ini memang merupakan salah satu trek favorit Schumi dan ada banyak kenangan luar biasa yang pernah diukir Schumi di sirkuit ini.

“Suzuka is a very special circuit, and one which has held great races, and great memories, for me over the years,” kenang Schumi menjelang gelaran GP Jepang.

Harapan Schumi meraih hasil positif di Suzuka, Jepang ini dibarengi dengan kabar baik dari tim yang mengabarkan bahwa mereka telah merekrut Aldo Costa, designer Ferrari yang sudah amat dikenal Schumi semasa ia berada di tim kuda jingkrak itu, dan Geoff Willis yang dulu pernah ada di tim ini sewaktu masih bernama BAR Honda. Keduanya akan bekerjasama dengan Bob Bell, mantan petinggi Renault yang sudah lebih dulu dibajak tim Mercedes di awal tahun sehingga diharapkan gabungan bakat mereka ini bisa makin memperkuat tim teknik Mercedes. Mengenai kemungkinan ia bisa kembali bekerjasama dengan Schumi, Aldo Costa mengaku amat bersemangat. Menurutnya Schumi amat hebat dalam menginterpretasi mobil dan pengembangannya dan ia amat mempercayai Schumi sebagai seorang pebalap. “No one is as good as him in interpreting a car and its development. He will be fundamental, and I strongly believe in him as a driver too,” ujar Costa.

Di sesi qualifying, Schumi kembali menjalankan strateginya menghemat ban untuk balapan sehingga ia memilih tak mencatatkan waktu di Q3. Langkahnya ini diikuti oleh Kobayashi dan dua pebalap Renault, Petrov dan Senna. Semula Schumi tercatat akan memulai start dari P7 tapi usai sesi qualifying, FIA mengumumkan perubahan hasil qualifying. Karena Kobayashi sempat mencatat waktu di flying lap sementara Schumi dan duo Renault tak mencatat waktu di Q3, maka sesuai regulasi, posisi start Kobayashi naik ke P7 menggeser Schumi yang akan memulai start dari P8.

Esoknya di hari Minggu, seperti biasa Schumi berhasil melakukan start bagus. Ia sukses menyalip Kobayashi. Balapan Schumi di Jepang ini termasuk salah satu yang mengesankan di tahun 2011 lalu. Schumi sempat memimpin balapan beberapa lap sebelum akhirnya ia masuk pitnya yang terakhir dan akhirnya sukses finish keenam, di depan Hamilton dan Massa yang sepanjang tahun lalu kerap bersitegang. Sementara rekan setim Schumi yang harus memulai balapan dari grid 23 akibat kegagalan hidraulik saat sesi qualifying pun menjalani balapan yang cukup baik dengan berhasil finish di urutan ke-10. Dengan hasil finish ke-enam yang diraih Schumi membuat perolehan poin antara dirinya dengan Rosberg pun kini hanya tinggal berjarak tiga poin saja.

Free Practice 1:

Schumacher          : 9th   (1:36.033)

Rosberg                 : 16th (1:38.197)

Free Practice 2:

Schumacher          : 6th (1:32.710)

Rosberg                 : 7th (1:32.982)

Michael Schumacher’s Friday Quotes: (Japan GP)

"It was a pretty typical two practice sessions today. We were working on set-up issues as usual and achieved much of what we wanted, however we are aware that the character of our car and the character of this track are not a perfect match and there are areas still to work on. From what I have seen so far, I would guess we will find ourselves qualifying in the region we have been lately, but obviously we will make our best efforts to improve our position further." 

Free Practice 3:

Schumacher          : 7th (1:32.725)

Rosberg                 : 8th (1:32.879)

Qualifying:

Schumacher          : 8th (No Time)

Rosberg                 : 23rd (Hydraulic problem)

Michael Schumacher’s Saturday Quotes: (Japan GP)

 "It was a tricky ending to my qualifying session today, but at least we have saved a set of tyres for the race tomorrow. We are still in a good position for gathering some important points, and obviously that is what I am geared to do. I am very happy with how we worked as a team to improve our performance this weekend, and I am really looking forward to having a good race at this great track which is one of my favourites." 

Race:

Schumacher          : 6th

Rosberg                 : 10th

Michael Schumacher’s Sunday Quotes: (Japan GP)

"I'm very happy with what we achieved in Suzuka today as we maximised our potential of the car, and managed to put in a good race. The team did a great job the whole weekend in finding performance and transforming it into the race. I think there was not more to expect and achieve. The pit stops were perfectly timed and everything worked out according to plan. I would like to congratulate Sebastian and his team who have been exceptional the whole year. It is extremely emotional to see him win the Championship again - I am very happy for him and even a little bit proud."