MS will be greatly missed. I'm just glad I got the watch the race this morning. Thought I was going to miss it. Quite the historical moment. Thanks for posting those videos!
Danke, thanks, grazie, merci Michel. http://brunodaytona67.canalblog.com/archives/grand_prix/index.html
good stuff man. anyone here realised after that tyre puncture, MS raced with normal wheels, minus the ' cooling device ' at the rear wheels. p/s : where's Impy?
I've never been much of a fan of MS, but i admire his skill, and his drive at Interlagos was incredible to watch...... even for a non-schu fan. Enjoy your retirement Michael.
Of all his drives, even considering the fight from the back of the grid in Monaco this year, I will always remember Brazil 2006. Yesterday, he showed who was really the best ever.
Major ditto. I think my daughter will remember this for a long time too. Except for when GV was killed, this is the only other F1 event in my life that has brought tears to my eyes. But where the GV event pushed me far away from racing for many years, this has really pulled me back hard. I am so very happy he lived to retire. But I am so sad to see him leave. You suppose his family have simular feelings?
it's only good for them. aside from bowing while he's still at the top, he has a young family. i can't imagine they growing up w/out a dad.
+1, if you don't have something nice to say, just keep your mouth closed. Rehashing 97 over and over again. He won the title regardless, he is just a jealous little jerk who is not 1/10th the man his father was.
true Tony. i mean, Schumi's no angel. he admitted that 97 incident. so why can't JV just shut the hell up and move on?
Exactly, in fact if MS hadn't turned into him, he probably would have flown off at that corner if you watch his speed on the entry.
Is Speed TV planning some sort of special on Michael ? If not we should start an E- Mail campaign. What about Sports Illustrated and the like?
Maybe its "revisionist thinking" but I feel Michael will be remembered more for his drive yesterday than he would have if he had won his eighth WDC. It was a defining drive by any standards. Even the non-Schumacher fans would have to admit he showed everyone something yesterday. Thanks Michael for the memories, the accomplishments and for having such a positive impact on F1. Many years of health and happiness as you slow your pace down ... to everyone else's.
I heard they did one just after the broadcast of the Brazilian GP. I missed it. Sports Illustrated has a difficult time understanding anything except golf and basketball. Sorry I missed your Sunday GP party.
I was in a public place with other FChatters watching the race while at the Winterpark Concours, so I held back. But I know how you felt. What a show he put on in Brazil. Michael's father greeted him after he exited the Ferrari at the end of the race, and it is reported he said, "thank God it is over". Michael's wife is very happy he has retired. He was not forced to retire, except maybe the wife threatened to cut him off if he didn't. Michael retired because it was the right time.
I wrote this on a UK based Ferrari forum, but thought I'd share it here too... - it's a little long, so if you've got A.D.D, you might want to move on to the next post! There was a show highlighting Michael's career tonight on TV in the UK, and the amount of time devoted to Schumacher's faults was disproptionate to say the least. Martin Brundle said in an interview that they'd struggled to find footage of Michael making exceptional overtaking maneuvers. What Brundle says is actually true - there aren't many overtaking sequences for Michael in the archives, but this is because he holds the record for most laps led by some distance, (5,108 to be precise) - the only cars he passed for most of his career were backmarkers - hardly his fault! In general, the media's reporting on Shumi's career is little more than a scurrilous slur. Hill has been sounding off to the BBC journalists once again. Jacques Villeneuve, similarly scathing. Commentators are all too gleeful to report on the 10 tainted races (out of nearly 250 career starts) as a reflection of how Schumacher's legacy will be remembered. What a pity, and I can't help thinking that if Schumacher wasn't German, the vitriol would simply not be there. As with many sporting greats, Schumacher has displayed a level of commitment which some find unacceptable, but does this really taint his achievement to the levels that have been reported? Senna was no saint, (ask Alain Prost) but his legend (or deity) was assured by his tragic unfortunate death. Most of us are too young to recall watching the legend that was