Or at least it resumes for a Mr Schumacher from Germany, when he steps into a Ferrari in Valencia ready to take on the young guns.
When Felipe Massa had his accident on Saturday, I knew that there would be calls for Schumacher to pick up his helmet again. I didn't think he'd do it though, what has he got to prove? He's already the most successful driver of all time with a clutch of records which may never be broken.
For me it seemed likely that Fernando Alonso would step into the cockpit of Number 3 Ferrari in the next race as it has been widely predicted that he has a deal done for next year anyway. It made sense for him to move now when his second home race is coming up and Renault have been banned.
What I didn't gamble on was that Schumacher still loves driving F1 cars, he was pushed out of Ferrari by the incoming Raikonnen in 2006 before he had really made up his mind. He wants a chance to race the new machines fitted with slicks and KERS and see whether he is still the fastest out there. For these reasons, we'll see the Red Crash Helmet in a Red Car in three weeks time.
What do I expect to happen? I think he will be fast, maybe not as fast at first as he once was. When Mansell came back from the States in 1994 he was bested by Damon Hill in France in an identical Williams, and Mansell was a much better driver, but by years end Mansell was faster again.
So within a race or two Schumacher will be very fast again. Will he be faster than Raikonnen? I think so. In fact I think this could ruin Raikonnen's chances of retaining a Ferrari seat next year. Kimi is being paid vast amounts of money and hasn't shown the raw speed we expect from him, and I expect Schumi to be faster.
It will be fascinating to see a Schumi vs Hamilton battle on track, they have never faced each other and now both cars are heading towards the front of the grid it is a mouth watering prospect to see how they match up. We were deprived of the old vs new in the Senna vs Schumacher duel in 1994 when Senna was tragically killed, but we may see the next generation duel happen in a couple of races this year.
What of next year? I expect Raikonnen to be gone, maybe to World Rally. If Massa is fit again Schumacher will go back to being a put lane advisor. But what if Massa is unable to race next year too, would it be possible to see Schumi do one last full season alongside Alonso? Now that would be spectacular!
Squiffy.
Thursday, 30 July 2009
Wednesday, 29 July 2009
Tuesday, 28 July 2009
Cut the tax credits for the rich
Every morning I read blogs, and newspaper articles from across the political spectrum. I hope that it helps me to be politically informed. I tend to read broadsheets because they tend to have better thought out arguments against the reactionary ideas used in tabloids. So I very rarely read pages from the Daily Mail. I now know why.
This morning Dominic Sandbook makes the point that David Cameron is planning to make enemies of the middle classes by making them pay a lot more and take away their tax credits. How ridiculous. Anyone knows that the middle classes are the lifeblood of Tory sentiment.
Lets state firstly that Labour has through many many years of stealth piled tax upon tax on the middle classes. Some has been redistributed to the poor which is good thing, but a lot of it has gone on big Government schemes which tend to waste money and have very little to show for themselves. During that time the rich have got immesurably richer.
So when the Tories make it to number 10, the long term plan must and will be to bring the tax system to some kind of balance. It is the middle classes which generate the wealth in this country, and the over taxing of this section of society has led to a reduced tax take generally as many try to opt out of the Government's complicated regime. If there is only one lesson to learn from the 80's on tax, it is that the simpler and lower the taxes, the greater tax take.
David Cameron has, however, said that in Labour's debt crisis everyone will have to pay their fair share. Fair enough. I expect all taxes to rise, probably through increased VAT. I hate it, but I'll even accept a couple of pence on Income tax for a few years.
Taking away tax credits for those earning greater than £50,000 seems to be taxing Dominic's brain rather too much for he has forgotten the big question. Why on earth should anybody on £50K need tax credits. It is a sign that something has gone greatly wrong. It is symptomatic of the fact that the Government thinks that our money actually belongs to them so they can do with it what they will. We should not be taxed so highly that we have to be given handouts just so we can get by!
