Something Other Than FIA/FOTA for Once

Good news, no news, and bad news in the world of Formula One. I'll start from the bottom end and move up, because that'll leave you all feeling good and you'll have forgotten the not-so-good stuff.

The bad news is that another major manufacturer is ditching F1 in the interest of saving the parent company some cash. Following Honda through the revolving door is the Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiellgemeinschaft -- or BMW, if you're a normal person who isn't me. Like Honda, the chief reason for the withdrawal from F1 after 10 years of competition as an engine builder and full manufacturer is money. There is also the fact that the results have not been good for the Bimmer squad this season and, apart from Australia, where Kubica collided out of third in a tussle with Vettel, the BMW's have gotten very little airtime.

All of this strikes me as somewhat ironic, considering BMW was one of the manufacturers opposing the 40 million-Euro budget cap, and now they're withdrawing for financial considerations. Oops.

Meanwhile at the AEK Hospital in Budapest, not much news has come out of Felipe Massa's room since it was revealed he was awake, moving and talking. From all indications a couple of days ago, Massa will at least be alive and able to function as a normal human being from now forward, but the condition of his left eye (the one where the spring hit him) is unknown. Knowing Felipe's competitive spirit, he's going to want back into his Ferrari as soon as possible. However, if his left eye got beat up in the collision or scratched by his fractured skull, his racing career could very well be over. More to come, for sure.

The good news of the day, whether you like the man or not, is that Formula 1's most prolific champion is planting himself back in a Ferrari. Over a dozen people had been listed as "possible" by various media sources as seat-fillers for the injured Brazilian, but the most intriguing "possible" was officially announced today as Ferrari's second driver for the forseeable future: Michael Schumacher.

Naturally, everyone and their mothers are going to write Schumi in as their predicted winner for the rest of time. Let's not jump to conclusions, though; Schumi hasn't tested the latest Ferrari, even though he's probably had input into it. He hasn't driven a race since 2006. Most importantly, he hasn't driven with the new aero package, bald tires, or without traction control since the mid-'90s. Besides which, his teammate Raïkkönen is still a spectacular driver and there are still many good drivers on other good teams to deal with (Hamilton, Button, Vettel, etc.). I won't write in Schumi as a winner until I see the red car with the red helmet cross the line in P1.

Oh, and in one of the more perplexing overreactions of all time, Renault has been excluded from the Valencia GP for failing to properly attach a wheel to Alonso's car during a pit stop. The wheel came off and the FIA bosses probably had visions of Henry Surtees' freak accident the week before running through their heads when they made the decision. The major problem? Fernando Alonso, who essentially sells out the two Spanish rounds of the World Championship all by himself, won't be competing in the race. Spaniards are experts at throwing insults at people they don't like (see: Lewis Hamilton), and there are a lot of people regretting the amount of money they spent in order to NOT see their hero race. Wouldn't have expected any less from the FIA.

Renault and the FIA will have four weeks to battle this out in court, as F1 is on their summer break. Haulers move into Valencia on August 20, and the cars grid up and go on the 23rd.

Update!
Felipe Massa, according to reports, was up and about in his hotel room earlier today. No news has been passed along in a while about his left eye, but judging by the optimism shown by everyone quoted in the article, no news is good news in this case. Apparently, Felipe also asked if he would be fit to race by the Valencia round....ohhh, those race car drivers.