IT HAPPENED IN AUSTRIA - THE UNPOPULAR TEAM ORDER

Far from tears of joy! Image Courtesy - ESPNF1 

It might be a super-hero movie cliché but there is a lot of merit to this line - 'you always have a choice'. Looking back, if Michael Schumacher felt Rubens Barrichello deserved the win (at the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix), he would not have crossed the finish line ahead of his Brazilian teammate. The two Ferraris might have been stranded few metres before the chequered flag, egging each other to cross the line first. Nothing of that sort happened - in a matter of few seconds, Michael Schumacher benefitted from the team orders. Team orders are fine, but personally I felt, this was one occasion where the Ferrari think tank went a bit overboard.

Having said that, Formula One is a team sport, it is a business with all the commercial jargons packed in and served to us twenty times a year. It is the ultimate prize in motor-racing and it is also an expensive affair. Teams invest a lot and everybody strives to win. Yes, it is all about winning - but at what cost?

PERILS OF A NUMBER TWO DRIVER

I am a Ferrari fan and an ardent admirer of Michael Schumacher. But on the Sunday of 12 May 2002, I didn't enjoy that particular victory a lot. Yes, it was 1-2 Ferrari, but there was more to it. Even in business, some situations are not crystal clear unlike the well-penned points in a contract and yes, Rubens Barrichello deserved the win irrespective of the championship situation. It wasn't the first time such a fate has met a driver. Team orders have been issued by all the big teams and in fact even Michael Schumacher was driver number two, helping Eddie Irvine during the 1999 season. Coulthard was the regular man Friday to Hakkinen on numerous occasions in 1998 and 1999 and not to forget, Damon Hill helped Alain Prost win his fourth world title in 1993. The examples can go on... but i hope you get the gist of what I am trying to say here.

IT HAPPENED A YEAR AGO

At the 2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher was behind the race leader Juan Pablo Montoya trailing by 1.6s. The fight was getting intense and on lap 16,  Michael tried to pass into the right-hander at turn two; Montoya did well to block the racing line but went wide and didn't leave any racing line to Michael Schumacher, which forced both cars to go off-track. No damage done, however a line of cars - Barrichello, Verstappen, Coulthard, Raikkonen and Olivier Panis went past them. Schumacher summed up the incident - "The fight had been fair until the incident, then he tried to take me out at the corner, and I had to go on the grass because I couldn't turn in on him. He wasn't looking where he was going, he was looking where I was going'.

Montoya tries hard to stop a quicker Schumacher at the 2001 Austrian Grand Prix

Schumacher upped his pace and was in third position by lap 28. Coulthard in second position and the other Ferrari driver Barrichello, led the race. Schumacher soon joined this duo and 0.9s separated the top three places as Michael Schumacher was first to pit on lap 46 and two corners later ran wide losing few tenths of a second on his out-lap. A lap later, Rubens Barrichello pits and comes ahead of Michael Schumacher. The race was now in the hands of Coulthard and his team of mechanics. Coulthard stayed on track for two more laps before coming in to the pits on lap 50. Eight seconds stationary (it was the era of refuelling!!!) and emerged out of the pits as the race leader. Twenty one laps remaining, the championship contender from McLaren was in the lead with the Ferraris behind him. With Mika Hakkinen's woes continued, it was already established that, it was the Scotsman who would lead the championship battle from McLaren. The win for Coulthard would narrow Schumacher's lead in the title race.

The race order remained this way - Coulthard, Barrichello and Michael Schumacher. With less than three laps to go, Jean Todt called on Barrichello to inform him to give way for Schumacher to have those extra two points. Rubens waited...the cars were at the fading stages of the penultimate lap, the race order remained the same... all eyes were on Jean Todt as he discussed with Ross Brawn and called on Barrichello once again as the cars crossed the finish line for one last lap - "Rubens, it's the last lap, let Michael pass for the championship, let Michael pass for the championship Rubens, please".

Rubens did let Michael pass in the final corner and thereby picking up those additional two points. Yes, it was disappointing for Rubens but one has to remember, Formula One at that point was (and still is) a team sport and Ferrari were not the first ones to employ such tactics to help a driver win the championship. With Coulthard's unexpected victory, the points table was a lot closer. Michael Schumacher led the championships by four points to David Coulthard's 38 points and Rubens Barrichello had only mustered eighteen points. 'If I hadn't been close to Rubens the team would not have asked. Ferrari might have a different philosophy to McLaren, who have also used this strategy in the past. Imagine, how it would be if we got to the end of the season and lost the World Championship by two points'. 

There is a lot of merit to this argument (Eddie Irvine lost to Hakkinen in 1999 by two points) - but what happened next year at the same venue was nowhere close to this.

NEXT YEAR WAS NOT THE SAME

Strictly, there are no comparisons from these two races. In 2001, Michael Schumacher was dominant in most parts of the race and one might argue, barring for few racing incidents, he did deserve to win the race. Besides, the championship battle was tighter in 2001.  

In 2002, it wasn't the case. First and foremost, Rubens Barrichello did an excellent job of being the fastest driver in the warm-up, took the pole position and led the race for all laps but for the final corner when he had to yield to Michael Schumacher and this time, it was for the victory and no, there was no championship at stake. Yes, team orders has influenced results to benefit a team and a driver, but on that day, Schumacher coming in second place would not have mattered.

Rubens did everything right...which deserved him to win the race... Team orders went bonkers! 

