Schumacher’s crash also raised further, inevitable speculation about his
future in the sport.
The seven-time world champion’s third season since coming out of retirement
has been his quickest so far, but he has also been guilty of a number of
errors.
Should Schumacher continue in 2013, it would reduce Lewis
Hamilton’s options still further.
The 27 year-old’s McLaren contract expires at the end of this year, and while
he is expected to re-sign with the team who have nurtured him since the age
of 13, Mercedes are one of the few outfits big enough to tempt him should he
decide to make the break.
All the more reason for McLaren
to get back to winning ways.
Encouragingly, in light of their recent travails, their modified car set the
pace in the drier morning session; Jenson Button edging out his team-mate.
But with heavy showers mixing things up in the afternoon, and yet more rain
forecast for qualifying today, there is likely to be a certain amount of
guesswork going on as regards finding the correct set-up this weekend.
Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel sounded a note of caution. “They [McLaren] looked
very competitive this morning, we couldn’t go that pace,” the world champion
said. “But they looked very competitive in Silverstone on Friday as well and
their weekend wasn’t so good.
“We have to see what kind of weather we get.”