Goodbye Michael

Yep!

 

Yay!

*turns to Manny*

 

Well the sun set on Schumacher's racing career for good today. While his comeback did not go the way we all expected it to go it was still an honour and a privilege to watch the great man in action once more these past 3 seasons.

While his comeback will be nothing more than an epilogue to his stunning f1 career it certainly showed the way to a completely different Michael we had never seen before. Here was Michael Schumacher smiling, joking, relaxed and looking happy. A far far cry from the stern, serious and even rightful sense of arrogance that used to surround him. For someone so fascinated by this individual these past 3 years have been all the more fascinating in the construct of a man who I idolised and cherished as a boy. However he wasn't the racing driver I remember as a boy. Not the one who struck fear into his rivals and excitement and joy to his supporters. His comeback was more the benign presence of a ghost fittingly characterised by the shadeless, colourless car and overalls he drove in. People will say he was clearly wrong to comeback and that it was a disaster. From an expectant point of view - yes. But it doesn't work that way. Schumacher evidently enjoyed himself and while the results weren't there he merely satisfied that part of him which made him. The racer. The racer (monster even) inside him may have become tamed, aged and taken from another era even, but if his comeback proved one thing above any other it was that it showed he was a born natural racer. In his "first" career his head ruled. In his comeback with Mercedes his heart was clearly pulling the strings even if his head said it was no longer the case. It was something he didn't realise in his early career but he clearly loved and enjoyed racing....but his head wouldn't allow him such was it's fierce determination to succeed at every turn. This time his heart ruled and his heart showed him his love for the sport.

I will always remember Michael the racing driver from his days in Benetton and Ferrari. The racing driver who ruthlessly crushed team mate and rival and galvanised all the resources around him.

But, perhaps more importantly, I will always remember Michael the human from his second career. The human who finally realised his passion and happiness in life.

Now the final chapter really has been written on his f1 career. The book is closed for good. But what a hell of a story it was. Even his strongest detractors cannot deny this man's extraordinary, breathtaking and revolutionary career. He made a fascinating sport all the more fascinating because of his presence.

Thank you Michael for everything.

 

Nice post McFerrari!

 

Seconded. And Cosi, life is just too short.

 

I could post a good few paragraphs about how I loathe Michael, but I won't. I don't like the way he went about things in his first stint but I warmed to him a little bit in his second stint. See ya Schumi!

 

Nice one…

 

well Im glad he left with some contraversy letting Vettel past. I will admit I shouted 'Oh what a C***!!' at the TV .

 

[video=youtube;EXNTvKJnGrE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXNTvKJnGrE&feature=related[/video]

 

Formula 1 once had the reputation as the sport of international playboys, its well-heeled drivers drinking champagne, puffing cigarettes,and chasing women in exotic destinations like Monte Carlo. Schumacher, though, is a caricature of the Teutonic robot—a legendary workout freak who became quicker, stronger, and fitter than the competition by outworking them in the weight room.

I don't recollect the likes of Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart, Emerson Fittipaldi, Graham Hill, Jochen Rindt, Mika Hakkinen, Jody Scheckter, Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell, being anything other than fair and considerate racing drivers and indeed men, unlike your selfish and outright dangerous Teutonic robot.

 

Would now be a good time to bring up the following words?

Wet
Yellow
Cucumber
Champion
Interlagos
Overtake
Penalty
Feltching

 

I'm sad to see him leave, I was enjoying seeing him get spanked my a rather mediocre team-mate, but at least I'll still have Hungary 2012.

 

I think the reason he wanted to come back was first time he was not quite ready to leave, he was kind of pressurised out by the signing of Raikkonen. I think this time he is ready to go and I feel his legacy is still intact, he just hasnt added anyhting to it.

 

At least we know he is human

 

How was he pressurised out? If he was that good having a team-mate on equal footing wouldn't be a problem

 

So your saying for all of his career, he never had a teammate that could match him. Maybe that was because he was better in the first place.

*facepalm