Moments later, both drivers make a mockery of the ceremony protocol, Michael refused to stand on the top step and instead asked Rubens to stand. German national anthem was heard loud and clear across the track, while it was a Brazilian standing on the top step. When it was the time for Italian national anthem, both Ferrari drivers stood on the podium and there were no signs of joy or the excitement in spite of winning the race 1-2. And to end it, the trophy was presented to Michael Schumacher which he quickly passed on to Rubens Barrichello, who happily accepted it.

THE REPERCURSSIONS

At the end of the day, it was a bad call by the team. Ferrari was winning virtually every race they took part and media houses had to find something to pinch the Italian team. Crowd booed Michael Schumacher and he admitted in the press conference 'it was not a right choice' and 'he derived no joy from this victory and it was not the way he had envisioned to win in Austria for the first time'. It was a wrong choice though Rubens was aware what his role with Ferrari was when he had signed a fresh contract few days earlier.  

Barrichello takes home the trophy while Schumacher gets 10 points... Image Courtesy: Grand Prix Magazine

Michael Schumacher in his position within the team could have argued against the top management's decision to let him pass, perhaps he didn't push it hard as he still had to focus on driving. FIA summoned the team and drivers were questioned in a disciplinary hearing while many writers wrote the race being one of the sad days in Formula One. No, it was a far cry from being sad. If you want to term a sad day in Formula One, then look at the drivers who died racing. That is sad and cruel - and what happened to Rubens was just bad luck and a glimpse at the competitive and human side of Formula One. 

THE RACE THAT GAVE US THE NAME 'WALL OF THE CHAMPIONS"

Michael Schumacher was one of the three world champions to crash the wall, thereby got its name "Wall of the champions"

Hitting the wall! There is a huge difference using that term in running and motor racing. While it is a case of mental block in running and have all the time to get out of it, which is contrary to what happens in motor racing. In recent times, Formula One has done away with heavy banked roads, and thereby there is a decline in number of cars hitting the wall. However, there are tracks like the one in Montreal, where the 'wall' at the end of turn 13 has gained reputation for being a 'breaker' if a car hits it. Since 1978, a lot of cars have hit the wall, cars were removed or safely parked and race moved on. However, in 1999, 'the wall' got all the attention.

On that day, the wall which had 'Bievenue au Québec' (Welcome to Quebec) written on it had four hits, three of them driven by the world champions and gave birth to the term 'Wall of the champions'.

WALL OF THE CHAMPIONS

13 June 1999, sixth round of F1, Canadian Grand Prix. Michael Schumacher took his first pole position of the 1999 season. That race had four world champions - Mika Hakkinen (1999), Damon Hill (1996), Jacques Villeneuve (1997) and two-time world champion Michael Schumacher (1994 &1995). It will go down as one of the unique races in the history of Canadian Grand Prix as all four drivers made headlines though only one of them ended up finishing the race.

Prior to the 1999 race, the wall at the end of the final chicane and located opposite to the entry of the pit-lane was just another part of the track. Each year, one saw many drivers shaving their cars to the wall, just enough to avoid a crash. However, many drivers in a bid to make up time or extend a lead have crashed owing to imbalance of the car after exiting the final chicane.

FOUR HITS TO THE WALL

The race was an attrition and at the end of it, it had more number of retirements (12) than the finishers (10). On the very first lap, there were three casualties - Alexander Wurz retired due to transmission problems while Jean Alesi and Jarno Trulli collided with each other and took each other out of the race. Safety car!

Lap three, the first of the wall hitters, Ricardo Zonta, got his BAR-Supertec sideways in an awkward position which caused him to hit the wall. Zonta's car was parked next to the wall and this made the stewards to call the safety car back on the track.

The race resumed its normalcy on lap seven and there was no drama up until lap fourteen when the first of the three world champions, Damon Hill spun-off the track and hit the wall. He was not having a good season with Jordan and his woes continued as he had his third retirement out of six races. When asked about it, Hill replied - "Basically, I lost the control of the car and I hit it. There is nothing more to it, really!".

Then came the surprise, Michael Schumacher having led the race was beginning to up his pace in order to build a suitable gap as he was nearing his pit stop window. Each lap, from lap 25 was three-tenths faster than Hakkinen and with each lap, he was pushing his Ferrari really hard. On lap 29, just few metres away from starting the next lap, bang!. Schumacher lost control of his car coming out of the chicane and he was off the racing line, thereby the car was on the dirty part of the circuit, which is always slippery. The car slewed and before he could react, the car had hit the wall which wiped out his front and rear suspension. He shook his fists in frustration as he knew, he had thrown away this race! - "I lost control of the car because I went off the racing line and got on the dirt and ended up in the wall. This was clearly my mistake. I usually make one mistake a year. I hope that this incident was the last for the season".

Now that Schumacher was out of the race, this was now Hakkinen's race to lose. The first round of pit stops was not far away. While the teams and few drivers were getting ready for their fresh tyres and fuel, Jacques Villeneuve on lap 35 became the third world champion to hit the wall. Safety car for the third time on the track. "It was my mistake - I was simply going a little bit too fast. There was a lot dirt down on the track at that point, it was easy to make a mistake".

CHEQUERED FLAG UNDER SAFETY CAR FOR THE FIRST TIME

While the safety car was about to be called on-track, a lot of teams executed their pit stop and the cars were back on track without any significant changes. Lap 40, the safety car came in and within seconds, David Coulthard and Ferrari's Eddie Irvine both push each other out of the track, no damage done, and rejoin the track. All this meant, Mika Hakkinen was on his own now with no one to challenge him from the top runners. Heinz-Harald Frentzen was the last casualty of this race. He was running in second position before brakes failed and his car crashed a barrier. This incident put Giancarlo Fisichella to second place and Eddie Irvine third. With just three laps to go, safety car was called on to the track for the fourth time! In the penultimate lap, just before the final chicane, all cars had lined up behind one other. 

