Schumacher’s Woes Continue
Some say Michael Schumacher is the greatest driver in the history of Formula 1, others are not so sure. When he was driving with Ferrari, he was on fire and seemed unstoppable. But upon his return from retirement he has been constantly dogged by some problem or the other. His frustrations were clearly evident over the weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix when he tried to ram Rubens Barichello into a wall and overtake him. The German champion is so h**l bent on recovering some of his former glory that it seems he will do anything for some points. We will all have to wait and see if he can recover some of his former glory or if he will disappear into the shadows.
Michael Schumacher is a legendary F1 driver. Having won the World Championship seven times, he went into retirement. After a few years he decided he had had enough of sitting at home doing nothing so he thought it was time for his return to the sport. He did not get a place with his former team, Ferrari and so instead joined Mercedes. He has been unable to capture his former glory with his new team for a variety of reasons. The car seems to be one of the biggest reasons at the moment. It seems Schumacher is not comfortable with the slightly underpowered car and is having more problems than his team mate Nico Rosberg at the moment. It could be the fact as well that he is still trying to get used to the car and it might take him a while to do so. The other problem at the moment is that Formula 1 saw an explosion of very talented drivers emerge in the time period that Schumacher was retired. The likes of Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber, and, Lewis Hamilton, are all tearing up the track these days, and, leaving the ageing Schumacher in their dust.
Schumacher seemed to lose it at the Hungarian Grand Prix last weekend. In a dangerous and extremely rash manoeuvre he pushed Barichello’s car almost into the wall and if it had not been for the wall ending and the pit lane starting, Barichello would have crashed into the wall at a high speed. This could have caused a serious accident and the driver could have been hurt or even killed in the process. Race stewards, after reviewing the tape gave Schumacher a 10 grid place penalty for the next race. It seems Schumacher made a mistake right before the incident and was looking in his mirrors while pushing Barichello into the wall. If a car would have been exiting from the pit lane or if the two cars would have gotten their wheels tangled, the crash that would have ensued would have been horrific. One or both of the cars would have gone flying in the air and it would have made for a very spectacular crash. It could be that Schumacher was so hungry for a 10th place finish to gain even a tiny bit of points that his competitive streak got the better of him or it could be that he just was not paying attention.
Another Formula 1 driver, Jacques Villeneuve, says he understands what Schumacher is going through at the moment. He understands the frustration that is engulfing the German legend because to go from being the world’s best race car driver to getting pushed down to 6th or 7th place in every race takes its toll. Also, the fact that the car seems to be holding him back is becoming an issue for Schumacher as well. But Villeneuve also said that in time Schumacher might be able to get the car tuned to exactly his specifications and then he will be able to get back to a race winning position.
The next few races will be very interesting for witnesses to see what Schumacher can pull off. The next GP especially will be very crucial for the German, because if he manages to gain some points after being penalised 10 grid places he will show the world that he still has it in him to win races and it will be a big boost for his confidence as well. Hopefully the next few races will see a turnaround in fortunes for the former champion and we will see him at his previous best.
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