When I first started watching Formula One, I was just a child, and the racing it was between Michael Schumacher, at his peak, and everyone else.
Williams were doing great too, Damon Hill had a far better car than Schumacher’s Benetton, but still the master could not be beaten. Then the MacLaren rose back to peak performance, while Schumacher climbed into a slower Ferrari, and still he was incredible.
It was incredible. Your skill as a driver actually makes very little difference – it is mostly how fast the car you are sitting in can go, that determines how well you do. But Schumacher defied rules.
As a seven times world champion, he is easily one of the greatest Formula One drivers of all time – but that is possibly meaning miserly – perhaps only Ayrton Senna can contest the title of the greatest of all time.
After retiring in 2006, he came back to the sport in 2010, and drove for a further three seasons. He certainly wasn’t at his peak any more – he didn’t have a great car, but he was often beaten by his team mate (who obviously sits in the same car) and made mistakes that resulted in him not finishing races.
But this only makes him more of an inspiration. Why do I think that, when so many people said he was ruining his legacy? Because who cares about that! I want to do what I love in this life and if nobody ever remembers me again after I’m dead – so what?
Not that there is much doubt of that. As Schumacher leaves Formula One for a second time, he does so as someone that will forever remain in the history books of the sport.
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Tags: f1, formula 1, michael schumacher, motor racing
This entry was posted on Thursday, December 6th, 2012 at 11:46 am and is filed under Distractions, Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.