Formula One news
'Forget the age' - Lauda on Schumacher
07 August 2009Niki Lauda is confident that Michael Schumacher can successfully return to Formula One in a fortnight's time. The Austrian, triple World Champion of 1975, 1977 and 1984, claimed his final title after a return from retirement and believes that Schumacher will revel in his own comeback to the sport.
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| Lauda picked up three titles between the mid 1970s and 1980s |
Having walked away from Formula One to set up airline Lauda Air, Niki returned to F1 as a double World Champion before handsomely beating the arguably quicker Alain Prost to a third crown for McLaren. Schumacher, on the other hand, was already a seven-time World Champion two years before announcing his retirement in 2006 but, as some doubt the German's fitness, Lauda remains certain that the Ferrari driver is the most suitable replacement for the injured Felipe Massa.
"He was never able to detox himself of the racing bug, as we have seen with his on-track motorcycle activities," Lauda told the official F1 website. "In my opinion, he retired at the end of the 2006 season because he couldn't see a real challenge and probably he regretted his decision. Now he's got the unique chance to step in for the injured Massa to help his former team and to find out for himself how competitive he still is."
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| Michael Schumacher's Ferrari role will switch from team advisor to driver in Valencia |
With many having questioned Schumacher's abilities in comparison with Kimi Räikkönen as a team-mate, the seemingly impossible will become a reality at the European Grand Prix. "This is something that would also interest me because this hunger for competition - for the adrenalin rush - never dies, it's in our DNA," 60-year-old Lauda added. "The situation as it is now at Ferrari, with a recovering Massa and an available cockpit, gives him the chance to explore how far he's off the top - that is a question that always puzzles a top driver like he was."
At forty years old, is Schumacher simply too old to be competitive? "Forget about the age," Lauda replied firmly. "He is fit, he's undergoing rigorous training and mentally he is taking up the challenge - he will do everything possible to be fit as a fiddle in Valencia. True, there are some obstacles that he has to overcome, like his unfamiliarity with the track and that he's had no chance to test this year's car, but that's part of his challenge, that's why he's doing it and that's why the whole world will be watching."
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