Happy that he came at all

It’s a tricky situation when one has built a reputation for being close to perfect all the time. Tricky because I strongly believe that this prevents one from pushing oneself to the very limit. Michael Schumacher made it a habit to be perfect. He always had too much to lose. Whether it be the formula one championship or his image of being the robotic perfectionist he is. I have beena staunch supporter of Schumacher for the last 13 years, watching him race always meant that I prayed for two thing, one that he wins and the other is that he does not lose. The first wish was for the obvious joy of watching my hero stand on the top step of the podium and the second was there because when Michael was in the picture, there was always a lot at stake.Of course there have been times when the championship was already decided and the second wish did not exist, only 2 of his championships he has won have been decided in the last race, but there was still his iconic image to protect and the race to be won.
An engine failure from the lead at the Japanese Grand Prix in 06 left Alonso with a 10 point lead heading into the concluding race of the season at Brazil, which left Michael with a chance of winning the title only if he won the last race and Alonso failed to score. It was Ferrari's first engine failure in six years. The race for the championship was almost over for Michael, but Japan proved to be only the beginning of Michael's misfortunes. At qualifying in Brazil a problem withhis fuel pump relegated Michael to 10th position on the starting grid.Under hot conditions, it was clear that the Bridgestone runners would have an advantage but no F1 fan could have predicted Michael’s speed in the race. After a brilliant start, Michael fought his way back to seventh within the first few laps of the race. At sixth place was the Renault of Giancarlo Fishichella. Fishichella successfully held back the prancing horse for a few laps but eventually crumbled under pressure and locked his front wheels at the end of the start finish straight to surrender his position to the resurgent Ferrari, but Michael’s woes had not ended.A few seconds after Michael’s brilliant overtaking maneuver, he suddenly began to lose pace and immediately was overtaken by all the cars he had managed to over take a few laps back. Michael Schumacher’s front tire had a puncture A few laps earlier The Williams of Nico Rosberg had collided with his team mate, Mark Webber, spewing debris from both cars on the track. As it happened, something pierced his front tire on lap 9. The brilliant run from 10th to seventh all of a sudden in vain. When Michael’s wounded Ferrari limped back to the pits from 18th place all looked lost. The Championship was out of reach, the race was out of reach, a podium finish in his last race too seemed out of reach. There was nothing left to race for but pride. With a tank filled to the brim, with new tires and with nothing to lose, Michael Schumacher set out to prove to the world one last time why he had set the standards for the last decade .In the laps to come, Michael set a series of fastest laps closing in on the cars he has passed just a few laps back. Rubens Barichello was reduced to a spectator as Michael passed him on the start finish straight, so much so that Michael had the time to wave to Rubens as he passed him. Next on the radar was the Renault of Fichichella. Giancarlo stalled Michael’s progress for 9 laps but, as had become the norm in the last few races, getting past the No: 2 Renault was just a matter of time. Michael passed Fishichella as he floundered once more. From 18th on the grid, Michael Schumacher had fought is way back to 5th place.

At fourth place and in front of Michael was Kimi Raikonnen, the man who was to replace Michael at Ferrari the following year. As the laps passed the gap between the two began to wane, and in no to time, it was under a second and Kimi was beginning to have to defend hard to retain fourth place. After a few laps of trying to pass him, Michael finally got the better of him when at the end of the start finish straight and at 300 Km/Hr Michael squeezed the Ferrari between the Mc Laren and the barricades, his left wheel centimeters away from the side wall. All Kimi Raikonnen could do was watch it from the best seat in the house.

It’s not something rare in a Formula 1 race that someone fights back from all the way back on the grid. And especially not for a veteran like Schumacher, I remember Spa 1995, when Michael started at 16, and was leading the race on lap 16. But events like this are usually happen only when the universe conspires against the rest of pack to favor the chosen one. The most striking memory of such an event is Rubens Barrichello’s first victory .Rubens started at the very back, 18th on the grid, but it took rain, a mad man running on the track, a track that was soaking wet on one side and dry on the other, and strange pit strategy from the Mc Larens to take Rubens to the top step. At Brazil 06, there were no crazy fans running on the track and no signs of rain, there was just a challenge and a man determined to go out all guns blazing. In fact the race was actually a snapshot of the entire season, it was a collage of all the qualities that had made a legend.

In a career spanning almost one and a half decades, he had shown what it took to be a champion. From trying to push Jacque Villenuve off the track in 97, from wanting a fist fight with Coulthard in Spa 98, to patting the back of his mechanics and engineers after having his last title chances washed away after an engine failure from the lead at Brazil 06, he had come a long way.
After watching him for 13 seasons and 7 championships I finally got my chance to see Michael Schumacher "Race", not for the championship nor for the race victory but just for the thrill of racing. For more than a decade, he had set the standards in F1, he was the benchmark, the guy every driver wanted to beat, the man who forced the governing body to change the rules of the game just because he had made the sport ‘boring’. After 250 Grand Prix starts Michael was the the senior most driver on track at Brazil in 2006, his last race. Michael did not win the race, he did not finish on the podium but it will still be the race I will remember the most. To say that I will miss ‘Michael magic’ would be an understatement, but I am not sad that he is gone, I am happy that he came at all.