Michael Schumacher's Part-Time Job

Michael Schumacher; a genius, villain and all the other little words people tend to associate with him.  Above all, for nearly 16 years he epitomised Formula One.  For many casual fans of the sport, Schumacher was their only way into this wonderful activity. 

He was and still is a massive draw for people to start watching; I mean circuits still have his merchandise stand. What a massive array of items you can purchase, from the normal stuff like his trademark baseball cap, to his own aftershave.  You can be decked out in all his gear and even smell like him, but he’s not even there.

No, the simple fact is, Schumacher has been gone for two years now, and yet apart from a bit of testing here and there, charity karting events, the Race Of Champions, and having a spot of fun on bikes, he’s not really appeared to be doing much. 

Well, good for him, he probably deserves some rest, however I would like to pitch just a little idea; Le Mans.

It would only take up the odd weekday testing session, and just one weekend a year, still plenty of time to mess around on bikes.  

Imagine it, with all the money Ferrari may well be saving from 2010 cost cuts in Formula One, they could use it wisely and create a Le Mans super team; a proper prototype sports car. 

They’ve not challenged for overall victory for years, and it’s about time they did.  It’s one of, if not the most famous race in the world, and Ferrari should be properly represented, with their ambassador leading the charge.

Another former World Champion appearing not to be doing too much racing right now is Mika Hakkinen.  Michael has often been quoted as saying Mika was the driver he respected the most during his career, so who better to team up with?

If you add in Schumacher’s driving friends like Jean Alesi and Jos Verstappen, then you have an unquestionably worthy driving lineup to take on this marathon race.

On paper this looks perfect, although Schumacher has claimed safety issues on the Le Mans circuit puts him off making a second attempt (crash.net, 2005), I think this reasoning should be sidestepped and the super team put into action. It would at least give him a part-time job. 

Just use your imagination slightly to change that 1991 silver Mercedes (pictured) to a 2010 Ferrari red. It’s a brilliant dream, so here’s hoping it becomes a reality.