I wish I could have given Schumi a farewell gift :(

I was there following the pre-qualifying sessions on F1.com. I was there following the qualifying session. I was there at the very start of the race. And I was there till the very end. Hoping against hope that Schumi would pull out an elephant out of the hat (nothing less than an elephant would have sufficed) and go on to win the world championship for a record eighth time. And did whatever he may he did not have any bit of luck going his way. Ever since he qualified 10th I had this stinking feeling that it was not going to be his day. And with every misfortune that he encountered during the race came a feeling of Deja vu. It had to happen. There was someone sitting up there who was conspiring against Schumi, probably wary of the demi-God status that he was attaining as his career drew to an end. He had to be a mortal after all. But everytime Schumi was thrown into the alleys of uncertainty he came back all the more stronger. P10 at qualifying- P6 within first two laps- the king was on the move. As soon as a great overtaking maneuver on the outside of Fischi saw Schumi take P5 came a rear tyre burst. And that too when he had barely crossed the pit stop entry. A full lap in 3 tyres ensured that Schumi rejoined the race in the last spot, some 70 seconds behind the race leader. 50 laps later Schumi was once again all over Fischi again and this time he did have his way. 71 laps of the race and the champion had given his fans a drive to treasure and remember. Had the tyre failure happened a couple of laps earlier, the Prancing horse of Schumi would have certainly made it to P2.

In terms of sheer quality it surely has to go down as one of the finest drives by Schumi. The only other race that comes to my mind that was anywhere near this one was the final race of 1998 when Schumi was crossing swords with Mika Hakkinen for the world championship. It was another similar race where Schumi's Ferrari, after qualifying on pole position, stalled in the starting grid. Starting from 22nd position after car repair, it was a back to the wall drive that took Schumi to 3rd place when his tyres gave way and he had to retire. Schumi sure has had his share of bad luck in important and deciding races.

I expected Schumi to win - I wanted Schumi to win. I thought nothing less than a win would be a fitting farewell to the great driver that he has been. But as I look back at the race I feel that the gritty 4th place finish was a far better farewell to Schumi than a "leading from the front win" would have been. It allowed the champion to go out in a blaze of glory. It gave him the opportunity to show his true character, the nerves of steel that he is known to possess and the chance to prove to the world that he was indeed leaving the arena at the peak of his prowess.

I wonder how F1 is going to be without Schumi. I hate to think of it. I have been following F1 since 1994. Every race I went back to my TV set to see Schumi complete one more lap of the race track. I wonder if I will ever follow F1 that keenly again. And I am sure I am not the only one thinking likewise. The king may have been dethroned but even in his defeat he got immortalized. Take a bow.