Michael Schumacher's manager has revealed he advised the seven-time world champion against coming out of retirement to replace the injured Felipe Massa. “I advised him against it. The problem is the expectation people will have,” Willi Weber told a German newspaper. “If Schumacher is back in the car, then they will want to see him winning.” Schumacher insisted he agreed to the temporary role out of loyalty to the Ferrari team, with whom he achieved five of his seven drivers' titles and still works as an advisor. “Ferrari asked him and he couldn't say no,” Weber admitted. “It is good for everyone: the media, the fans, Formula One. Whether it is also good for us we will have to see.” Massa ‘back to normal' Felipe Massa is already planning a return to racing and joking about keeping Schumacher away from his car as he continues to return “to normal” following his crash, his doctor said Thursday. Massa's family doctor Dino Altman said the Brazilian driver has begun eating food normally, was walking around his hospital room and took a shower. He also appeared to have “no problem in the (left) eye,” which doctors feared had been badly injured in the high-speed crash during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix. “He is back to normal,” Altman said. Racing 3 cars Formula One teams are exploring whether they should race three cars from next season and can change qualifying to make it more challenging. While the Formula One Teams Association scrapped plans to form a rival series as part of a peace pact with the governing body, the leading outfits want to be at the forefront of revitalizing motor racing's premier competition. FOTA is exploring changes that it hopes will make the series more exciting for fans and shift attention back to on-track duels rather than the battles with the FIA which have blighted this season. FOTA is believed to be preparing to recommend an overhaul of qualifying to the FIA. Currently five cars are excluded after each of the first two parts of qualifying, leaving 10 cars to compete for pole in the final 10-minute session. But a plan being explored to make the starting lineup more unpredictable is to have five cars challenge in the preliminary session, with the two fastest progressing to challenge the next group of five until the grid is determined. The proposals are yet to be announced by FOTA, but the group confirmed on Wednesday that it will discuss with the FIA a possible expansion of the grid to 36 cars. “Professional work has already begun within FOTA aimed at increasing the involvement of the fans and at improving the F1 show,” secretary general Simone Perillo said.
