A regular commenter on Formula1Sport dot net has this to say regarding F1's rumor mill:
"It is amazing how rumors in this sport spread. One thing that I noticed is that there is no shortage of them in F1 and they all seem large. Not one is about something as trivial as the health of a driver."
Openwheelfan
Michael Schumacher
This comes at a very appropriate time as rumors multiply in the off season, only to be denied and debunked with a rapidity that amazes. Today, the day after Dietrich Mateschitz was reported to have confirmed that Red Bull were talking to Alonso about a seat for 2008, Helmut Marko has announced that the report was utter nonsense and they are not interested in a deal any shorter than three years. In the past few days, the Alonso to Ferrari rumor has been dealt a severe blow by Marc Gene pointing out that the existing drivers have very firm contracts for the next two years at least, and HWA have denied that they have any plans to enter F1 in any way whatsoever. Rumors have short lives these days.
Most of them begin with a reporter finding himself short of anything to write about and becoming creative, therefore. It's a simple enough task: just take two or more reports, put them together and work out some connections that lead to a sensational conclusion. We could do it now with a couple of items from recent F1 news, just as a demonstration.
Let's take the journalist's gift of the past decade - Michael Schumacher. Anything written about the multiple champion will sell and he has done us the favor of popping up again recently in the Barcelona test. It helps that he was fastest and that he is now set to test for Ferrari again in Jerez. Is the old man coming back?
Well now, if he were to come back, how could he do it? Ferrari seem pretty decided on their drivers for the foreseeable future so it can't be there. But Ross Brawn is now employed by Honda - maybe Michael is thinking of rejoining his old comrade in arms. And then there's McLaren - they have an empty seat at the moment, I hear.
But no, I think Ron Dennis has had enough of multiple champions for the moment; let's go for the Honda option. A while ago there were all those doubts about Barrichello continuing, so that should help. It is surely impossible that Michael fancies a job as a test driver for Ferrari so his motivation must be much more obscure and unexpected. It has to be Honda - he's showing his future employers that he still has the speed!
There we are: a made-to-measure rumor ready to hit the headlines. All we need now is a source. Let's see now...
I have it - "a trusted source close to the great man himself"! I once had an unscheduled stop in Luxembourg, after all, and was only a few miles from the border with Germany therefore. And Michael is German. I must have been close to him then! And I trust myself implicitly.
See how easy it is? We could even have competitions to see who comes up with the most sensational story backed with flawless logic. Who needs these official spokespersons anyway? We all know they say only what they've been told to say and that the truth lies deep and disguised within unguarded comments from others.
And, if you're going to design a rumor, make it a big one. It's hardly worth it otherwise...
"It is amazing how rumors in this sport spread. One thing that I noticed is that there is no shortage of them in F1 and they all seem large. Not one is about something as trivial as the health of a driver."
Openwheelfan
Michael Schumacher
This comes at a very appropriate time as rumors multiply in the off season, only to be denied and debunked with a rapidity that amazes. Today, the day after Dietrich Mateschitz was reported to have confirmed that Red Bull were talking to Alonso about a seat for 2008, Helmut Marko has announced that the report was utter nonsense and they are not interested in a deal any shorter than three years. In the past few days, the Alonso to Ferrari rumor has been dealt a severe blow by Marc Gene pointing out that the existing drivers have very firm contracts for the next two years at least, and HWA have denied that they have any plans to enter F1 in any way whatsoever. Rumors have short lives these days.
Most of them begin with a reporter finding himself short of anything to write about and becoming creative, therefore. It's a simple enough task: just take two or more reports, put them together and work out some connections that lead to a sensational conclusion. We could do it now with a couple of items from recent F1 news, just as a demonstration.
Let's take the journalist's gift of the past decade - Michael Schumacher. Anything written about the multiple champion will sell and he has done us the favor of popping up again recently in the Barcelona test. It helps that he was fastest and that he is now set to test for Ferrari again in Jerez. Is the old man coming back?
Well now, if he were to come back, how could he do it? Ferrari seem pretty decided on their drivers for the foreseeable future so it can't be there. But Ross Brawn is now employed by Honda - maybe Michael is thinking of rejoining his old comrade in arms. And then there's McLaren - they have an empty seat at the moment, I hear.
But no, I think Ron Dennis has had enough of multiple champions for the moment; let's go for the Honda option. A while ago there were all those doubts about Barrichello continuing, so that should help. It is surely impossible that Michael fancies a job as a test driver for Ferrari so his motivation must be much more obscure and unexpected. It has to be Honda - he's showing his future employers that he still has the speed!
There we are: a made-to-measure rumor ready to hit the headlines. All we need now is a source. Let's see now...
I have it - "a trusted source close to the great man himself"! I once had an unscheduled stop in Luxembourg, after all, and was only a few miles from the border with Germany therefore. And Michael is German. I must have been close to him then! And I trust myself implicitly.
See how easy it is? We could even have competitions to see who comes up with the most sensational story backed with flawless logic. Who needs these official spokespersons anyway? We all know they say only what they've been told to say and that the truth lies deep and disguised within unguarded comments from others.
And, if you're going to design a rumor, make it a big one. It's hardly worth it otherwise...