If safety car went in, that would have made a spectacular last lap, especially with the proximity of cars at the first and second turns and at the hair pin! Sense prevailed and safety car was not called in and race culminated with all cars finishing behind the safety car - making this the first instance of a race in Formula One completing under safety car regulations. Irony! as it was at the Canadian Grand Prix (1973), the safety car was first deployed in a F1 race.

Sixteen years hence, the circuit remains one of the most demanding for the cars and drivers. 'Wall of champions' still continues to play a significant role and it remains to be seen, if it has any impact on the outcome of this year's Canadian Grand Prix. 

F1 AFTER SENNA - 1994 MONACO GRAND PRIX

In memory of Ayrton Senna at the 1994 Monaco Grand Prix 

1988 Monaco GP, the McLaren team and their turbo engines in peak form; Senna drove around the narrowed streets of Monte-Carlo as if it were a series of qualifying laps. Ayrton Senna in his legendary MP4/4 dominated the Monaco GP weekend right from the time he stepped on to the track. At one point in the race, he had a lead in excess of fifty seconds. That's right, he had lead close to a minute over his teammate Alain Prost. There was no stopping him, until the time, owing to a lapse in concentration, Senna spun off the track, hit the barrier and his race was over with just over twelve laps remaining.

As Ron Dennis (team principal of McLaren-Honda at that time put it - "We were trying to slow him down, but when you back off in a racing car, you lose concentration; so there was just a lapse, nothing else. He was so angry – he didn’t come back to the pits, he walked away from the circuit and sat in his flat. He didn’t reappear until later that evening, and was massively angry with himself…"

After that incident, the next five races at Monaco saw all of it won by the legendary Brazilian.

THE MOURNING CONTINUES

If not for his 'fault' at the 1988 Monaco GP, he would have had seven wins in a row at the Principality, having won his first in 1987 while driving for Lotus-Honda. Two weeks before the 1994 Monaco Grand Prix, Senna as we all know died from a race casualty at the San Marino GP. This news came as a shock and many questions regarding the safety of the sport were raised. Life had to move on and to those involved with F1, each day stretched and was painful to see a star driver become a victim of the sport.

The very next race at Monaco, the post-Senna era had begun, whether people wanted to believe it or not. And the racing weekend, at Thursday's free-practice, ill-fate struck again. Karl Wendlinger, driving for Sauber crashed at the harbour after exiting the tunnel. The Sauber hit the barrier sideways with a lot of force and Wendlinger's head struck the barriers. It was a violent incident, he was taken to a hospital and was in a coma. His condition didn't improve for several weeks, and he didn't race for the rest of the year. Next year, Wendlinger was unable to regain his pre-accident form and never raced again in Formula One after the 1995 season.

THE KING OF MONACO...... IS NOT TO BE SEEN

One of Senna's six victories at the Monaco Grand Prix

The Formula One found itself in a strange, unparalleled situation. Since the 1982 San Marino GP, there was no World Champion present. The sport needed a new face to move on. FIA announced sweeping changes with regards to safety, which included the reduction of pit lane speed. It happened in 1960's when Jim Clark became one of the victims and many thought sport would cease to exist. There was an air of déjà-vu, the feelings were of the same when Senna became the Formula One's latest casualty. One person who had seen it all and was calling shots at that time and he still does - Bernie Ecclestone. "No one is bigger than the sport. We've all got to pick ourselves up and go on. The sport moves on and it must do so now." It all seemed logical, those words from Bernie - but if only humans were alienated from what we call 'emotions'. In spite of knowing what needs to be done, there are moments in life, unexpectedly things come to a standstill, where thoughts get blurred, life seems pointless and it makes us understand about existence and how it is not permanent.

At the 1994 Monaco Grand Prix, all knew life had to move on, but at what pace? and how?

NEW HOPE IN MICHAEL SCHUMACHER

No driver other than Prost or Senna had won this prestigious GP from 1983. Now, it was time for a change. Michael Schumacher, in his third full season took the first pole position of his career. Williams and Simtek, both teams started the race with just one driver. And Sauber, after Wendlinger's crash decided to withdraw from the race.

Overnight, Damon Hill was given the huge task of filling in Senna's boots for Williams-Renault. Not just Williams-Renault, the entire decision-makers in F1 had a huge task. The season, so far was dominated by Michael Schumacher and naturally, he was seen as the 'next' poster boy of Formula One.

But, was that tag, justified? At the start of the Monaco Grand Prix, he had raced only in 41 races, same number as Senna's wins in Formula One. Would he be able to make an impact, the way Senna did? There were more questions that were asked, though no one could give any satisfying answers.. However, for all these questions, one answer seemed logical... time! Like the age-old adage goes, 'Time heals everything'. With three wins from three races, Michael Schumacher was the clear favourite to start a new chapter at Monaco.

THE MARK OF RESPECT

First row empty start - 1994 Monaco Grand Prix

Michael Schumacher alongside Mika Hakkinen started from row two. The first row was left empty as a mark of respect for the departed drivers - Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger.

How do you remember 1994 Monaco GP? Will that be remembered as a race where Michael Schumacher secured his first pole position? Will that be recalled by many as first of five wins at Monaco for Schumacher? Will people remember this race where Schumacher achieved his first Grand Slam (pole position, fastest lap and leading every lap from start to finish)?

Though, I am a huge Schumacher fan, I would remember the 1994 Monaco GP as the first race after Senna. I have walked on the very streets where Senna went about his business at Monaco. I have stood for minutes starring at the first row - a place which Senna made his own. And it was a magnanimous gesture to leave that front row vacant, reminding the fans on track and to millions of viewers, what a void he had left!