I expect David Cameron to start tackling these anomalies and to reduce the state's intervention in our bank accounts. I expect him to reduce taxes on jobs and reverse the planned NI raise, and later to reverse the 50% tax rate. The tax system needs to be simpler and through simplification I will then expect to see more money in the bank accounts of the middle classes and a widening of incentives to entrepreneurs.
When we have a balanced budget, lower and fairer taxes and good growth I will know that David Cameron has done the job that I will have asked of him. The years of Labour mismanagement will have rolled away and we can have bright future once again. Let's hear no more about David Cameron being a follower of Ted Heath!
Squiffy.
This morning Dominic Sandbook makes the point that David Cameron is planning to make enemies of the middle classes by making them pay a lot more and take away their tax credits. How ridiculous. Anyone knows that the middle classes are the lifeblood of Tory sentiment.
Lets state firstly that Labour has through many many years of stealth piled tax upon tax on the middle classes. Some has been redistributed to the poor which is good thing, but a lot of it has gone on big Government schemes which tend to waste money and have very little to show for themselves. During that time the rich have got immesurably richer.
So when the Tories make it to number 10, the long term plan must and will be to bring the tax system to some kind of balance. It is the middle classes which generate the wealth in this country, and the over taxing of this section of society has led to a reduced tax take generally as many try to opt out of the Government's complicated regime. If there is only one lesson to learn from the 80's on tax, it is that the simpler and lower the taxes, the greater tax take.
David Cameron has, however, said that in Labour's debt crisis everyone will have to pay their fair share. Fair enough. I expect all taxes to rise, probably through increased VAT. I hate it, but I'll even accept a couple of pence on Income tax for a few years.
Taking away tax credits for those earning greater than £50,000 seems to be taxing Dominic's brain rather too much for he has forgotten the big question. Why on earth should anybody on £50K need tax credits. It is a sign that something has gone greatly wrong. It is symptomatic of the fact that the Government thinks that our money actually belongs to them so they can do with it what they will. We should not be taxed so highly that we have to be given handouts just so we can get by!
I expect David Cameron to start tackling these anomalies and to reduce the state's intervention in our bank accounts. I expect him to reduce taxes on jobs and reverse the planned NI raise, and later to reverse the 50% tax rate. The tax system needs to be simpler and through simplification I will then expect to see more money in the bank accounts of the middle classes and a widening of incentives to entrepreneurs.
When we have a balanced budget, lower and fairer taxes and good growth I will know that David Cameron has done the job that I will have asked of him. The years of Labour mismanagement will have rolled away and we can have bright future once again. Let's hear no more about David Cameron being a follower of Ted Heath!
Squiffy.
Sunday, 26 July 2009
Get well Felipe
Yesterday I happened to be watching a rowing regata in Cambridgeshire and so I missed the Formula 1 qualifying live. It was only when I got home that my other half alerted me to Felipe Massa's injury at the Hungary GP. I then turned the PVR on to watch what happened.
The spring from the back of Barrichello's car hit Felipe's crash helmet when he encountered it four seconds after it fell off. In a freak accident which mirrored to some extent the Formula 2 tragedy of Henry Surtees the week before at Brands Hatch, who was hit by an errant wheel from a previous accident, it is to be expected to hear calls for more safety.
It's strange how these accidents seem to happen close to each other. Back in 1994 Ayrton Senna died two days after Roland Ratzenberger and Barrichello and had a big accident in between. Before then, there had been twelve years before the previous fatality in F1.
The key to Massa's survival was the introduction of carbon fibre helmets four years ago. Had they been around in 94 maybe Senna would also have been saved. As it is, those accidents 15 years ago encouraged greater safety for cars now meaning that Massa did not have leg injuries also.
It sounds like Felipe Massa is going to make a full recovery and is in good care. I really hope so. He has developed into a great driver, and was unbelievably magnanimous in losing the F1 championship last year. I hope that he can make it back into the car before the end of the year.
