Is now the right time for Schumacher to hand over his steering wheel and consider his future?


Those screaming about his decline have gained momentum after the opening 3 races of the 2006 season, with talks of the ‘fading legend’ and ‘fallen oak’ and other pseudo-dramatic imagery across the media, who, not surprisingly, tend to go way overboard on these things. The lack-lustr performance (by his standards) in Australia on the weekend of Ferrari's No.1 (crashing out on lap 33) will only serve to rouse the nay-sayers further.


Lets face it, with a record of 84 Grand Prix wins to his credit, there’s little left for the greatest driver in history to prove and even the most die-hard Schuey fan would have to acknowledge that his last victory came 18 months ago (if we exclude the scandal-ridden Indianapolis GP) when he won the Japanese GP at Suzuka.


However, let's not forget ‘This is Michael Schumacher we’re talking about’, not some racing car driver. Whatever Schuey decides to do – and it’ll be his decision alone – he’ll do it well. He’ll certainly see out this season and, who knows, if Ferrari can prove to him that they’ll have a competitive car in 2007, he could well decide to stay on. I can’t see him jumping ship at any point. And it would be a fool that bet against him on a level playing field.


But the reality is, the man’s 37, he has a wife and 2 children and more money than his grandchildren will ever need. Surely Aerton Senna hascrossed his mind on more than one occasion.


The only question is: Can he Walk Away?


Oh, by the way, he's still lying 4th overall!