The end of an era

This is a sad day indeed for me. Micheal Schumacher has declared that he would be retiring from the sport at the end of this year. MS is a polarising sportsman. You either love him or hate him. And both these perspectives are something I can relate to. But what I cannot understand, even tolerate, is people calling him a nobody. 90 race wins (so far) and 7 (I hope 8) world championships is not a record that will be toppled too soon. Yes, he has courted controversy in Australia in 1994, in Jerez in 1997, in Austria in 2001 and in Monza this year BUT that does not take away from him all the other victories and championships.He has been a force in Formula 1 from 1991, when he entered to date and I can recall no other champion who has dominated a sport for so long so consistently (Bradman may have come close and Federer may too but the timespan is just amazing with MS)

Apart from that, his dedication and committment to Ferrari in itself show his competitive and loyal nature. He stuck with Ferrari through better and worse. Scumi has had a massive role to play in the rejuvination of the Maranello brand. And now that it is known that his decision was made in Indy, I am pretty sure that the fight back from Ferrari this year has a lot to do with the emotional charge that this bullet lit.

Through the rest of the season, I wish Schumacher tremendous luck and hope that he retires on a winning note.