There could be life in the old dog yet. Michael Schumacher, 43 years young and the most experienced driver in Formula One, shrugged off the rain and grey skies hanging over Melbourne to set the fastest time of the day in practice for the Australian Grand Prix.
His critics keep saying this is the make-or-break year for Schumacher, the year when he has to prove it was worth returning to drive for Mercedes after three years of retirement. The first two years of his comeback might have proved lacklustre but there are signs that Mercedes have given Schumacher a car that can compete and that the seven-times world champion is believing again.
Schumacher regularly topped sessions in pre-season testing and he has arrived in Melbourne with the same sort of imperious spring in his step that set him apart from the rest in his glory years. Officially he is cautious about his chances, but he has been sniffing the cool air of Melbourne for signs that he is back in the leading pack for this season.
It probably helps that his Mercedes team appears to have found a technological “trick” that could force a new arms race with rival teams. The F-duct system, which stalls the air over the rear wing to reduce drag and boost top speed, has been banned by the FIA, the governing body, but the talking point among Formula One engineers in Melbourne is that Mercedes have found a passive system that gets around the rules. Their system was cleared by the FIA under scrutineering here in Melbourne but Christian Horner, Red Bull’s team principal, warned that could mean rival teams are forced into expensive programmes to develop their own systems.
“If a team has found a creative solution to circumnavigate a rule, then it is ultimately down to the FIA,” Horner said. “Inevitably if a team has found a route around it, then it is a route that other teams will have to follow -- and obviously there is cost involved in that.”
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Practice was disrupted by rainstorms that forced drivers back into their garages for much of the twilight session, delaying their preparations and making it difficult to gauge the possible pecking order for this season-opening grand prix.
McLaren scored the psychological advantage in the morning session with Jenson Button fastest, followed by Lewis Hamilton, his team-mate, just 0.245secs slower. Schumacher was still there, though, nibbling away in third place. The Red Bulls of Sebastian Vettel, the world champion, and Mark Webber, the local favourite, had a quiet day, going through their test regime to prepare for qualifying a d few would dare to write them off before qualifying.
There were also few signs of life from Ferrari, who have come here carrying a burden of expectation from their home nation. Pre-season testing did not go well and they set off through the puddles of the Albert Park circuit on Friday after dampening hopes of a place on the podium this weekend. Fernando Alonso was, as usual, a model of consistency, circulating the track comfortably, but Felipe Massa continued his wretched form by slithering into the gravel after just 11 laps of the first session. As the rescue tractor collected his beached Ferrari, Massa stood by looking forlorn. This could be his last season in Formula One unless he starts to perform.
Perhaps it just was not the day for eye-catching performances, though, as the clouds refused to go away to lift the atmosphere on a grand prix facing the axe. Bernie Ecclestone, Formula One’s chief executive, warns that the twilight start – at 5pm in Melbourne – is not late enough to attract viewers in the massive European television market and wants floodlights to turn the Australian Grand Prix into a night race. The words “no” and “chance” will probably come out of the Victorian state government bankrolling this race to the tune of £37 million this year and grappling with vociferous opponents who want this race scrapped when Melbourne’s contract runs out in 2015. If any race needs action, it is this one to make sure that it confirms that it is an unmissable attraction in the Formula One calendar.
What better, then, than a victory for Schumacher against all the predictions on Sunday to draw in a mass audience fascinated by the champion who has simply refused to go away? Far from contemplating going back into retirement at the end of this season, Schumacher is thinking of the future and he has the backing of Ross Brawn, the team principal, if he wants to stay at Mercedes for yet another year.
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“No decision has been reached and there is no timetable,” Brawn said. “We will see how things develop. But I am very keen to see Michael stay because it means we are succeeding in what we are trying to do. It means things are positive because we are closer to our objectives.”
But Brawn also played down Schumacher’s fastest times, warning that teams were simply spending their first day in action attempting to find out how their cars were reacting.
“We are not getting carried away because people were doing different things,” he said. “We are much better prepared than last year but practice times are not the whole story yet.”
But the romantics among the enthusiastic Albert Park crowds will be waiting and watching to see if Formula One’s most successful driver has yet another glorious reign to come.