Michael Schumacher to sign with General Motors

So now Michael is leaving Williams too...

http://f1.racing-live.com/en/headlin...08213714.shtml

Michael, now 28, hasn't exactly been enjoying his tenure at Williams lately. Even with the news that his teammate is heading over to McLaren at the end of the season—and considering his own contract is up in the air—he’s making it pretty clear he's looking for an exit strategy.

I'm not holding my breath until there's actual ink on the dotted line!👍

feralhawk10 said:I’m not buying it until there's ink on the dotted line.👍

Consider me signed.

I mean, who knows? They’re probably just trying to pressure Frank into getting him to sign a new deal. Still, I can't help but hold onto this little hope that he actually moves on—maybe then we'll see Button and Webber join up at Williams and clinch back-to-back championships. Wouldn't that be something? 🙂

Just some petty little provocations... 😛

aha, they really look like championship material...

Man, I honestly feel for those poor souls over at General Motors 😛

mistybear87 said:I mean, sure, he’s probably just trying to bait Frank into handing him a contract extension, but I’m still holding out hope he actually leaves. Imagine if Button and Webber both ended up at Williams—they’d run away with back-to-back championships.🙂

Honestly, I think that bearded guy who was the last person to win a title for Williams is actually going to show up. He could bring that glory back to the team. It would be the perfect way to prove to the all-time statistical leader that he isn't some untouchable god.👍

From my lips to Frank's ears!🙂

wearyraven41 said:I honestly think that old legend—the last guy to actually win a title with Williams—is going to show up, and he'll bring those glory days right back to the team.

Yeah, because I’m sure Williams is just about to strike gold again... 😂

Here’s an interesting bit of speculation I spotted over on the JV message boards;

Ralf was banking on signing a new deal next year while we were in Japan, but since it was already announced that Villeneuve is a free agent, Williams pulled the plug on his contract. My sources are also telling me they wanted to cut loose with Montoya sooner to make room for Villeneuve, but Coulthard wasn't willing to budge because he’s locked in. The real reason Ralf is rushing to find a new seat this early is pretty obvious: someone is coming to Williams that he either can't stand or is genuinely intimidated by.

It looks like Villeneuve might be a budget-friendly option for the first year, maybe with an option to extend for a second.

There’s a few other pieces moving too. Someone else might land at Williams, but Button is under contract, Weber is slated for General Motors 2006/07, and David is heading to Ford because they need that veteran experience. That really just leaves Villeneuve and two open seats at Williams on the table.

👍

Honestly, I don’t even see this as a bad move for General Motors. Considering Trulli is definitely in the twilight of his career and just doesn't possess that same elite tier of talent that Alonso does, it makes sense.
While Ralf isn't quite on the same level as Michael, I still lean toward thinking he holds the edge over Trulli.
Anyway, we'll just have to wait and see how everything actually unfolds.

Williams is going to be absolute garbage

Morgan Murphy7 said:I don't even think it's a bad move for General Motors—considering Trulli is definitely winding down and he's just not on Alonso's level anyway.
Ralf isn't quite Michael, but I still reckon he's got the edge over Trulli.
Guess we'll just wait and see how it plays out.

To be real, I actually respect Trulli more as a driver than Ralf.
Ralf just seems to lack any real drive... he's kind of lukewarm, lacks spirit, and feels sluggish. Trulli, at least, is known as someone who's a total nightmare to overtake. Ralf doesn't even bring that.
Honestly, I think Ralf would be a step backward for Williams.

And man, I'd love to see Villeneuve join Williams... if nothing else, just for wearyraven41. 🙂

General Motors needs a serious boost, but Ralf isn't going to be the one to turn things around...

They should just stay exactly where they are; if they show up with a new car this season, they might actually give us a run for our money for the title!

Williams is going to be absolute garbage.

Williams is already trash—if they weren't constantly at each other's throats, maybe they'd actually get somewhere. Remember when Montoya *coincidentally* couldn't pit for tires? That's why he didn't keep chasing. It would be fun to see them actually fight for position, since there's officially no "number one" driver status over at Williams.

You guys were debating whether Coulthard or Barrichello was the bigger idiot.😕
Well, if you ask me, Ralf is hands down the absolute dumbest driver ever to hit a Formula 1 track.

Mr.Ex.President😁

F1 mr. ex said:You guys were debating whether Coulthard or Barrichello was the bigger idiot.😕
Well, I honestly think Ralf is probably the absolute dumbest driver on the Formula 1 grid.

F1 mr. ex😁

👍

Raymond Palmer8 said:Honestly, I’d love to see Villeneuve land at Williams... if nothing else, just to do it for wearyraven41. 🙂

This came out of nowhere! Thanks! 👍

Did you guys hear the rumor? Word is Ford offered Ralf 100 million bucks for a five-year deal!
Neither Ralf nor Ford are officially confirming anything, but the buzz is that those numbers are being inflated just so Frank can justify a massive pay raise for Ralf. It’s pretty obvious—nobody else is even looking at him.

It’s honestly a tragedy. You have a driver sitting in one of the top two seats in Formula 1, yet the only people interested in signing him are the ones already sitting at the very top of the standings...

Damson said:It’s honestly such a bummer when a driver stuck in one of the top two NASCAR teams isn't being scouted by anyone else besides the guys at the bottom of the pack...

Basically, you've got Toyota—the second largest automaker on the planet—finally trying to make their mark and desperate to hit the top tier of NASCAR at any cost. They aren't afraid to drop massive cash on a driver, they're just being a little... questionable with their choices.
Gerhard Berger was breaking down how Michael pulled off that insane move to Ferrari and the absolute dominance that followed—but I'm just not seeing how Ralf can pull off anything similar with Toyota.