- 20 Dec 07, 02:14#27836
My favourtie journalist left my favourtie magazine recently, his final article was his best. I used to cluck like a crack whore waiting for her next fix when it was Autosport morning (Thursday) and his final few paragraphs I thought I would share.
After May Day 1994 the Schumacher era began, Michael ultimately achieving a level of domination, in his Ferrari years, which not even Senna could have envisaged. Seven world championships...two more even than Fangio. through most of hims time at the top, only Mika Hakkinen was a true rival.
In the course of his 15 years in F1, Schumacher quite often behaved ruthlessly, and sometimes - as when he took out Damon Hill at Adelaide in 1994, and tried to do the same to Jacques Villenueve at Jerez in '97 - despicably. As with Senna, his legacy is by no means entirely positive.
And yet, if I want to recall a race of Michael's, it is not one of those in which he fought the good - or bad - fight, when he banged wheels, and got into agry post-race exchanges. It is not even his last grand prix, when he drove sublimely after an early puncture, and left in our minds, as a final calling card, a perfect pass on Kimi Raikkonen, the man due to succeed him at Ferrari.
No, I think of the Belgian Grand Prix, 2002, of a day as perfect as a man may have in a grand prix car. In a season of Ferrari domination, Schumacher had recently 'allowed' Rubens Barichello to win in Hungary, but this was special, this was Spa, his favourite place.
What Michael gave us that afternoon was F1 distilled to it's essence. He wasn't racing anyone - that wasn't necessary. He was simply out for the afternoon, revelling in his art.
It should have been boring, like so many other races that season, but it wasn't. It was the best driver on earth, at the best circuit, and the symmetry was perfection - something at which Lewis Hamilton, better as a rookie than any of them, can aim in the years to come.
After May Day 1994 the Schumacher era began, Michael ultimately achieving a level of domination, in his Ferrari years, which not even Senna could have envisaged. Seven world championships...two more even than Fangio. through most of hims time at the top, only Mika Hakkinen was a true rival.
In the course of his 15 years in F1, Schumacher quite often behaved ruthlessly, and sometimes - as when he took out Damon Hill at Adelaide in 1994, and tried to do the same to Jacques Villenueve at Jerez in '97 - despicably. As with Senna, his legacy is by no means entirely positive.
And yet, if I want to recall a race of Michael's, it is not one of those in which he fought the good - or bad - fight, when he banged wheels, and got into agry post-race exchanges. It is not even his last grand prix, when he drove sublimely after an early puncture, and left in our minds, as a final calling card, a perfect pass on Kimi Raikkonen, the man due to succeed him at Ferrari.
No, I think of the Belgian Grand Prix, 2002, of a day as perfect as a man may have in a grand prix car. In a season of Ferrari domination, Schumacher had recently 'allowed' Rubens Barichello to win in Hungary, but this was special, this was Spa, his favourite place.
What Michael gave us that afternoon was F1 distilled to it's essence. He wasn't racing anyone - that wasn't necessary. He was simply out for the afternoon, revelling in his art.
It should have been boring, like so many other races that season, but it wasn't. It was the best driver on earth, at the best circuit, and the symmetry was perfection - something at which Lewis Hamilton, better as a rookie than any of them, can aim in the years to come.
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