I stayed up last night (on at 2 a.m. here) and watched the F1 race from China. Not a very exciting race but from many points of view it is obviously the end of an era. Jordan, Minardi, Sauber all gone (or being reborn). Eddie Jordan, Paul Stoddart and Peter Sauber the backmarker kings are also gone. Many of the current drivers (especially the guys at the back) including Villeneuve are unlikely to return.
Of course there is the usual end of year musical chairs for those drivers staying. And there was the sad spectacle of Schumacher making two critical mistakes -- not even in anger but during the warm up and safety car periods. I suspect he is done. Even though he will likely return to F1 next year and I think it likely he will not win another race. He certainly has his fair share of wins so there is nothing to cry about there. He probably should do the smart thing and retire.
