THE LEGEND WILL CONTINUE TO RULE!!!

This is not a real good time in my life. It is not going as smooth as I had expected. But I never did get down by it. Thanks to the support given by all around me, I held my own and still holding it far away from home. Though I got irritated and frustrated at times I was never emotional for a long time. But nothing could hold me today, when I heard Schumi announcing his retirement from F1 at the post race conference. I was this close to letting the tears out of my eyes. He had been one of my favorite personalities in the world and will always be. I knew it was coming but was never really ready for it.

It all began one Sunday afternoon in Udumalpet in 1995, when I saw the final 3 races of the season on star sports. Though I was a kid, I was strongly attracted to the driving and my passion to speed just added fuel to the fire!!! The main reason being one man who was standing tall amongst others. Micheal Schumacher. The way he fought for the win and titles was sheer poetry!!! And he went on to win the title for the second consecutive time. And with it came the announcement of him switching to Ferrari – whose cars I’ve been worshipping for a long time (Ferrari story was a diff one n long too)

All through 96-99, I enjoyed watching him drive in that scarlet car, did not matter whether he won or not – and even if he did – did not matter if it was legal or not!!! But I knew one thing… He was going to stay… and He was the on his way to being a legend. I still remember fighting with Jaikar (both of us ended up bleeding n grounded for a week) over Mclaren and Ferrari. That was the extent of his influence on me. Then came the disaster in Silverstone – his leg broke – jus when I broke mine and watched the races from a hospital bed for about 4 months.

From 2000 on I enjoyed every win of his and every second of racing. I used to cut classes to watch qualifying(Saturday was a working day for SW!!!) He beat Mika fair and square and from then went to break every record in the F1 history – all but one. The year is still my favorite year of racing. His arch rival – Mika wasn’t bad either. He was the best in the business and the only one who can match Schumi is driving skills. After nurturing and resurrecting a team which was a former champion and on a draught of Race Wins for 20 years – Micheal brought em back to where they belonged. From then the rest is history.

With 39 wins and five championships – He was standing tall almost invincible in racing and the greatest driver in the pinnacle of motorsports – FORMULA ONE. The secret of success is pure magic. His driving skills are matched by only one driver so far. He is the only man who can confidently wave to the crowd on the penultimate lap of a race – inspite being chased by others. He is one of those few who can change the car-setup midway on track and adjust the driving accordingly. He is the RAINMASTER – not even Mika could stand the rain. He is one of the toughest to pass – very few have accomplished this after he moved to Ferrari. He is GOD when it comes to F1.

He qualified on a old beaten up Jordan Ford in his first ever race (after being called in to replace the official driver – who was arrested the night before) impressing Benetton to sign him up for 2 seasons. Eleven years in Formula one – being the successful driver in the history of the sport is no mean task – almost impossible. Except for 2005 – where the Schuderia suffered from a loss of its chief aero designer to Mclaren and the underdogs Renault (With whom he had won two back to back championships) and Alonso went onto torment the tracks with the new mass-dampers and an almost turbo like engine. But He managed a distant third in the championship with a non-performing car – which only he could do.

Criticism never leaves famous men and Schumi wasn’t an exception. He was notorious, going to all extents to get what he wanted. Ferrari issued team orders to help him snatch the win from his teammates – but nobody – Eddie – Rubeno – Felippe – complained. But they were happy to do that. Though Schumi handed over the trophy and stepped down to make Rubeno stand on top!!! He was an admirable character. Not to mention his skills when it came to run down with a Euro Fighter Typhoon and the Fighter sucked it up!!! Ferrari had crossed the line much before the fighter did.

Even on this day – Criticism reigns high over his retirement – in the form of Alonso. Though he dint mean to block Felippe in anyway during the final 2 seconds – Rules say that – He should have moved to give the way to Felippe – who was on a hot lap!!! All said and done – Schumi was flawless all thro the race and won it fair. He was not at fault for a Renault blowing into smithereens!!!

With 90 wins(another 3 races to come) 68 pole positions 75 fastest laps 1354 Championship points and 247 race starts – MICHEAL SCHUMACHER – will remain unbeatable - FOREVER!!! From being an ordinary bricklayer’s son in Germany to one of the greatest in F1 History – he will remain a Legend always be an inspiration to so many drivers and teams around the world. And he will always be my hero. Be it speed, natural talent, loyalty, ruthlessness or hard work, You have always had it all – The very reason I was inspired by you and wil continue to be. We all loved watching you race in that Scarlet car and will savor those moments for a lifetime!!! Wish you good luck for the final races and I certainly hope you to sign off in style – with an unprecedented 8^th world championship!!!

I salute you – Micheal Schumacher – one of the greatest driver ever!!!! Hail Ferrari!!!!