It was a sad day for the F1 paddock on Sunday at the Brazilian Grand Prix. So many goodbyes to long and well established names.
Michael Schumacher drove a fine last race, coming through from the back of the pack to finish fourth, and Jenson Button did well, finishing third after starting fourteenth.
However there are more goodbyes than that of the great Michael. Yes, Michael is leaving, and we will all be sad to see what is possibly the greatest driver of recent history (some would argue ever) leave the sport, but we have even bigger and more historic names leaving as well. Possibly the biggest of which is the mighty Cosworth.
Cosworth have not managed to find a team that will run their engine next year. This is a bad state of affairs, as Cosworth used to be the greatest. It shows how ingrained Cosworth were that all of the major drivers that can be thought off have won with a Cosworth in the back of their car. I'm sure that Cosworth will manage to struggle through and we will see them again in the back of an F1 car. It is, after all, where they deserve to be.
We are also losing the tobacco companies. The familiar liveries of Marlboro, Mild Seven, and Lucky Strike will be leaving the sport. These are some of the strongest supporters of the sport throughout its history, and it will be sad to think that there will be no possibility of ever seeing the glorious liveries of the JPS Lotus and the likes again.
The final goodbye we have is to Michelin. The French tyre giant will bow out at the end of the season due to the FIA instigating a one tyre manufacturer policy. Whether this is a good decision or not is still to be seen. A lot of the advancements that have come to F1 in the recent past is due to the tyre war. And it will be a shame not to see a challenger from Europe for tyre superiority. Perhaps we will see them return at some point, or even better them and Dunlop return, as it has been too long since Dunlop was involved in the sport.
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