Sunday, September 24, 2006 Pages: Michael Schumacher: The Greatest Ever? By John Pages Matchpoint
Anton Pages is our family’s Formula One champion. No, he’s never driven a 1,000-hp Ferrari or raced past the F1 speed of 328 kph, but he’s done plenty.
Back in 1999, with his dad Jefren and brothers Giandi and Ezra, he watched the inaugural Malaysian Grand Prix. He wrote a weekly column entitled “Flat Out” for The Freeman. Three months ago, he visited Paris and barely missed catching the French Grand Prix.
If you need an answer to an F1 question, ask Anton. So I asked Anton, my first-cousin, “What’s the legacy of the Michael Jordan of car racing?” After seven world championships (an 8th soon?), Schumey is retiring. Is he the greatest? Here’s Anton...
Say the words “greatest” and “ever” side by side and you’re bound to get into trouble with someone who’ll think you’re either full of yourself or full of something funny you just smoked out back.
Case in point: Would you consider The Beatles as the greatest band ever? What about the Rolling Stones? Who’s to say Led Zeppelin isn’t greater than all of them?
We all love talking about “the best” when it comes to music, but when talks come up about Michael Schumacher as being “The Greatest,” it’s either stated as a question or, worse, a statement beleaguered by self doubt. No one seems to be sure.
That doesn’t seem to be the most convincing legacy for someone who has absolutely obliterated every single record in the Formula One world. Even the most die-hard Schumacher fan knows he’ll lose that bar room argument, secretly conceding that his boy isn’t the hero that a “greatest ever” should be.
There’s this story about the “previous” greatest ever - five-time world champion Juan-Manuel Fangio - meeting up with a rookie reporter for a dinner interview in Argentina a few years before he passed away in 1995.
The reporter showed up early at the posh Buenos Aires restaurant and nervously waited for the arrival of the maestro.
As the appointed time approached, a sudden hush blanketed the room like a cold wind and everyone’s attention focused on one man. He paused at the entrance as every person at the dining chamber rose from their seats and bowed in respect. That was the first time the reporter had ever laid eyes on Fangio.
Like a former statesman, the maestro moved on through the awestruck dinner patrons, acknowledging each reverential nod, greeting every eager handshake before he made his way to the now-nervous wreck of a reporter. Wearing a silver suit of impeccable silk, Fangio exuded the aura of a living legend.
Will Michael Schumacher garner that same respect in the future? Or will Adelaide ’94 with Damon Hill, the Jacques Villeneuve accident, or the rest of his muddled past return to haunt him whenever he walks into a room?
For sure, Schumacher’s records will remain unbroken for a very long time; yet you have to remember that all those achievements were made with a field that offered no real opposition in the long term.
Mika Hakkinen was supremely quick but lacked the consistency and mental toughness to seriously challenge Schumacher for a sustained period of time. Plus, Mika undoubtedly had the superior car in the Adrian Newey-penned MP4/13 & 14.
Personally, I believe those were Schuey’s greatest seasons. Despite losing to the Flying Finn back in ’98 & ’99, the sheer grit and determination displayed during the years were vintage Schumacher, all the while being at the helm of a vastly inferior Ferrari.
Therein lies the secret of Michael Schumacher’s magic. He was the real deal: a true fighter who never shied away from a memorable duel.
While those strengths were the aspects of a glorious career that made him so endearing to his fans, they were also the cause of his darkest moments - the ones that made him equally hated by millions. He will forever live with the black flag as the only driver in F1 history to have been stripped of his championship points after brazenly attempting to run Villeneuve off the road at the deciding race in ’97.
That right there is the enigma we know as Michael Schumacher.
Love or hate him, he brought millions into the Formula One fold. Many fans today do not know Formula One without Michael Schumacher. It is an almost unfathomable reality not to have him around anymore.
And yet, there is hope in Fernando Alonso. Not since the time of an emerging Schumacher, or a young Senna, have we seen the level of talent and raw grit of this magnitude.
This season is actually the first time Michael Schumacher faces a rival who actually shares that same ruthless aggression with a consistency not witnessed in a long time.
Senna died before Michael’s talent really shone, while champions all–Hill, Villeneuve, and Hakkinen–dropped off by the wayside so long ago.
Alonso is different. And Schumacher knows it. Read into that one all you want.