The race in itself was a recovery from that huge hangover and whatever Schumacher and rest of the drivers did on track, didn't matter. Martin Brundle, the British racing driver and now a commentator never won a race. He was a teammate of Senna's while at McLaren. He finished second behind Schumacher in the race  - "This is a great day for me and I am so glad to achieve this for my loyal and patient fans. Today was one of the best days in my racing career. I made a perfect start and had a faultless race. It has been a very difficult time. When your five-year-old daughter asks you if it's true [Ayrton] Senna is dead it is difficult to reconcile things."

TWO DECADES LATER...........

The business of Formula One is such, there is no room for emotional decisions. The best way to recover from a sporting incident is to continue racing, ensuring one never repeats the same mistakes. The sport has become a lot safer and since Senna's demise, there has been no such casualties during the race. There have been accidents - but none claimed any lives. As Ecclestone pointed out, the sport has moved on, people have moved on and memories have faded. But when you are in Monaco and discuss Formula One, people who have been in the sport for a long time will always have a story or two about Senna and his heroics on those narrow streets.

Since that victory on May 15, 1994, Michael Schumacher went from strength to strength and stands tall at the top of Formula One with his achievements. However, he now finds himself in a state of transition, where each day, one cannot say what is going to happen. His family, his fans and a lot more people will move on..... but again at what pace? 

MIRACLE ON THE LAST LAP - 2001 SPANISH GRAND PRIX

"Just the other way around" - Michael says to Hakkinen 

The rushes of smoke billowing from the back of McLaren-Mercedes is still fresh. Mika Hakkinen, the driver in it was cruising as he prepared to drive the last lap with a lead over 40 seconds. "This is not the way I like to win" - these words from Michael Schumacher summed up the lap, race and the eventual victor of 2001 Spanish Grand Prix.

This was Michael Schumacher's 150^th  start of his career and being on pole position seemed like the best place to start the race in the Circuit de Catalunya. Unlike the previous year, Mika Hakkinen was having a horrid time behind the wheels and coming into that race he had scored only four points in as many races. David Coulthard, his teammate was in top form and was tied with Michael for the top place.

THE GET-AWAY AS USUAL

The race was held towards the end of April and so the temperatures were pleasant, hovering around 20°C. Michael Schumacher made his usual get-away without any drama as he eased his way to the first turn, and second turn and went about his regular business. From McLaren's perspective, it was Mika and only him to challenge Michael that afternoon. David Coulthard had to start from the back as his car stalled at the start of the parade lap and soon in opening lap of the race, he had a minor collision, as a result of which he had to pit to nurse his damaged front wing. It was catching up all the way through to the chequered flag for the Scotsman.

The battle for the front was between the maestros - Schumacher keeping Hakkinen behind him as they duelled closely through to the first round of pit stops. Schumacher first to pit on lap 23 and four laps later, the Finn came in for his fuel and fresh set of tyres. 'The strategy' of delaying the tyre stop didn't work for the McLaren team as the race order remain unchanged, though Mika Hakkinen had now set the fastest lap which was soon beaten by Michael Schumacher.

The gap between these two veterans constantly hovered around 3 seconds as Hakkinen tracked Schumacher and never let Michael get out of his sight. This was the case until Michael Schumacher came in for his second pit stop. 9.3 seconds stationary and out he went, lap 44, game on and from the looks of it, advantage Ferrari.

LOSING THE LEAD AND THE BACKING OFF

If one can make conclusions based on the events till that point, it was certain Michael Schumacher would go on to win the race. Hakkinen, until that point was trailing and never had any significant opportunities to overtake the #1 Ferrari on track. 'The Tactic' of staying on track a bit longer would ensure less downtime while refilling the tank. The plan worked for the Finn and the McLaren team, as he managed to stay six laps longer. Those six laps were enough to build a lead in excess of 26 seconds as he came in to his final tyre and fuel stop. My mind went back to that historic Japanese GP of 2000 when the roles were reversed as Hakkinen maintained his lead with only 15 laps left. In the meantime, Michael Schumacher was losing a second to Hakkinen on each sector.

A FINAL LAP TO REMEMBER

Ten laps to go and Michael Schumacher was already in cruise mode. A slight problem with the balance on his tyres was preventing him to go faster. With a large gap to the third placed Montoya, there was no threat and a drive at that pace (nearly four seconds off his personal best) would ensure the second place.

 The pace went down even further in the last four laps and he was driving to the chequered flag to secure those 6 points. Coming into the last lap, Hakkinen had a lead close to 40 seconds over Michael Schumacher and had lapped everyone but the second placed driver. The fourth consecutive Spanish GP victory looked set for Mika and it was just a matter of him driving the car for another 75 seconds. 

Then came the rattle, Montoya unlaps himself as he zooms past the slowing McLaren. It was time to win at ease as there was no hurry! Oh wait, Mika shakes his head as he turned into a corner, Hakkinen is slowing down and I was like - "Where is Schumacher?". Soon those were the words of the commentators as well as the TV producer got busy ordering his crew to shift cameras between the dramatic slowdown of McLaren to the slightly off-pace Ferrari. Faced with clutch problems, Hakkinen made few adjustments and a couple of moments later he realised he was unable to reduce the problems he was facing.

Holy smoke!! on the last lap 

Sparks ignited and then came the smoke, a thick one and the car was going nowhere. He slows it down, turns left to park his car and a rose from his seat with a shake of disbelief. Just as Hakkinen was stepping out of the car, Schumacher gets past him to become the new race leader.

