Every child has an idol or role model that they aspire to be in their younger years and you won’t be surprised to discover I was no different. During my 1990s childhood I had three people who I idolised and wanted to follow in the footsteps of. My idols were footballer Gennaro Gattuso, Joy Division/New Order bassist Peter Hook and the one which I longed to be more than any other was F1 driver Michael Schumacher.
All three were determined, highly successful characters, prone to the occasional controversy who knew how to reach the top. Now in 2011 they’re not what they once were, their popularity has dwindled, they’re being out-performed by hotshot youngsters and for the most part they’re taking up a role as living memory to their great pasts. Although just because most have given up on them doesn’t mean I have. A prime example of this came as I watched Michael Schumacher’s performance at last weekend’s F1 curtain raiser in Australia. Over the winter I’d anxiously hoped the seven-time world champion’s Mercedes would be topping the pre-season time sheets and at times it did which filled me with great hope that Schumacher would start this season a changed breast from the one which bumbled throughout his comeback year. That said, he left Melbourne without a point so my prayers were hardly answered but what disturbed me the most was that the fact that nobody really seemed to bat an eyelid when he finished empty handed. For example in qualifying when he only qualified 11th failing to make it through to Q3’s top ten shoot-out commentators Martin Brundle and David Coulthard were hardly sympathetic to their former sparring partner’s plight. Worse came on Sunday on the opening lap of the race while millions of people across the world were fixated on the front of the grid waiting to see if Lewis Hamilton would make a move on pole sitter Sebastian Vettel my eyes were elsewhere. Some six rows back in fact to see how Schumi would start, with me hoping he’d at least finish in the points. He started well and got into the thick of the action into turn one but unfortunately he did get penned-in by Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari which halted his progress. Schumacher continued harrying into turn three only for the Torro Rosso of Jaime Alguersuari to collide with him resulting in a puncture. This had seemingly gone unnoticed by the cameramen and commentators but I knew what had happened as I sat backwards into my chair I knew Schumacher’s race was basically over. He tiptoed back to the pits, got new tyres and as he returned to the track he was running comfortably last by over a minute. For a moment I thought back to the glory years of Schumacher in his pomp when he was once a lap down in Austria and stormed through the field to finish third in his Ferrari. I hoped and wished I’d see a sensational performance like that again but it never came instead he trundled round the Albert Park circuit, not overtaking anyone, before he decided enough was enough and he parked his Mercedes in the garage.
After that, all I wanted was for his team-mate, Nico Rosberg, not to finish as I didn’t want him to start the season already beating the master. Thankfully I got my wish two laps later when Schumacher’s old Ferrari comrade Rubens Barrichello over-ambitiously went to overtake him smashing into his car. As this happened the footage cut to Schumacher standing in the garage watching the action unfold on the monitors and he gave a little despairing shrug to the camera. This spoke volumes to me because underneath his concerned glances the old devious Schumacher still exists and his face echoed relief that Rosberg, who nearly doubled Schumacher’s points tally of 72 last season, wasn’t beating him again just yet. If we’re honest as much as I adore Michael Schumacher there will be many detractors who will have had a good laugh at Schumacher’s struggles since returning to F1 last season seeing just how far the mighty has fallen. As it is hard, for some, to ignore some of his previous antics, such as purposely taking Damon Hill out of the race at Adelaide, trying something similar on Jacques Villeneuve in Suzuka and parking his Ferrari in Monaco to block Fernando Alonso. Over the winter Sir Sterling Moss questioned his record as a seven-time world champion implying that he was basically in the right place at the right time. This is quite a harsh statement as you don’t win seven world titles purely on luck, or basically reverse the fortunes of the Ferrari team just on good timing not to mention the fact he won two of his titles with Benetton who were hardly one of F1’s established greats. Obviously having a good car helps but there still needed to be a world class driver behind the wheel and that’s what Schumacher was but sadly probably isn’t now.
In the build-up to the Australian Grand Prix Nigel Mansell said that he felt that Schumacher had one more world drivers crown in him before he called it a day for good. This is something I just can’t see not with the dominance that Baby Schumi (Sebastian Vettel) seems to have in his Red Bull not to mention the other young pretenders in Mclaren and Ferrari. Personally I think this will be Schumacher’s swansong year and I have realistic expectations for him. I just want to see him grace the podium from time-to-time (which he didn’t do at all last season) and have consistent points finishes. If he could win a race that would be a perfect send-off to what has been the career of F1’s greatest ever driver (even including his comeback). Whatever happens this year I’ll be supporting at every turn, crash and occasional triumph. As featured on
http://www.virgin.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment