Michael Schumacher sets yet another record, has driven around the world twice in a Formula 1 car

We Formula 1 fans are bracing ourselves and doing all that we could to keep our interest in the sport intact after Michael Schumacher heads into his second and, in all probability, final retirement. Come this Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher won't be seen piloting a Formula 1 car again in a race. He may have decided to leave the sport for good but the records that he set during his racing tenure are here to stay. The most recent one came when Michael Schumacher completed Lap 10 of the American Grand Prix at 'Circuit of the Americas' last weekend.

With that lap, Schumi has covered a staggering 80,000 kilometers (or 49,710 miles) racing in a Formula 1 car. Including the distance that he will be covering at the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos this weekend, Schumacher would have covered a distance equivalent to twice the circumference of Earth racing in a Formula 1 car. We just can't imagine the amount of G-Forces that his body and mind would have gone through to stay at the top of this physically and mentally demanding sport for such a long time. That probably explains why he is loved, respected and revered so much across the world.

This feat was achieved over a career that started in 1991 and has lasted for 19 long years with a gap of 3 years in between (2006 - 2009) when Schumacher went into his first retirement before coming back to the lure of racing in Formula 1 with Mercedes GP. In this period, Schumacher has amassed 7 World Championships, 68 Pole Positions, 91 Race Victories and 1560 Points racing for teams such as Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari and Mercedes. Those are statistics that are set to remain in the sport for a long time before any racer even gets a chance to better them.

Source: www.autoblog.com

Michael Schumacher set to retire at the end of 2012 season

Yes, you read the headline right. Michael Schumacher, the iconic, legendary and by far the most successful Formula 1 racer of our times has decided to retire from the sport, for a second time. Schumacher announced his intentions to the media in the run-up to the 2012 Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka, after months of letting the whole world speculate on his future. The news of his retirement comes just a week after Mercedes AMG Petronas announced that Lewis Hamilton would be joining their team in 2013 to partner with Nico Rosberg. Left without a seat in the Mercedes works team, Michael Schumacher didn't find it worthwhile to look for a drive elsewhere next year and chose to end his long racing career.

Announcing his decision, Schumacher said, "I have decided to retire from Formula 1 at the end of the season, although I am still able to compete with the best drivers of the world. This is something that makes me proud, and this is part of why I never regretted my comeback. I can be happy with my performance and the fact that I was continuously raising my game during the last three years. But then, at some point it is time to say goodbye."

Clearly, Schumi, as he is referred to by millions of fans across the world, wouldn't be happy that his second career is coming to an end this way. After achieving stupendous success in his first stint with Ferrari and initially Benetton, Schumacher's comeback with Mercedes was (and still is) a disappointment. It is not entirely his fault though, as Mercedes failed to deliver a car that was capable of winning grands prix. Since the team was formed with much fanfare in 2010, Mercedes has just won a solitary race till date, a statistic that they won't be proud of.

For his part though, Michael has been continuously upping the ante since his comeback, after a mediocre start in 2010 in which he was comprehensively beaten by his team-mate Nico Rosberg. This year saw the return of Schumi in full form, with his amazingly brilliant race-craft and never-say-die attitude coming to the fore on many a occasion. Unfortunately, Schumacher's car was plagued with reliability problems in the first half of the season. Pole position in Monaco proved that, at almost double the age of many of his competitors, Schumi was still competitive at the highest level of motorsport. Lady luck finally smiled on him as Schumacher finished on the podium in Valencia, a race in which the Mercedes car, for a change, lasted the distance to see the chequered flag.

It's a pity though that Schumacher did not get to add significantly to his tally of 7 World Championships, 68 Pole Positions, 91 Race Victories and 155 Podium Finishes (just 1 of these came with Mercedes in his second career) on his comeback. However, those are records that are going to be tough for anyone to close, let alone beat.

Schumacher continued, "Already during the past weeks and months I was not sure if I would still have the motivation and energy which is necessary to go on; and it is not my style to do anything which I am not 100% convinced about. I have said at the end of 2009 that I want to be measured by my success, and this is why I had a lot of criticism in the past three years which partly was justified. It is without doubt that we did not achieve our goal to develop a world championship fighting car within those three years. It is also without doubt that I cannot provide a long-term perspective to anyone. But then it is also clear that I can still be very happy about my overall achievements in Formula 1."

"In the past six years I have learned a lot, also about me, and I am thankful for it: for example, that you can open yourself up without losing focus; that losing can be both more difficult and more instructive than winning; something I had lost out of sight sometimes in earlier years. That you have to appreciate to be able to do what you love. That you have to live your convictions. I have opened my horizon, and I am at ease with myself."

"I would like to thank Daimler, Mercedes-Benz and the Team for their trust. But I also would like to thank all my friends, partners and companions, who over many good years in motorsport supported me. But most of all I would like to thank my family for standing always by my side, giving me the freedom to live my convictions and sharing my joy."

And in the shock, don't forget to watch the six remaining races of the 2012 F1 season, possibly the last ever season with 6 world champions (Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Raikkonen, Lewis Hamilton & Jenson Button) racing on the grid and also the final races of Michael Schumacher, widely regarded as "the best" Formula 1 racer ever.