POST RACE

A couple of corners to go, Schumacher and Ferrari and rest of us were all in a puzzled state as to what had just transpired. The dejected faces on McLaren pit said it all, what could you say to convince yourself that it didn't happen??? This is what viewers expect out of a F1 race, if possible each race.

Schumacher waved at his fans as he came around to complete his race, chequered flag and yet another victory. A shocked but relieved at this result, he went on to say - "I just saw Mika. Poor guy, I feel sorry for him. We had a huge problem with the third set, I had huge vibrations and that's why I slowed down because I was afraid, I have a tyre which is delaminating or something or going quite wrong - but anyway guys, it seems to be our day, we have been bloody lucky, nevertheless we have got a good car with all the changes (traction control and other electronic aids), we have to finish and we did it. Good job".

Hakkinen's His Man Friday Coulthard - but this time it was after the race 

Hakkinen took a ride back to the pits from his teammate and along the way, he waved at all those track marshals and few of the fans, who kept on cheering "Mika, Mika". Schumacher at the Parc Ferme, saw Hakkinen and ran to him in spite of FIA officials wanting him to finish the pre-podium formalities. They embraced a warm hug, few smiles and few words were spoken in a hurry about luck in F1 racing.

"I'm super-disappointed - goddamm it, you know, Jesus" Those came from Hakkinen.  

Schumacher later admitted he was shocked to see Mika retire and said "This is not the way I like to win, but it has happened in the past and these things happen in racing".

A driver like Schumacher would have loved a fight, however, equally he was philosophical about these elements like luck in racing. On that Sunday, 29th April 2001, the luck went his way and like he said, you lose some, you win some!

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER'S LAST WIN: 2006 CHINESE GRAND PRIX

Those celebrations, his 91st and last win of his F1 career 

In the last race at Malaysia, I had the pleasure of hearing the German national anthem followed by the Italian anthem. These two tunes, played one after the other was one of the things I would seek for, on Sundays when the top three cars came to an halt. The three drivers standing on the podium, watching Michael Schumacher standing on the top step, soaking in the atmosphere, hear the orchestra and spray champagne or muted celebrations if occasion(s) demanded so.

Sebastian Vettel winning in a Ferrari reminded me of those wonder years and weekends when Michael Schumacher won quite remarkably with the Italian team. I would have heard these two tunes in succession at least 50 times, if not more and last such occasion before this year's Malaysian Grand Prix was the 2006 Chinese Grand Prix.

ONE FROM MY MIND

My memories from that race is so fresh. Michael Schumacher storming past Giancarlo Fisichella's Renault at turn one, that overtake remains etched in my memory and has to be one of my favourite moments of Schumacher's racing history. That victory in China put him level with Alonso in points for with two races to go. Michael Schumacher didn't go on to win the driver's championship - but the manner in which he drove in China and in the final race at Interlagos (Brazilian Grand Prix), just made me wonder - 'Why Michael, why won't you race more'? He was then two months shy of turning 38, and yet his reflexes were as good as any driver on the track. The choice and timing of retirement is so personal that one cannot say if it is a good one or a bad one, just with any decisions we take at a certain point in time. I believe we make a certain call which seemed right at that point and then.......... all that remain are perspectives.

HIS LAST WIN

Three seasons in the wilderness and then Michael surprises the racing world when he announced his comeback with Mercedes. He raced with them for further three seasons, which yielded no wins and his tally remained at 91 wins in spite of racing close to sixty races in those three years.

His 91^st win came at a time when he was chasing Fernando Alonso for an unprecedented eighth world title. Going into the race, he was 2 points behind the Spaniard, and three races remaining. It was now down to the drivers with both cars evenly matched. After having made his emotional announcement to leave Ferrari and the sport in the previous race,  the racing world knew these were the final moments when the ace German would be behind the wheels. His last three races, his last punch, that last bit of mighty effort and go for three wins for his team, and for the dream farewell.

2006 CHINESE GRAND PRIX

The weather was anything but clear  and was wet during the qualifying session. This meant, the Bridgestone intermediates found wanting when compared to Michelins and Michael Schumacher was the only driver to finish in top ten, the sole Bridgestone runner. Alonso and his teammate Giancarlo Fisichella were 1-2 and as Michael stated - "We did the best we could in these conditions. You can call it a damage limitation operation".

The race started under wet conditions, and all Schumacher needed was a safe start, clear getaway and maintain his position if not gain a couple of positions. The lights went off, Schumacher, a little less aggressive kept away from any trouble and his position remained at six at the end of lap one. The gap between him and Alonso, who at the top was 6.5 seconds and increasing with each corner they went passed by.

Eight laps went this way and by this time the Bridgestone tyres had shown improved performance and this came in the aid of Schumacher. On lap nine, Schumacher pulled off an overtaking manoeuvre on his ex-teammate Rubens Barrichello to move to fifth.  Next up was Jenson Button, and this time it was the use of sheer straight-line speed advantage over the Honda powered engine of Button's. End of lap 14 and Michael Schumacher was in fourth position and his gap to Alonso, the race leader was 25.3 seconds, with 43 laps more to go.

The Ferrari was a touch faster than the Renaults and the pressure was felt by Alonso, who went off the track for a second or two onto the grass.. it was all playing into the hands of Ferrari maestro. Kimi Raikkonen, by this time having overtaken Fisichella was in second position and on lap 18 he retired from a mechanical failure (throttle problem) having just made his first pit-stop.

