Bring it on! In three weeks time at the European Grand Prix in Valencia, the greatest F1 driver of all time (at least statistically), returns to to the sport in place of the injured Felipe Massa.
I am hugely excited by this prospect as unlike many other British followers of F1 I genuinely believe that he is the greatest driver in the sport of all time. It is easy to prove this with statistics, more Grand Prix wins (91 in total), more pole positions, more championship points and of course his seven championship wins. But there is more than just the raw statistics but his absolute desire to win which is what scarred his reputation in many people's eyes and I am sure it is this passion to win that has brought him out of retirement this summer as he has nothing left to prove.
The first time I saw Michael Schumacher race was at Silverstone in a sports car race in 1991 before he had progressed into F1. It was a typical wet, grey day at the Northamptonshire circuit and whilst he didn't win that race (he and co-driver Wendlinger finished second), when he was in the car it looked like it was on rails whilst all of his competitors looked as if they were on ice skates. I commented after the race to my father that I expected he would be in F1 by the beginning of the next season and my prediction was proved right as he made his GP debut for Jordan later that year before moving to the more competitive Benetton team after one race.
It did not take long for Schumacher to establish himself in F1 and like all great champions he ensured that no stone was left unturned in his relentless pursuit of success. He made sure that the whole team was built around him and in return he delivered the results that this domineering approach required. The closest comparison to this in recent years was Lance Armstrong's approach to the Tour de France and Lance like Michael produced the results. It is interesting to note that both of these great champions have come out of retirement in the same year. Lance's third place at this year's tour has proved it was the right decision and he hopes to get back to winning ways next year through the same approach that served him so well in the past i.e. a team built around him.
Schumacher is in a similar position in that because he has been away for nearly three years the team is not his any more, but having said that he has been involved with them since his retirement and as I have no doubt he will be straight on the pace he will get the support he deserves. Some pundits are suggesting that he has much to lose and little to gain by returning to the sport that he transcended for many years but I disagree. Primarily, the Ferrari has not been that competitive this season though Raikkonen did come second last weekend but if Schumacher gets some decent finishes it will be huge boost for the team and if he doesn't it can still be put down to an uncompetitive car this season. Secondly, as I said in yesterday's blog the regulations for next season are broadly similar to next season so essentially he can become the test driver for next season's car to ensure that they are competitive from day one in 2010. Thirdly, the question of his age has been raised as a reason why he can't be competitive - rubbish - as he will have lost none of his talent but will maybe be a little down on his previous fitness levels. Fangio won all five of his world titles in his forties and both Prost and Mansell won World Championships in the 1990s when not much younger than Schumacher is now.
Of course there will be others anticipating the return of Schumacher and they are the current young hotshots Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, who will be desperate to prove they are as good as the best. His teammate Raikkonen may be a little more nervous as he was brought in as Schumacher's replacement and whilst he won the 2007 championship he has been less competitive since.
The European Grand Prix may not be the best chance for Schumacher to shine as it will be his first race back, at a track that has been added to the calendar since he retired and because there is no testing allowed before the race but the two races afterwards will be the ones to watch. He has won at Spa six times including his first ever Grand Prix win a year after he made his debut, this will then be followed by the Italian GP at Monza where he has triumphed five times and I for one am reluctant to bet against a sixth success in front of the Tiffosi - what a story that would make.
When I wrote my blog yesterday my only thoughts regarding Michael Schumacher where that he could end up as a figurehead for a team or consortium that may try and purchase the BMW team but didn't think it worthy of comment. Perhaps now in Lance Armstrong style this may not sound quite so ridiculous.
Roll on 23rd August (which will be my second day as a 40 year old incidentally) and maybe the BBC should consider a certain M Walker as commentator for the momentous occasion just to add to the excitement and expectation!
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