I think, however, that Alonso will be in the Ferrari for the next race in a month's time - especially now that Renault have been banned from Valencia. He may stay there for next year, but who will he replace - probably Raikonnen who seems to be more interested in rallying now.
Anyway, my thoughts go out to Felipe Massa, his family, and to Rob Smedley - his race engineer with whom he has formed a great bond.
Squiffy.
The spring from the back of Barrichello's car hit Felipe's crash helmet when he encountered it four seconds after it fell off. In a freak accident which mirrored to some extent the Formula 2 tragedy of Henry Surtees the week before at Brands Hatch, who was hit by an errant wheel from a previous accident, it is to be expected to hear calls for more safety.
It's strange how these accidents seem to happen close to each other. Back in 1994 Ayrton Senna died two days after Roland Ratzenberger and Barrichello and had a big accident in between. Before then, there had been twelve years before the previous fatality in F1.
The key to Massa's survival was the introduction of carbon fibre helmets four years ago. Had they been around in 94 maybe Senna would also have been saved. As it is, those accidents 15 years ago encouraged greater safety for cars now meaning that Massa did not have leg injuries also.
It sounds like Felipe Massa is going to make a full recovery and is in good care. I really hope so. He has developed into a great driver, and was unbelievably magnanimous in losing the F1 championship last year. I hope that he can make it back into the car before the end of the year.
I think, however, that Alonso will be in the Ferrari for the next race in a month's time - especially now that Renault have been banned from Valencia. He may stay there for next year, but who will he replace - probably Raikonnen who seems to be more interested in rallying now.
Anyway, my thoughts go out to Felipe Massa, his family, and to Rob Smedley - his race engineer with whom he has formed a great bond.
Squiffy.
Wednesday, 22 July 2009
BoE bad, FSA good? Me thinks not.
He was stating that the tripartite system is better and quoted that Barings and BCCI went under using the old regulations enforced by the Bank of England.
Well, excuse me, but those very small banks went under without threatening the integrity of the entire system. They didn't cause a recession. How is it that the FSA's lack of keeping an eye on Northern Rock, HBOS, RBS & Bradford & Bingley leading to massive bailouts is better than the failure of BCCI and Barings overseen by the BoE?
Delusional. Again.
Squiffy.
Well, excuse me, but those very small banks went under without threatening the integrity of the entire system. They didn't cause a recession. How is it that the FSA's lack of keeping an eye on Northern Rock, HBOS, RBS & Bradford & Bingley leading to massive bailouts is better than the failure of BCCI and Barings overseen by the BoE?
Delusional. Again.
Squiffy.
Thursday, 2 July 2009
Yesterday's PMQs
Having just watched PMQs I couldn't help but agree with David Cameron that "the PMs display is feeble".
Dire. Risible. Shameful. Unwatchable.
Gordon Brown looks beaten. The Labour benches were very quiet. He's on a hiding to nothing, repeating the same old lines day after day with nobody believing him.
The line about a "0% increase" says it all really. He may have misspoke, but you can tell that he's in total denial. The line about the Tory policy being unemployment was absolute rubbish. The party of full employment (Labour) has always left office with unemployment higher than when it arrived. It may believe in full employment, but by it's usual terrible handling of the economy it always hurts most those that it claims to represent.
If I was in the Labour Government, which I'm glad I'm not as I wouldn't be able to get enough Prozac, I would be plotting again.
Squiffy.
Dire. Risible. Shameful. Unwatchable.
Gordon Brown looks beaten. The Labour benches were very quiet. He's on a hiding to nothing, repeating the same old lines day after day with nobody believing him.
The line about a "0% increase" says it all really. He may have misspoke, but you can tell that he's in total denial. The line about the Tory policy being unemployment was absolute rubbish. The party of full employment (Labour) has always left office with unemployment higher than when it arrived. It may believe in full employment, but by it's usual terrible handling of the economy it always hurts most those that it claims to represent.
If I was in the Labour Government, which I'm glad I'm not as I wouldn't be able to get enough Prozac, I would be plotting again.
Squiffy.
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