Another Week, Another Adieu

But this time it's not a teary one for me like the last week because it is only Michael Schumacher who decided to hang his boots. While more than half of the motorsport fandom mourns his departure, I am going to try and break a few myths about the one man whom I have seen only once, from behind a wired fence, but gone onto detest like never before.



A disclaimer before you proceed further. What you are going to read might hurt. A burning desire to take the nearest sharp object and land up at my door is imminent. Your vocabulary of swear words will be refreshed. Your pillow will go out of shape. An itch to leave an anonymous comment will develop. Before you do all this more:

- If you are one of those fan boys who started watching Formula 1 after or from the 2000 season, just keep watching your race recordings of M Schumacher. I couldn't care less for your opinion on Formula 1, my blog or life in general.

- If you started watching Formula from the 98 season, tell me what made you to follow M Schumacher of all people. I started at the same time and I couldn't bring myself to.

- If you started watching Formula 1 from even before (Senna, Prost and the likes), Yes, do leave your comments with your names. I would much appreciate it.

- If your Formula 1 days started even before, (Villeneuve Sr and the likes), I bow to thee and thy superior knowledge. Maybe you have a valid point about M Schumacher which I cannot see.

Schumacher is the best driver to have ever driven a Formula 1 car

Virender Sehwag scored a century on debut, hence he is greater than The Don. Did I hear you laughing your head off ?? Precisely what I do when one from the "MS for life" club spouts such fundaes. Shall we have a consensus on how it is impossible to compare two people from two different ages ?? Brabham and Senna and Mansell drove in an age which was devoid of so many technical advancements that are available now. Heck, Schumacher is not the best driver to have ever driven a Formula 1 car in his own age, forget all-time great.

Give MS a Minardi, and still he will be a World Champion
I got three numbers for you. 1998. 1999. 2005. Give MS an all-conquering Ferrari and he still cannot win. End of arguement.

MS is the rain master.
Brazil 2003 - MS parks his car a few laps before the race.
Spa 1998 - MS drives on the racing line and extends it to the back of Coulthard's Mclaren.
Hungary 2006 - Tries one overtaking too many and breaks his nose, I mean the car's.
Australia 2005 - As his wont, MS ends his race with Heidfeld's.

Rain Master ?? Bah.

Further, proof that Schumacher can't see well in the dark. Monaco 2004.
Proof that Schumacher can't see well in broad daylight. Shanghai 2005.
Ergo, Schumacher is blind.

MS resurrected Ferrari. If Ferrari is a champion, it is because of MS

Another favorite rant of mis-informed fan boys. If MS is a sea-anemone, then Ferrari is the clown fish. People who have seen MS drive for ferrari in the late 90s swear by his talent and sheer will and I completely agree that it was his resolve that brought Ferrari from the mid-pack to the forefront. But then, there came a point, in the early 2000s where the Ferrari dominance over the rest of the pack gave MS an unassailable lead over his rivals.

Take for example the careers of MS's team mates. Eddie Irvine. People who probably saw him in the Jaguar first would be hard pressed to believe that at one point of time he was a championship contender with Ferrari. Heck, wikipedia reports that had the current scoring system been used then, Irvine would have been World champion in 1999. In 2000, he made the move to Jaguar. He disappeared. Did he actually lose his talent overnight from runner up to nobody ??

Rubens Barrichello consistently finished second to MS in the championship ratings when he was with Ferrari. With Honda, he is competing against Christian Klien and Mark Kubica. Did some ET just steal his talents ??

An year back, all that Felipe Massa did was to whine after every race. This year, our man wins races, blocks alonso and talks about how winning is the only thing that matters for him. So, did he just load a "Champion Driver" program like in the Matrix ??

In short for the impatient, three drivers who seemed to challenge for the world title, are/were reduced to also-rans out of Ferrari. Unless MS comes out and proves he isn't one, (which he would so conveniently avoid with a tearful, heart-breaking farewell speech in Brazil), all that the fanboys can do is to speculate. And before you start, V Rossi did just that.

MS's honesty and commitment leaves me speechless

Believe me, it leaves me speechless too.

In Adelaide '94, MS tries to tell Damon Hill a secret and in the process takes his car out along with his own. If Damon Hill had retained his position, he would have been the champion.

In Jerez '97, MS tries to tell Jacques Villeneuve the same secret, however the FIA decides that he has shared one too many secrets and strips him off his points. Incidentally, had JV been taken out, guess who would have been the champion ??

In Monaco '06, MS inexplicably tries to tell the very same secret to the residents of the principality. The FIA docks him 20 places.

Despite the FIA scheming to stop his wins, MS comes out as a champion every time

Seriously, I lost count of the number of times when an FIA ruling had explicitly suited MS. I am not going to point out the stewards from Italy (from where Ferrari comes from) gave Alonso a penalty which Renault clearly showed was wrong by TV replays. How about the incident at Hockenheim in 2003 when the stewards pushed him back on trace while almost everyone else is asked to leave the car ?? The fact that Hockenheim is in Germany is probably irrelevant.

Renault's mass dampers are off despite stewards ruling it fair. BMW-Williams get accused for having a car with incompatible wheel base. But for some reason, the Ferrari flexi wings and the coolants take their own sweet time to be resolved. You tell me.

Michael Schumacher is a self-made man

Pray tell me if there is a small foot note for the tactical genius of Brawn and Todt somewhere in the biography of Michael Schumacher. Brawn is the guy who once got MS up in first after a fourth routine pitstop. Yes, a fourth pitstop which was routine, you read it right. Todt is the guy who did this small matter of giving MS a car that hardly developed a problem since Hockenheim 2001. Ah, never mind them small fish.

You are plain jealous of Michael Schumacher

I never had any qualms agreeing to the fact that MS is one of the best drivers to have ever driven a F1 car. The 2000 season, a testimony to the fact that one can never underestimate MS and his will to win. The 2003 season where he came back to win after a mishap in the family. MS's cool composure when the back end of his car on fire, and what more, going on to win the race. MS's qualifying lap times which are down until the final few seconds, and then, as the curtains are coming down, in comes a fast lap which is so appropriately described "Michael Magic". People who have been following MS's career from the Jordan days remain unswayed from his fandom, courtesy: his unquestionable talent. To get a good team become a great team shows his self belief and skills. But the problem comes when everyone seems to forget that The Big Red Machine was _the_ important cog in MS's winning wheel. MS this, MS that and a minor thank you to the fantastic pitcrew which gets him out of the pits mere seconds before the challenger. Oh well, what is so difficult in tightening up the screws ??

MS is the seven time World Champion. Now, beat that.

Yes, he has the numbers. I am sure he would win it this year and retire as perhaps the only 8 time Formula 1 world champion for the next zillion years. But then, there is more than just the statistics of Championships that defines a champion in my book. Valentino Rossi is a champion, his winning does not depend on the bike. Lance Armstrong is a champion, he fought against heavy odds both on and off the field. Rahul Dravid is a champion, he doesn't whine everytime he loses. Tom Brady is a champion, he was thrown into the fire and he came out trumps. Gail Devers is a champion, she didn't run behind Vola Patolidou threatening after failing due to a fault of her own. Mika Hakkinen is a champion, he was gracious in victory and defeat. Carl Lewis is a champion, he never cheated. Vishwanathan Anand is a champion, humility is a trait he knows. What Michael Schumacher could ever be is an Eight time winner of the Drivers' Championship in Formula 1 at best. Period.