Fangio drive, but he thought nothing of commandeering a teammate's car mid-race if his broke down. Tazio Nuvolari is reported to have won the 1930 Mille Miglia by tailing Achille Varzi with his headlights off for the most part of the race, (so he wasn't visible in Varzi's mirrors) then overtaking him a few miles before the finish line to take the win; however his many heroic deeds made him a legend, and his 'questionable' sportsmanship did nothing to dissuade Ferdinand Porsche from describing him as "The greatest driver of the past, the present, and the future." All champions know that they have to push the boundaries of acceptability, and Schumacher is typical in this regard. The only difference from the careers of Fangio and Senna is that Schumacher has done it in an era of the most intense media attention, which magnifies and makes grotesque even the most minor of errors. And these errors are reported mostly by experts who have never had the circumstances, talent, or driven ambition to be where Schumacher was; or by embittered, vanquished rivals still smarting at their contrasting pschological and talent disadvantages to a seven-times world champion. Thankfully, there is some balance in the world, and it even comes from some unlikely sources: Mika Hakkinen, David Coulthard, Niki Lauda, Stirling Moss and even Fernando Alonso have all praised Michael, his talent and achievement over the 15 years he remained at the pinnacle of one of the world's most challenging sports. It's interesting - and revealing - that all of these exceptional talents have direct experience and true insight into what it takes to be successful in F1, and not one of them makes a single mention of Michael's misdemeanors. So, with quiet dignity, the (statistically) greatest driver to ever sit at the wheel of an F1 car leaves the spotlight, and what a way to go. The manner in which Schumacher left the sport at Interlagos was typical of the mature professional he has come to embody: calm in the face of adversity, admonishing Ferrari from blame for the technical failures, absolutely, utterly dedicated to his team, and totally committed up until the end of the last lap of his career. The mantle of the sport's best driver now passes to Alonso - a driver that many find it difficult to like, if the recent FIA poll is to be believed. He has certainly displayed some chinks in his armour, particularly mid-season and in the run-up to the title, but I can't help thinking that much as I dislike the young Spaniard, he reminds me of the young Schumacher - astonishing speed & commitment, absolutely, categorically correct in his own mind, and with unswerving dedication. And flawed, just as all genius is - after all, they are human too. Schumacher went out of the sport just as he entered it - impressing everyone who witnessed his driving. Never has 4th place, a failure, been so beautifully or impressively achieved. It was a stunning end to a career of such magnitude, it will probably be many years before journalists and fans alike can truly appreciate its gravity. Grazie Michael. "I always said to become champion when Michael was still on the track has more value than when he retires and I was extremely lucky to win the last two championships... it has been for us a pleasure to race with him." (Fernando Alonso) "If you take the overall picture then there is no doubt about Michael and what he has done in his career in F1... I don't think there will be a driver in the future who can beat that achievement for a long time, or maybe ever." (Mika Hakkinen) "I'm sure he will be remembered for being able to galvanise a team so well. He was an amazing personality... and with his ability and the sort of person he is, he got them into being the winning car they are today." (Stirling Moss) "He is the greatest. Nobody will ever beat him, as long as we are alive." (Niki Lauda) "He is the greatest all-round racing driver this sport has seen." (David Coulthard)
Excellent post Bukem. Now there is another forgettable former WDC, Hill. I can not even remember his first name.
i was watching my local news yesterday, and they showed a glimpse of everything in Kerpen, Germany. as many as a few thousand fans gathered there to cheers Michael on big screens. i'm amazed to see so much grown men and women crying on the last lap, and when Schumi got out of the car and hugged Massa. this shows how much Schumi means to them.
Few people know that virtually all of the sewing machines in the Ferrari factory, the machines used to make the interiors for Ferrari street cars, are each personally autographed by Michael Schumacher. I wonder if Alonso signed anything at the Renault factory?
