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| Richard Williams: Not all glad to see Schumacher back Michael Schumacher will be a sight to behold in a Silver Arrow but his ruthlessness provokes misgivingsThe last time we saw Michael Schumacher as a Formula One driver, his Ferrari was a blur of red diving inside the silver McLaren of Kimi Raikkonen as the two cars roared along the pit straight at Interlagos shortly before the finish of the 2006 Brazilian grand prix, the final round of the season. In the mind of the German, there was more than fourth place at stake as he swooped past the Finn who would be taking his seat at Maranello the following year. Schumacher was making a point.There is not much doubt that he would like to have stayed at the Scuderia Ferrari for another year, but contracts had been signed and the company's president, Luca di Montezemolo, felt it was time to move on. Schumacher accepted the decision, along with a new consultancy deal that kept him tied to the team with which he had won five of his seven world championships, and where – but for the legacy of a neck injury suffered while racing motorbikes – he would have made his comeback earlier this year in place of the stricken Felipe Massa.In Bahrain next March he will race in his 250th grand prix, with the prospect of a possible three seasons to come at the wheel of a Mercedes-Benz. By that time he would be 44, still two years younger than Juan Manuel Fangio when the incomparable Argentinian won the last of his fifth titles.His comeback, like that of Lance Armstrong to the Tour de France this summer, will redouble interest in a sport which has lost public esteem through a series of scandals in recent years. If he turns out, at 41, to have lost the edge that brought him seven world championships, that additional interest will be shortlived. But in his press conference today he sounded fully confident that he will be able to resume at his familiar level of competitiveness.In his home gymnasium he has been working on his fitness. He never stopped training in his retirement, although with less intensity. But his weight is back to where it was, and he sees no reason why Formula One's physical demands should cause him problems. "I have no doubt on this," he said.Like Armstrong, who also won his sport's biggest prize seven times and then took a four-year sabbatical, Schumacher will not return without provoking certain misgivings in the minds of those to whom it seems less than healthy for a forward-looking sport to welcome the return of a man carrying so much baggage along with his trophies.This is a champion who secured his first title in 1994 by appearing to cause an accident with Damon Hill, who unquestionably tried to drive Jacques Villeneuve off the road to steal another in 1997, and who parked his car in the middle of the track during the final qualifying session at Monaco in his final season in order to prevent Fernando Alonso from setting a faster time. Of earlier world champions, Nino Farina was occasionally a danger to his rivals and Ayrton Senna introduced Formula One to dodgem-style ethics, but there was a degree of cynical calculation about Schumacher's chicanery that many found repellent, and which leaves a permanent stain on his statistically unmatched record.In his absence, too, we have seen the rise of Lewis Hamilton, the fulfilment of Jenson Button's promise and the arrival of Sebastian Vettel, most critics' bet as the next German world champion. Hamilton and Vettel, who were aged six and four respectively when Schumacher first raced a Formula One car, are likely to welcome the chance to match their skills and youthful confidence against a legendary figure. But some of the veterans might not be so thrilled, and the 24-year-old Nico Rosberg, who left Williams to sign for Mercedes before a hint of his compatriot's return had emerged, will now have to fight his way out of a giant's shadow.The only available precedents for Schumacher's decision give no real clue to his prospects. Niki Lauda, having won the championship in 1975 and 1977, left Formula One at the end of 1979 to run his airline, returning with McLaren two years later when that venture hit trouble and picking up a third title in 1984. Nigel Mansell, by contrast, quit after winning the championship with Williams in 1992 and made a brief four-race comeback with the same team after Senna's death in 1994, winning one grand prix, but then humiliated himself by attempting a full-scale return with McLaren the following year, only to find that he could not fit into the car.What no one can doubt is the extent of Schumacher's commitment. Another similarity to Armstrong is his willingness do whatever it takes to make himself competitive with the new generation. And it would be a hard heart that did not experience some sort of a thrill – the word he kept using today – at the thought of seeing him in a Silver Arrow. Even with a typical driver's limited knowledge of grand prix history, he will be acutely aware that Mercedes do not race to come second.Michael SchumacherMercedes GPFormula OneMotor sportRichard Williamsguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Ben Foden senses his chance to embark on another break for the limelight For too long now, Ben Foden has been a wandering soul. In the past 18 months, he has moved clubs, drifted in and out of England squads and vacillated over whether he preferred to play at scrum half or full back. The advent of a new year, though, will find this gifted attacking player finally attempting to put down some roots. feeds.timesonline.co.uk |
Ogilvy wins second straight Hawaii title • Australian wins PGA Tour opener with final-round 67• Defending champion pipped Rory Sabbatini by one strokeGeoff Ogilvy successfully defended his title at Kapalua as he won the season-opening SBS Championship by a stroke in Hawaii.The Australian shot a final-round 67 at the par-73 Kapalua Resort Plantation Course to win by a shot at 22 under from South Africa's Rory Sabbatini and win the tournament of the previous year's PGA Tour event winners for the second year in succession.Matt Kuchar, of the United States, was third in the 28-man field at 19 under while his countryman Sean O'Hair tied for fourth one shot behind with Scotland's Martin Laird.Ogilvy started the day one shot back on the third-round leader and US Open champion, Lucas Glover, but as the front runner dropped off the leaderboard, Ogilvy's new target became Sabbatini.The South African's bogey-free, 10-birdie 63 gave him the clubhouse lead until Ogilvy brought up the rear and took the title – the Australian having reached the 18th tee with a one-stroke lead and needing to avoid bogey or worse to force a play-off."I am really happy and excited that I could get it done," Ogilvy said after making a solid two-putt par on the 18th green. "With nine holes to play, we knew what we had to do."It's hard to make birdies when you have to make birdies. I've had that situation with a couple of holes to play but never with nine holes to play, so I'm pretty proud of the fact I did it."That was an unbelievable round, 10 under around there," he added, referring to Sabbatini's 63. "He really wasn't on the map at the start of the day."Laird had been in contention all week and at 19 under after 15 holes was just three shots back, only to bogey 16 and 17 to ruin his hopes of victory.There was an eagle opportunity at the par-five 18th but the Scot's long putt just missed right but his birdie nevertheless lifted him to a top-five finish at 18 under.GolfUS PGAguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Thorpe appointed coach for Lions tour • Former England batsman to join team as batting coach• Lions play Pakistan, UAE and England in FebruaryThe former England batsman Graham Thorpe has been appointed batting coach for the England Lions tour of the United Arab Emirates in February, the England and Wales Cricket Board announced today.Thorpe, who has been Surrey's batting coach since 2008, will join the England Lions coaching team which includes performance director David Parsons and lead fast bowling coach Kevin Shine.England Lions will play three Twenty20 matches against Pakistan 'A', as well as Twenty20 matches against the UAE and England, followed by three 50-over fixtures against Pakistan 'A' at the DSC Stadium, Dubai, between 6-27 February.Thorpe, who played 100 Test matches for England, averaging 44.66, and 82 one-day internationals in an international career that spanned 12 years, said: "I'm really looking forward to the tour and working with the Lions squad."It's a great opportunity for me and I'm grateful to Surrey for giving me the freedom to take it on. Over the course of my time with the team I hope that I can offer them some good advice and be someone they learn a lot from."England Cricket TeamCricketguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Fulham sink Accrington Stanley “INDUSTRY and prudence conquer†is the stolid northern wisdom embroidered on the breast of Accrington Stanley’s red shirts. It was the little Lancashire club’s misfortune to meet a Premier League team who have been extolling such values for two pugnacious years. feeds.timesonline.co.uk |