Michael Schumacher was now in third position and made his first pit-stop on lap 21, followed by Fisichella a lap later and Alonso, two laps later. At the end of these pit-stops, Michael Schumacher had retained his third position and was in pursuit of the two Renaults. Alonso opted for just the change of his front tyres while sticking to the rear-tyres.

The decision to go with unchanged rear tyres would soon haunt Alonso. At the race midway, Fisichella and Schumacher take advantage of a relatively slower Renault of Alonso. Fisichella makes his move to take the lead. A lap later at turn two, Michael Schumacher moves inside and overtakes Alonso to move into second position. Twenty-six laps to go and Schumacher has a Renault and a pit-stop ahead of him.

Struggling for grip with his existing tyres and reacting to other drivers make the switch to the dry tyres, Fernando Alonso makes his second and final pit stop on lap 35 and he found himself stationed for 19.2 seconds owing to the problem with the right rear release. This little drama now put focus on Fisichella and Michael Schumacher and their battle in the remaining twenty laps.

On lap 40, Ferrari call in Michael Schumacher and release him at the end of 6.9 s with dry tyres. A lap later Fisichella, having had a track advantage over Schumacher comes into the pit-stop, stays for 6.6 s and off he goes to join the race track. There was a clear gap between Fisichella as he exited the pits to Schumacher as he had just crossed the start/finish line.

A turn later, Fisichella struggling for grip on his fresh and relatively colder set of tyres and Schumacher zooms past him nonchalantly with two wheels on the track and two wheels on the kerbs and Astroturf. He chased, chased all this while and now he was presented with the only opportunity the Renault team would give to take the lead. At the height of Renault's vulnerability, there he was, Michael Schumacher in full authority ruthlessly getting past Fisichella to take the lead. He went to say about the move - "I knew he'd see I was coming and that he would be pressing (with fresh and cold tyres) and I sort of expected he would be having a moment".

 What would be Alonso and Renault's response? Alonso puts in fastest laps, one after the other, seven in a row, takes second spot and chases Michael Schumacher. But the damage had been done and unless Michael would make a mistake, even those rain drops which were beginning to accumulate on the race track would not come in the way of his victory.

An enthusiastic Michael goes past the chequered flag to win his first Chinese Grand Prix, his 91st Grand Prix and what turned out to be the last win of his career - but little did I or he knew about it on that evening of 1st October in Shanghai. With two races left in the 2006 season, both Alonso and Michael Schumacher were tied in first place with 116 points. "It's clear that if I win in Suzuka (and Alonso went scoreless) we have done it. We have it in our hands. We'll go for it as hard as we can, and the better one will be the winner".

Oh, Michael, you didn't win your title that year - but there is no arguing who the better winner was and is!

Sebastian Vettel, then aged 19 was a reserve driver with BMW-Sauber and had participated in one of the Friday free practice sessions. Come Sunday, he and Ferrari would hope to emulate that performance of 2006 against the Mercedes. 

MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX - THE VERSTAPPENS AND THE FERRARIS

Jos Verstappen in the dying stages of 2001 Malaysian Grand Prix, unfortunate to finish outside of top 6 by a whisker

As soon as the chequered flag was waved, the timing screen had the rookie teenager on the time screen placed sixth in the qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix . This sensational drive by Max Verstappen reminded me of a race which had his father Jos Verstappen display amazing driving skills in Malaysia under similar conditions.

My mind went back in time, 14 years to be precise and recalled one of the best Malaysian Grand Prix races I witnessed. On the back of Ferrari's domination after a brief setback, one also witnessed the prowess of Jos Verstappen moving up places rapidly and was in 6th place at the end of lap one, after having started way down in 18th position. He finally finished seventh in the race - but had done enough to impress his team and many others who watched that race.

That race, it was on the race day when teams had prepared for dry conditions and team crew, most notably Ron Dennis openly stating 'it will be a dry race'. Mother nature was smarter than most gadgets and short burst of rain caused mayhem, spoiled team plans and what happened next was sheer class driving by Michael Schumacher, who was aided immensely by the strategy of choosing intermediate tyres while rest of the pack went for more gripping wet tyres.

THE START

It was dark, gloomy and yet many predicted it would stay dry for the race. Just when the cars assembled and waiting for the five red lights to go, Fisichella had incorrectly placed his Benetton. The race start was aborted. Sigh of relief for some while many hearts still pounding, so were mine at the start of the race. A few breather moments as many of the pit crew assembled next to their cars, shielding the machinery by stuffing dry ice onto the side radiators to prevent it from further heat loss. As expected, Fisichella would lose his grid position owing to his error and would now start the race from the back of the grid. The race distance was cut-short by one lap as a result of this aborted start and now effectively, the race would be re-started fresh and race for 55 laps.

THE RE-START

All that delay was put aside, and now cars were ready for the warm-up lap. More drama! Juan-Pablo Montoya stalled on the grid as cars around past his BMW-Williams. He would now lose his 6^th position on the grid. While the cars are parading along the circuit to complete the warm up lap, Juan Pablo Montoya was having a race to quickly reach the pit garage and get on to the spare car.

The re-start had no such drama as Michael Schumacher pulled away from his team-mate and rest of the pack in his usual style. Ralf had a great start and narrowly took the second place at the first corner only to slip, do a 360° and join the track. Both Williams effectively were behind the rest of the pack.

As the cars approached second turn of the track, the race had its first retirement - Kimi Raikkonen out with driveshaft problems. And seconds later, Oliver Panis of BAR-Honda spins off the circuit  from a oil leak, leaving behind a trail of oil on the track. 