Forget the controversies and criticism surrounding him, Formula 1 will be left with a big void from 2013 that just can't be filled in by anyone else. We consider ourselves lucky for having grown up during his glory days. We will definitely miss you, Schumi!

Source of Images:

www.f1-pics.com
www.f1fanatic.co.uk
www.michael-schumacher.de

(Copyrights owned by respective owners)

Kimi returns to F1 in 2012 with Lotus Renault

For die-hard fans and followers of Formula 1, 2011 is a year to forget as Sebastian Vettel and his Red Bull Racing team literally crushed and tore apart the competition in what could be termed as one of the most boring and one-sided championship ever in the sport’s history. The fact that it came right after one of F1’s most interesting and enthralling season in 2010 in which Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel went into the final race still fighting for the championship only made things worse.

Nevertheless, the 2011 season will always be unforgettable for a few things – Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa both enduring a tough season with no less than 6 contacts on track, Webber absolutely clueless to stop the Vettel train and, above all, India successfully hosting its first ever F1 race at the Buddh International Circuit near New Delhi. Now, there is one more news to cheer about. Kimi Raikkonen, the 2007 F1 World Champion who left the sport in 2009 but continued to be unbelievably popular in the F1 paddock, has announced his comeback in F1.

Kimi, who had raced for Sauber and Mclaren before, came to Ferrari in 2007 stepping into the big shoes of Michael Schumacher. In his very first year with Ferrari, Kimi won the world championship from McLaren’s fighting duo of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso by a single point. The years 2008 and 2009, in which he took just 3 victories out of 35 races, were not great partly due to the lack of pace of the Ferrari and partly due to Kimi’s perceived lack of motivation. Even though he had a contract for 2010, Kimi was paid to sit out by Ferrari in favor of Fernando Alonso.

After persistent rumors of his return to F1 with several teams over the past two years, Lotus Renault has finally managed to convince Kimi to get behind the wheel of a F1 car. With changes like DRS and Pirellis that caught out drivers like Mark Webber and Felipe Massa this year, it is not going to be really easy for Kimi to come back and get up to speed immediately. But, with 16 pole positions, 18 race victories, 62 podiums, 35 fastest laps and 579 points in his belt, Kimi is one driver to watch out for in 2012, provided the car is competitive.

With this announcement, the 2012 Formula 1 grid will have no less than 6 World Champions in Michael Schumacher(1994-95, 2000-04), Sebastian Vettel (2010-11), Fernando Alonso (2005-06), Kimi Raikkonen (2007), Lewis Hamilton (2008) and Jenson Button (2009) who, among them, hold a record 14 championships. Now, if only Ferrari and McLaren could find some pace in their cars to challenge the Red Bulls and Mercedes could break into the top league, the 2012 F1 season would become all the more exciting. I, for one, just can’t wait for the parade of champions to begin!

Sebastian Vettel wins inaugural Grand Prix of India

At last, the seemingly never-ending wait that quite a few of our countrymen endured for long, came to an exhilarating end. The inaugral Grand Prix of India, that has long been the stuff of dreams for racing aficionados in our country, just became a reality. As the 24 cars lined up on the Buddh International Circuit at Greater Noida near New Delhi and the five illuminated red lights went off signalling the start of the race, history was created as India stamped its authority on the glamorous world of Formula One. Agreed, there were a few niggles here and there but overall, it was a great show by India as a country on a stage that was visible to millions of people across the world. The event itself, having been attended by over 100,000 people, was a grand success and it is all the more commendable given the humiliation inflicted on our country in the recent Commonwealth Games.



With Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa topping the practice sessions on Friday, the gates for qualifying were left wide open on Saturday. Unsurprisingly, it was a Red bull again on pole, just like it was in all but one race this season. And, boy, it was Sebastian Vettel again, putting a blistering lap in the final moments to claim P1. Lewis Hamilton qualified second but was demoted to fifth on the grid for ignoring a double yellow flag during practice. Mark Webber, Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button, Felipe Massa who broke the front suspension during his flying lap and Nico Rosberg came next on the grid. Much to the cheer of thousands of racing fans across India, Adrian Sutil in his Force India qualified eighth ahead of the two Toro Rossos of Jamie Algersuari and Sebastian Buemi. Michael Schumacher could qualify only twelfth fastest. 

Sebastian Vettel, starting from pole, led the race from start to finish and also took the fastest lap, thus capping a perfect weekend for him and Red Bull here in India. Jenson Button took the second place from Mark Webber on the opening lap with a brilliant move and never looked back. Ferrari's perfect timing of the pit stops also saw Alonso leapfrog Webber to the final place on the podium. Mark Webber followed closely in fourth position with Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg taking fifth and sixth respectively. Yet again, the seven time world champion drove a solid race for Mercedes starting from twelfth position. Another race, and yet another collision between Massa and Hamilton, the former at fault on this occasion. These two just can't seem to get enough of each other. While Hamilton recovered to finish seventh, