A Tribute to a legend - Michael Schumaker

Yesterday we saw one of the greats in F1 racing retiring, Michael Schumaker. The way he raced, proved that he still has it in him to compete with the highest. He started the race at 10th position after failing to set a time during the final qualifying section. Right from the start he was sensational. In the first couple of laps he overtook both the BMW Saubers, and was upto to 7th position and in the 9th lap when he tried overtaking Fisichella, his tyre got punctured (the reason for which is still not completely evident). He had to complete the whole lap before coming back to the pits. Coming out of it, he was the last one in the field. The manner in which he then ran the race was a treat to every F1 fan. He had a fast car no doubt, but many would have given up in this adverse situation, Michael was not one of them. He reeled in lap after lap at a very fast pace and slowly but steadily climbed his way up the ladder. And in the final couple of labs, we could see vintage Schumaker with some of classic overtaking moves (that of Raikonnen was too good). Man he did whatever he could. But, with Alonso showing real consistent weekend and finishing the race second, all the championship hopes vanished. Michael finished 2nd in the championship.

Coming back to Michael, he took a lot of risks during his stint in F1. Started of with joining Ferrari, who had won only 2 races in the last five seasons, in 1996. Who would leave a championship winning car and join a struggling team. And with an underperforming car, he really fought tooth and nail for a couple of seasons with many of his rivals, Damon Hill, Villeneuve and finally with Hakkinen for a couple of seasons. And finally when he got a wonderful car to drive, he was unstoppable winning 5 consecutive championships from 2000 - 2004. The way he dominated in some of the seasons were awesome.

He was the rain master, some of his races during the rain was an awesome sight, the way he could consistently drive faster than others says something about his talent.

Another aspect of his driving was his approach to the races. Many feathers were ruffled, people didnt think he was sportive. Perceptions are divided in that regards.

But, the way he came back during this season, where he started of with 3 consecutive DNFs but came back roaring during the last part of the championship with 5 wins in 6 races make him a great racer. But the 8th championship was not to be his, after 6 yrs of reliability a Ferrari engine blew up (would you believe it) in Suzuka. With this all hopes of an 8th was lost. And in Interlagos, his last race, he again had problems, but came roaring back from the last in the field to 4th. In the 16 seasons he competed, there were many races (too many during his early years) in which facing adversity he has come out on top of it, his final race was no different.

Schumaker has given back to F1 a lot, like he was the GPDA chairman for many years, helping in the improvement of safety in car as well as in the GP venues. As a person too, he has also been involved a lot in charity, he is to have donated 10M for the Tsunami relief fund. The hard nosed driver is what people see, not the other side of his personality.

Comparisons are inevitable as to who was the greatest, how much Schumaker would have dominated if Aryton Senna (arguably one of the greatest ever), had not died in a horrific accident, but lived on to fight with Michael. Michael was one of the greatest, it is very difficult to compare drivers of different generations, but his skills and talent are unmatched.

Finally, "many sportspersons want to go out on a high. The way Schumaker raced on Sunday was a fitting farewell to a guy who made F1 as popular as it is now. The legend left the stage in a manner only he could. Some people have talent, but some are destined for greatness. Schumaker was a very great racer, if not the greatest one."