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| Were Schumacher to retire we could see Paul di Resta in one of the Silver Arrows. Credit: Morio |
It is often said that Schumacher has ruined his legacy with his return, as he may now not be remembered for his dominance from the Ferrari days. While I agree with this feeling, this is not the reason that he should retire.
The reason that I would like Schumacher to retire is to allow young drivers the chance. Race seats for promising young drivers are at a premium these days. I was pondering over the potential driver lineup for 2012 (which I will blog about soon) when I realised that if either Romain Grosjean or Jules Bianchi win the GP2 title, they will both be hard pushed to find a seat in Formula 1, despite being on the books of Renault and Ferrari respectively.
The lack of sponsorship money floating around in the aftermath of the financial crisis saw Nico Hulkenberg ousted at Williams in favour of the well-backed Pastor Maldonado. Unable to find a seat anywhere, Nico is sitting out this year as reserve at Force India.
Meanwhile, with 7 world championships to his name and, what appears to be no chance of adding to that tally, Schumacher continues to struggle in a car built by the 2009 world champions and capable of a podium in the right hands.
Were Schumacher to retire at the end of the season, Hulkenberg could well be top of the list to replace his fellow German at Mercedes, together with former Merc DTM star Paul di Resta. If Di Resta were to get Schumacher's seat, Hulkenberg would get the Scot's Force India berth.
That would see at least one more potential future world champion in Formula 1, which can only be a good thing, right?
Do you agree? Do you think Schumacher should stay on to take the fight to the young guns? Drop me a comment below.
