The reasons? Well, a new opinion:
Pablo Montoya, father of Juan Pablo stated yesterday on Caracol that he believes Renault had a "second option" on Kimi. He thinks Montezzemolo had to think about Ferrari's future, that Michael had few years left and that had not Schumi retired, Kimi would have gone to Renault. I won't try to translate the full interview, as some Ferrari fans could die of a heart attack.
For example, he called the attention of reporters to the distance between Todt, Montezzemolo and Schumacher at the end of the race, claiming that was not Mr. Schumacher decission, but an imposition by Ferrari.
Guys, I do not know in your countries, but here, we like people that says what they think. You may (you will) claim he is mistaken, but let me tell you Mr. Montoya Sr. is no dumb*ss. He is an architect that loves racing and that took the career of his son to heights most promoters only dream of.
He went to great lengths to explain how Bridgestone (at one point he said Ferrari... and claimed, "well, you could say Bridgestone or Ferrari, is almost the same thing") was totally beaten last year, when tires had to last for one race... that changes in one-set-of-tires-per-race this year, to allow several sets, were made only to benefit Ferrari and that this will mean at least three years of Ferrari dominance again, while the other teams react and get another tire maker into the series.
Well, maybe these are the reasons you are asking about why Schumacher retired. To me, all the delay, all the suspense, is hard to explain in any other way. Had this been really a decission made by Schumacher, torn between continuing or going, I wonder where are the retirement homages. I wonder if (as some people at my office say about ME) they are going to throw the goodbye party one day after he leaves (without him, of course... ).
If you understand spanish and want to hear this funny and revolutionary interview, of a guy that knows the sport and has no interest at all in it nowadays, you can hear it at
http://www.caracol.com.co/. You'll have to click on the link named "Pablo Montoya desmiente un eventual regreso de Juan Pablo a la Fórmula 1".
Before you argue that this are the sore words of the father of a loser (I know, I know...), let me tell you that he claimed that Juan Pablo had only three or four years left in F1, that he had to stay "in the middle of the pack" these years and that he believes his son did all he could in F1, except winning the world championship.
Oh, man, how I love straight talkers... they make you think.
This does not mean that I believe the not-so-veiled accusations of rule bending in favour of Ferrari, wich fall under the category of external-to-the-organization, typical Ferrari bashing.
But he raises the fact that Ferrari options to reach an all-star rooster in the future were certainly limited, that the Williams-McLaren fight of a few years ago have become Renault-Ferrari, and finally, that reaching Ferrari on Bridgestones is a hard proposition.
) could make all the difference, are long gone: now you need a lot of people and everyone of them has to be the best at what he is doing.