OCEAN OF RAIN

Lap two - Two Ferraris out of the track, one followed the other onto the gravel traps. In an awkwardly manner both kept the engines running, ambled onto the grass and rejoined the track. Jarno Trulli and his team Jordan led the race and to time it, clouds opened up and rain started to pour in. By the time safety car was called on and lap three was completed, four cars had spun off and Eddie Irvine retired on the pits with water leakage!

Fifteen cars out of the twenty-two lined up behind the safety car, moving slowly across the damp conditions of Sepang. It was chaos in the pitlane as cars waited for their turns to change the tyres. Barrichello stood in the pits with Michael Schumacher waiting behind him for a good one minute 12 seconds! 

Fans and followers of McLaren were ecstatic. They were praising Ron Denis's strategy to bring Coulthard quickly while people criticised the lack of planning from Ferrari's team management. On lap five, when the two Ferraris re-joined the track, they were placed 10^th and 11^th respectively whereas Coulthard and Hakkinen were 1^st and 4^th on the grid.

FERRARI HAS THE LAST LAUGH

Ferraris dominated as though they were on a different planet altogether 

The safety car leaves the pack to race on lap 10 and Coulthard in lead takes advantage and pulls away from the second placed Jordan of Frentzen. Jos Verstappen and Arrows Asiatech looked a better team under wet conditions and were placed in second place at the end of lap 10. At the start of lap 12, Michael Schumacher had moved five places up and was now in sixth position charging his way to regain the top spot. A lap later, he was in top three with just Verstappen and Coulthard ahead of him. 4.4 seconds faster than anyone on track, he was two seconds away to take the top position. While rest of the cars were on full-wets, Ferrari took that long time in the pits to decide between intermediates and wets; the option to go for intermediates paid off as Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello made a mockery of everyone with the sheer advantage they gained over a better thought out strategy. That was the game, set and race for Ferrari! They gained all of it and more in just five laps!  

Michael Schumacher would race another 40 laps and finish a good 23 seconds clear from his Ferrari mate Barrichello to win the 46^th Grand Prix of his career. Ferrari took time during that long pit-stop, discussed at length and finally decided to go for intermediates instead of full-wet weather tyres. You can call that stroke of luck - but little do people knew, Ferrari ran in intermediates on the race morning warm up to gather performance data while other teams were happy with doing rounds in fully-threaded tyres.

That was 2001 and I hope tomorrow's race has some exciting moments just as it was 14 seasons ago. Will Verstappen Jr. emulate his father's performance at the same track? it remains to be seen! 

AFTER MICHAEL, HERE COMES VETTEL - FERRARI'S NEW HOPE

The three German Ferrari drivers in Formula One - Wolfgang Von Trips on the left was the first

Come Sunday, Sebastian Vettel will be the third German driver to race for Ferrari works team in Formula One. Going by the record his previous two compatriots have achieved - there is little to suggest otherwise but success for the youngest four-time world champion.

WOLFGANG VON TRIPS

In the 1950's, there was none more famous German driver than Wolfgang Von Trips - who began his Formula One career with Ferrari in 1956. It took some time for him to get going and it was in the season of 1961, when he and the American Phil Hill both demonstrated their prowess and the power of Ferrari. If not for his death as a result of a collision with Jim Clark at the Italian Grand Prix, Von Trips would have clinched his first driver's championship as he was leading the championship at that time. The only consolation for Ferrari was Phil Hill's triumph as he won an emotional race marred by the on-track incident involving his team mate.

Two of Von Trips wins came in his final season at Netherlands (Dutch Grand Prix) and Aintree (British Grand Prix) and it was not until 1992, a German driver had won a full-length race in Formula One. At the time of Schumacher's victory at the Spa-Francorchamps (Belgian Grand Prix 1992), it was just the fourth win (Jochen Mass won the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix which was curtailed) for a German driver.  And since then German drivers have won a total of 146 races.

ERA OF MICHAEL SCHUMACHER

One of the best drivers of all-time and taken in the same breath as Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher will go down as the best German F1 racer irrespective of what Vettel will go on to achieve. For the 1996 F1 season, Michael Schumacher had decided to don the famous red colours of Ferrari. The two consecutive driver's titles with Benetton were anything to go by, a move to the ailing Italian team was perceived as an illogical move. Ferrari was struggling and the team were in a desperate need for a champion who could revive their fortunes. In came 'Michael Schumacher' to overcome this challenging task and to bring back the glory days of the Prancing Horse.

With Michael Schumacher at the top of his game, Ferrari rose to new heights which also saw them claim six consecutive constructor's title (between 1999-2004) and five consecutive driver's title (2000-2004). In those 11 seasons with Ferrari, Schumacher won a wow-rendering 72 races! (91 in total). Just for the record, the second placed Alain Prost has 51 victories in his career.

NEW HOPE WITH VETTEL

Sebastian Vettel is 27 years old, the same age as Michael Schumacher when he joined Ferrari. Vettel said at the time of joining Ferrari - "When I was a kid, Michael Schumacher in the red car was my greatest idol and now it's an incredible honour to finally get the chance to drive a Ferrari."

For Ferrari, since that emotional heartbreak in Brazil in 2008, they have not won any championships. This winless phase is nothing compared to the 20 years drought they went through between 1979 and 1999. Like every era, this too is different and with technology and news reaching to all corners of the world by a single click, each season without a win makes it that much harder, opinions are quickly drawn which aches the management a touch more and thus with the start of new season comes pressure in the form of expectations, great expectations.

Fernando Alonso during his stint with Ferrari came close to winning more than once, but always found wanting at the last hurdle. This year Vettel will be on the other side after scripting those memorable wins for Red Bull which had him win those close encounters against Alonso. Alonso will remain a rival if it is of any comfort and instead Vettel will be alongside Kimi Raikkonen, who was Ferrari's last champion eight seasons ago.

