Michael Schumacher - A Man matured GOD

MS is legend atleast to my eyes. Care to write in first of all my blogs.

The final race said it all. He knew the odds were completely against him, yet that didn't deter him from giving his best, illustrated in the resoluteness he displayed throughout the race. Having started tenth at the grid due to technical problems in the qualifier, he very soon raced to the sixth spot and to the 4th position before he started to slide. A left-rear puncture saw him limp back to the pits and when he rejoined, it was in the 19th position. Those watching the race live - in person and on television - would have given up right there and then. But not for Schumi . He immediately picked up speed, flying by the slow-movers and was back at the sixth position in no time. His progress may have been slightly impaired by Fisichella and Raikkonen but for one last time the man showed why he was still a force to reckon with. Result - fourth position in a race that was to be his last hurrah.Flashback to two weeks before - yet another warm, Sunday afternoon. The Suzuka track was abuzz with racing cars and he was leading the race way ahead of the others. The Drivers' Championship at this point of time was tied in points with schumi leading by virtue of having won more races. Finishing the Japanese Grand Prix at the top of the podium would mean that he had more chances of saying goodbye as a champion. Everybody knew what this race meant - not only to Schumi and his Ferrari team. I am sure even his critics wanted this for him. Fate deemed otherwise - 15 laps to go his car crashed, and as Schumacher emerged from the debris, every F1 fan around the world would have sighed in sympathy. This was not how it was meant to be - even Schumi knew it. As he slowly walked back to join his Ferrari team, one real long walk surely, it must have weighed down on him. But as he emerged, there was no sign of despair on his face. The final race said it all. He knew the odds were completely against him, yet that didn't deter him from giving his best, illustrated in the resoluteness he displayed throughout the race. Having started tenth at the grid due to technical problems in the qualifier, he very soon raced to the sixth spot and to the 4th position before he started to slide. A left-rear puncture saw him limp back to the pits and when he rejoined, it was in the 19th position. Those watching the race live - in person and on television - would have given up right there and then. But not for Schumi . He immediately picked up speed, flying by the slow-movers and was back at the sixth position in no time. His progress may have been slightly impaired by Fisichella and Raikkonen but for one last time the man showed why he was still a force to reckon with. Result - fourth position in a race that was to be his last hurrah.Flashback to two weeks before - yet another warm, Sunday afternoon. The Suzuka track was abuzz with racing cars and he was leading the race way ahead of the others. The Drivers' Championship at this point of time was tied in points with schumi leading by virtue of having won more races. Finishing the Japanese Grand Prix at the top of the podium would mean that he had more chances of saying goodbye as a champion. Everybody knew what this race meant - not only to Schumi and his Ferrari team. I am sure even his critics wanted this for him. Fate deemed otherwise - 15 laps to go his car crashed, and as Schumacher emerged from the debris, every F1 fan around the world would have sighed in sympathy. This was not how it was meant to be - even Schumi knew it. As he slowly walked back to join his Ferrari team, one real long walk surely, it must have weighed down on him. But as he emerged, there was no sign of despair on his face.

He smiled, shrugged his shoulders - as though this was all part of the game and meant nothing - and went about hugging every one in his team, comforting them, probably telling them that they had not really let him down.At Sao Paulo in the final race, Schumi showed the packed Brazilian crowd what it takes to be a true champion. The Brazilian Grand Prix was indeed a true testimonial to the champion's skill, grit, determination and will-power - traits that made him the best that there can ever be. Two weeks prior to this, the Japanese Grand Prix was a testimonial to the humane side of Michael Schumacher - a side a lot didn't believe existed, even as his Ferrari team always claimed that the brutal, never-say-die, raging to victory racer was not who the man actually was.These two, to me, sum up the essence of Schumi - the man and the champion.It is truly ironic that I should be speaking about F1 and a "brutal" champion called Michael Schumacher. My interest in Formula One is indelibly linked to the rise of Michael Schumacher.Schumi was undoubtedly one of the most talented drivers the circuit has ever seen. No other driver knew the cars they drove as well as he did; no one on the circuit could actually get the maximum out of the engine and steer it to the chequered flag again and again as he did; no one could manoeuvre the car on wet tracks on a rainy day as he did; no other driver could actually rally the entire team behind them as he did. I admired Schumi for the brutality he got to the track and his compelling aspiration to win; and I also respected him for the person he was - one who believed he had a job to do and did it to the best of his ability;. Nothing illustrated this better than that Imola race in 2003 - just a few hours after he lost his mother, the man was out there on the tracks; he drove and he won. His grief was his own; his fans and the world deserved a race.And he deserved WC

Most championship titles(7), Most consecutive championship titles((5), Most race wins(91), Most consecutive race wins(7), Most podium finishes (154) - Will Formula One be the same without Schumi? I don't think so. Yes, there will be other champions and other drivers, but schumi leaves behind a void. Schumi seemed to naturally step into Senna's shoe's but I don't see any currently on the circuit who will fit into Schumi's shoes. Will my interest in F1 continue in the same manner? Again, I don't think so. Unreasonable though it may seem, my following of the sport was in some manner linked to this champion's career. He may leave the sport with magnificent achievements but with a reputation that divided the paddock. But to me, he was not only a great driver and a great race winner, but also a great entertainer and the greatest competitor in the sport's history.