Michael Schumacher will head into retirement at the end of this season after the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos. It is always better to quit when everyone asks why, rather than when. And I am happy that Michael has decided to call it a day. I don’t like him too much, but there should be no disrespect for someone who has achieved so much. F1 will never be the same again.
For the tifosi fans, they might never see another great champion like Michael, for F1 fans they might not see another driver who has dominated the sport successfully for nearly a decade and for the critics they might not see a more controversial champion. Success never comes without controversy and Schumacher has had his fair share of controversy in the last decade and half. With 90 wins, 1354 points and seven world titles till date, there will most probably never be another champion like Schumacher, but will he be considered the greatest of all drivers or will his legacy last as much as that of Senna, Prost or Fangio is another matter altogether. Frankly, I feel that his name will be there in the list of all time greats just looking at his achievements statistically. He will never be forgotten like other drivers who had won a couple of championships and most probably never be beaten with respect to the records.
Just for on-track performance his achievements will be in par with drivers of any other era, but how those achievements have come leads to questioning of Schumacher’s genius. Geniuses needn’t be great. Geniuses generally come with that swagger about them, that touch of arrogance about what they do and without that touch of arrogance they seem to be lost. Schumacher was a genius in the sport and his performances reflect that. But, greatness is more than just being a genius. In footballing terms the debate of genius vs. greatness can be the debate between Maradona and Pele. Pele might not have been a genius but he is a great soccer legend, but Maradona is a footballer non-pareil on the field.
Greatness is about character along with ability. And Schumacher stutters here a little bit. Michael’s first title was clinched after a collision with Damon Hill in 1994. Then in 1997, he was stripped of his second place in the championship after colliding with Jacques Villeneuve. There have been other moments like the Ferrari team asking Barrichello to move to let Michael take the win in 2003 and of late Michael stopping at the last corner in Monaco. It is small things like these that add up and shroud the achievements of Schumacher. Maybe they don’t shroud them, but any discussion about Michael will involve this darker side also. It is not that other drivers haven’t had their dark sides, but it is the length of these events that have led people to point a finger at Michael. Schumacher might just not be remembered the way in which he would dearly like to be remembered.
Ferrari has had to play a major part in his career. He turned Ferrari from also-rans on the field to one of the sport’s most dominant forces along with a couple of his trusted lieutenants. Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne joined him from Benetton in 1996 and Jean Todt joined Ferrari a year later. They turned Ferrari into a winning machine and the tifosi will never forget the era in which Ferrari dominated to win 6 constructors and 5 drivers titles from 1999 to 2004. Rules were changed to ensure that the sport had more competition but Ferrari proved that they can be up to the mark irrespective of what the conditions and rules are. This should be considered one of the greatest achievements of the Schumacher era – Changing of rules by the FIA to stop schumacher from winning (or as they will claim it to make the sport more competitive.). But, the stay in Ferrari also had its share of problems, as he insisted that he be the number 1 driver. Though Barrichello and Massa might not like it too much, they were the submersive number two’s who had a role to play in Michael’s success.
Schumacher also had his fair share of on-track rivalries. First with Damon Hill in 1994, then with Jacques Villeneuve in 1996 and 1997, Mika Hakkinen in 1998, ’99 and 2000, Raikkonen in 2003 and not Alonso in 2006. But, no one withstood his attack for prolonged periods. His rivals came and went, but Michael stood there to fight and kept on winning for a much longer time than expected. Schumacher had it all in his bag, Speed, talent, work ethic and above all the killer instinct to demolish opppnents.
If the late 80′s and early 90′s belonged to the legacy of the Senna-Prost rivalry, then the first decade of the new millenium is undoubtedly belongs to Schumacher.
Kimi Raikkonen moves to Ferrari to take the place of Michael. He might replace Michael as the number one driver, but he cannot reach the status of Michael unless he starts winning a few drivers championships. He might walk into that car without any problems, but will not be able to fill the void left by Michael.
In the midst of the entire retirement saga, it has been forgotten that Michael won his 90th race today. Raikkonen took the second place, while Kubica took the third place. Kubica looks a very good prospect and I feel that in a couple of years time he will move to one of the top teams.
Some accolades from people connected with F1.
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