This is what great racers are made of, the ability to drive a team forward, win championships and taste successes together. Michael Schumacher had to wait four years to achieve glory with Ferrari, and who knows how long Vettel has to wait. One thing is clear, he would definitely enjoy this challenge than spending few more years at Red Bull.

We will see how history unfolds for the German driver with the Italian team. 

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER AT SPA - MEMORIES FROM THE PAST

Michael Schumacher making his debut in 1991 Belgian GP 

If there is one place I wish to be this weekend, it has to be Spa in Belgium. The Formula One post the summer break commences here and one of my dreams is yet to be fulfilled. Maybe, next year!

My favourite circuit in F1 and my favourite driver had many tales; with each race being a chapter of a romantic book. Every race had something to offer for the fans and there was never a dull moment when Schumacher was driving around Spa.

Growing up this circuit provided some of the outstanding races I had witnessed or read. The one that comes to my mind is the overtaking of Mika Hakkinen over Michael Schumacher with Ricardo Zonta in between. That was a breathtaking manoeuvre!

People who have followed F1 since twenty years will remember a young German making his debut in 1991 with Jordan. To put it simply, he was lucky to have got the drive at the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix. It was possible due to the untimely arrest of the then Jordan driver Bertrand Gachot - who was taken over by the London police for spraying CS gas after an altercation with the cab driver. This paved the way for Michael Schumacher. He never raced at Spa before and all he managed to do was cycle around the circuit before the qualifying and started the race from seventh! and that said it all.

To manage a seventh place in a circuit which demands skill, concentration and talent, it was clearly evident Michael Schumacher was here to stay. He was not that lucky to complete a lap in the race and had to retire owing to a clutch failure. But he had done enough to secure a seat with Benetton from the very next race. And the rest is...... 

1st of his 91 victories - 1992 Belgian GP 

A year's wait and finally he was on the top step of the podium. The 1992 Belgian GP turned out be his 1st of 91 victories in F1. He came agonisingly close to finish on top in 1993; in 1994 he was disqualified for gaining an illegal aerodynamic advantage after having finished 1st. The post race scrutiny went against and he was stripped off the victory as his Benetton was found to have excessive wear on the car's skid block.

94 Belgian GP - His first place was stripped

A 10mm wooden plank was placed to the underside of every car to reduce ground effect advantages, whilst also forcing an increase in ride height. The wear on the plank up to 1mm was permitted by the end of the race. Quite simply, Michael Schumacher's Benetton had wear in excess of 1 mm. For F1 enthusiasts, it is interesting to note that - this rule is applicable even today.

1995 Belgian GP 

The romance with the circuit would continue as he claimed three more victories in a row from 1995 to 1997.

1996 Belgian GP 

In 1998, he looked set to claim his 5th Belgian GP title. In extreme wet weather conditions, he and David Coulthard had a contact which damaged Michael Schumacher's car and had to retire from the race. He was furious and was made to sit down with DC for close to two hours before they were seen shaking hands in public and for Michael Schumacher to move on.

Post the collision with DC at the 1998 Belgian GP 

And the miss - Michael Schumacher missed the bulk of second half of the 1999 season after he crashed rather nastily at the Becketts Complex corner in Silverstone. And this meant, he did not start the 1999 edition at Spa-Francorchamps. Mika Hakkinen and his McLaren took the first place in 2000 in which Michael Schumacher had to settle for second. 

Stunning overtake by Mika Hakkinen at 2000 Belgian GP

With having his 4th World Championships at the 2001 Hungarian GP, the next race at Belgium was eagerly expected by all to see if he would break Alain Prost's record.

World Record - 2001 Belgian GP

Ferrari was unstoppable in those times and his victory, the 52nd was a world record and by winning those 10 points he also moved past Alain Prost to record most points by an F1 driver (769 at the end of the race). This was Schumacher's fifth win at Spa and he would add one more to the tally in 2002. 

The Belgian Grand Prix was removed from the 2003 season (still cannot understand, how they allowed it to happen!) and finished second at the 2004 season as a result of which he claimed his seventh and his last World Championship.

The 2005 season was a nightmare for Ferrari especially after having dominated the scene for six years in a row. Michael Schumacher ended his race - his last for Ferrari at Spa was a DNF (Did Not Finish) as the Spa-Francorchamps did not feature in 2006.

In the last three races in 2010, 2011 and 2012 with Mercedes, Michael Schumacher only managed to finish 7th, 5th and 7th respectively.

2011 Belgian GP with Eddy Merckx 

Spa as a circuit has a special place in every F1 enthusiast's heart. Ask anyone who has a decent knowledge in F1 about his favourite three circuits, I would be surprised if Spa doesn't get a mention. A public road in the off-season, this 7.004 km circuit (longest in F1 currently) is best known for its corners of varying speeds. Be it the Eau-Rouge, the erstwhile chicane called 'Bus Stop', the fastest corner in F1 Blanchimont, Les Combes, La Source, Stavelot and it goes on. The Ardennes region on the Eastern part of Belgium is also famous for its unpredictable weather conditions which always added its own flavour on the racing Sundays.

Along with the old Nürburgring circuit, Spa Francorchamps has always tested the drivers and is often seen as a ground in which the men are separated from the boys and the race has been part of the calendar since 1950 (barring few races in other circuits and few cancellations). It is no wonder, only a World champion has won this event more than once. And no surprises to see the top two drivers who lead the pack are Michael Schumacher (6) and Ayrton Senna (5).

Someday I will visit the track and relive all those memories that are dear to me and till then...........