Get It Whilst You Can

After a slight break in posts, due to being busy with activities that actually generate some income, I am attempting to bring some service back to the blog, or kill it. For the time being I have decided not to kill it, as it still provides a way for me to get things off my chest, but as this doesn’t happen every day then the posts will become sparse. To fill it out I will continue to add random ad hoc BS and maybe even finish the colour management series.

The title of this post doesn’t, however, refer to the thread on which the future of this blog hangs, but rather something of much more worth, the passing of greatness in a sport I hold dear. Michael Schumacher has not died, but his choice to retire at the end of the current season is seen in my eyes as a severe loss to the Formula One slice of motor sport.

Many people loathe the man, but it should be clear to most people his accomplishments speak louder than any conceived ideas about his personality or nation of origin. For me being a racing driver isn’t about driving a car fast around a track – that is a given – but it is the absolute commitment to winning, where every meter of advantage should be fought and seen as a victory in its own right. Sadly, and this feeling is at the core of my sadness to see Michael go, there are very few contemporary drivers that show such determination.

Sure, on occasion Michael has taken it too far, but that will always happen when the desire is so great, the boundaries are gone and split second reactions that are driven by absolute focus to win seldom take into account being a nice guy or maybe even doing the safe thing. Let’s get something straight, motor sport isn’t safe. It may be a lot safer that it ever was – and that is a good thing – but the whole essence of it is danger. As I often say to comments made by the whinging Coulthard, if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen; for there are many skilled cooks who love the heat waiting to take your place. It is all part of the deal when you decide to become a racing driver; you should relish it not shy away from it. Of course this will explain the long and mostly mediocre career of David Coulthard.

In years gone by the rarely over aggressive tactics of Michael Schumacher were how cars were raced. If you look back at any of the great racing drivers of all time they all used pretty dirty tactics to get an advantage; it is part of the game. Jack Brabham’s favourite trick was to drop a couple of wheel on the dirt exiting a corner if he had someone close up behind him, to kick up some stones are other debris into their face. Back in that day, the dirt at the side of the track was real dirt and the helmets had no face protection, I bet it hurt. You don’t even have to go that far back to see two greats racing at the same time with the same absolute winning mentality. Just look at the fiascos caused by Ayton Senna and Alain Prost in the 1980’s. That’s how races should be contested, winner takes all. There are old and revered quotes from racing, such as, “second place is just the first of the losers” and that is how I see it.

The issue is that the majority of the new drivers may subscribe to such statements, but they don’t practice them. Bringing the car home in a nice safe third place to secure championship points is not exactly living by the sword. You certainly will not see Michael Schumacher doing that, even if it might be the most “sensible” option. Michael will fight for every meter of track position, as if it were the championship itself, he has hardly ever let another driver pass him just because it is less risky to do so, and the points are good enough. A prime example of this was in Hungary this year, where in mixed weather conditions Michael lay in second position, but on heavily worn tyres and close to the end he chose not to pit and change tyres. He knew that if he pitted that he would lose any chance of first place and lose the second place he was in – but if he wrangled that car around the track for 8 more laps he might take victory. You know the real great thing about that decision, his only rival in the championship was out of the race!! Alonso had already retired, so Michael could have easily pitted and changed tyre to come in a safe 3rd or 4th and take the bulk of the points from Alonso. That is what I want to see, Michael just wants to win and if it is impossible to win then every meter of gain is worth having. As it turns out his decision was to cost him more than 2nd or 3rd, as the car became impossible to drive in the last few laps, he lost some places and would have probably score more points if he had pitted for new tyres. But who cares? I don’t, what he gave us were 10 memorable laps of car control in adverse conditions and the sight of a man driven to win. Give me that any day than the Jenson Button’s of the grid (who won the race).

Looking at the contenders I really don’t see a lot to get excited about with the departure of Schumacher. Most of them are “drive for the points” types, who have already proved their lack of attraction in races where Michael hasn’t featured. Sure they are all fast drivers, they all qualify well, but there racing skill and determination – hence entertainment – are not there. I recall a race a couple of years ago where the leading 4 cars were within a second of each other for the last 20 laps of the race. I can’t remember who was in there other than Button and Alonso, but you can insert any two other boring driver’s names. There was not one single attempt to overtake in those 20 laps. They had all patently settled for their position, and just hoped the car in front will break. Jeez – racing by reliability. Maybe I am being harsh, but can you seriously imagine that if Michael Schumacher had been one of those drivers that he would not have tried an overtaking move?

Some people may think I am underselling Fernando Alonso. The thing is he is world champion, but look how he got there. I am not taking away from him that he is a talented driver, and there may well be more to him than I have seen but he had a car last year that just drove better than any other. That together with the fact that he is a very fast driver put him at the front of the grid on most occasions, allowed him to get in the lead and never require him to actually overtake (what I like to call “race”) anyone to win the race/championship.

To emphasise my point about the superiority of Michael Schumacher (do I need to?), you can just look at his record over the last 16 years. In basic terms 16 years worth of drivers coming and going could not ultimately find a better racing driver – many have come and gone, the opportunity for the best in the world to come and take his glory has been there for 16 years!

Do I think Michael Schumacher is the best racing driver of all time? It’s very difficult to say without pitting (pun) them all against each other. One thing is undisputable, he is the most successful. He does share with all the greats the sometimes uncontrollable desire to win, and is his car control in mixed conditions show that he has the skills to drive the older cars with less grip, so I would be pretty confident that if he were racing in J.M. Fangio’s era, along with Ayton Senna, Alain Prost, Graham Hill, Jack Brabham, Gilles Villeneuve, Nigel Mansell he would be certainly swapping podium positions and panel damage with them. If only it could be!

In all this gloom of loss, I find solace in two things. First is that Kimi Raikkonen has the potential to be a great driver. I noticed yesterday that upon his car breaking for what seems like the millionth time, he had no emotions one way or another. In earlier times when the car broke he threw the steering wheel out, kicked the car and skulked away. I guess that he just waits for it to happen now, and when it does he may even be surprised how long the car lasted. Next year though sees him in a Ferrari, and even though they have had their ups and downs in terms of performance, they have a good reliability record. I truly believe that Kimi will be showing the way next year, and I hope he proves me right about his inherent racing skills. The second form of solace I find is that I know there are other great racing drivers out there. Sooner or later one of them will be found, and will overcome the obstacles of getting into Formula One.

Until then though, there are two races left of this year’s season and it could not be better. The points position is that Michael Schumacher has brought Alonso’s 25 point lead down to zero – so what you are effectively seeing is a two race sprint to win the world championship. I don’t know about you, but in this do or die, winner takes all situation, my money is on a certain Mr. Schumacher. In my dream world they would somehow be tying on points as they enter the last race. If that were the case I would expect you too witness one of the greatest races of all time. Of course that mathematically cannot happen, but even as it is though, reliability aside, it is likely that the last race will decide it.

So, like him or loathe him, you have two Formula One races left to witness the most successful driver of all time ply his trade. Not only that you see him in a position where if he gives it his all and has a little luck on his side he will walk away world champion for the 8th time. Of course, Schumacher giving his all is guaranteed, and I suspect that it may lift the best from Alonso too, which is another aspect that we shall be losing – greatness inspires greatness – and Alonso will really need to dig deep into that historic book of dirty tricks. Bloody hell, how can you miss that!

nimbyref:021006a Photo: No not F1, but A1. A nice concept Formula - by nimby. Canon EOS 5D.:endnimby