The Ginetta-Zytek hybrid racer from Corsa Motorsports combines two things we love best: high technology and auto racing. The gas-electric car ran again last weekend at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, and we corralled driver Johnny Mowlem to ask the biggest question we’ve had since the car made its American Le Mans Series debut earlier this season:

What’s it like to drive?

“Cool!” Mowlem told us by phone after Friday’s practice session in the car, called the 09HS. You could almost see him smiling as he said it with his British accent. His enthusiasm for the car was infectious, and it’s easy to see he’s a big believer in the technology.

Le Mans–style racing has become the place where enviro-friendly ideas like biofuels and hybrid drivetrains are put to the test. The successes of the Audi and Peugeot diesels at Le Mans are well known, and here in the states the American Le Mans Series has ushered in a series of initiatives to make racing greener and the technology more relevant to cars the rest of us drive.

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The 2010 Formula 1 season has seen the return of the king – seven time champion Michael Schumacher – after a three year retirement. Alas, the king has often appeared to be wearing no clothes this season given his results. This raises the question of whether he is tarnishing his legacy in the ultimate form of auto racing?

To say that Michael Schumacher is a controversial figure is a minor understatement. There is no disputing that he is the all time winner in races and championships in the sport. There is also no disputing that he is ruthless, views the rules of the sport as negotiable and is not a very good loser. All that being said, I love him because he brings spit and fire to a sport where drivers are all too often safe in what they say in the name of pleasing sponsors.

Schumacher’s return has met with one rather interesting problem – he hasn’t been very good. In truth, the Mercedes evolution from the original Brawn car hasn’t been up to snuff. At best, it is the fourth fastest team on the grid, which means the drivers should logically be finishing between sixth and tenth in most races. This is what Schumi has done for the most part. Given this, why is everyone criticizing him. The answer is his teammate.

Nico Rosberg has long been touted as an immense talent. I’ve doubted it in the past, but there is no disputing the fact he has put in some
tremendous performances this year. In the races prior to Barcelona, he regularly out qualified and finished his esteemed teammate. He finished
with duplicate third and fourth place finishes in the first four races, but then learned what it means to be Schumacher’s teammate.

The team launched a new car in Barcelona. The goal was to remove the understeer by going with a longer wheelbase preferred by Schumacher. Suddenly, Michael was out pacing Nico and he started picking up more points as Rosberg fell out of the point in Barcelona before barely getting into them in Monaco. There is no doubt regarding who is the number one driver in Mercedes!So, does any of this tarnish Schumacher? Not really. The car is not competitive, so it is difficult to know why people think he should be winning. He has a three year contract, so let’s see what happens as the season progresses and next year. Schumacher is excellent at developing cars, so it is way too early to write off his comeback. He will never be as dominant as he was before, but he could certainly be racking up wins again in the not to distant future.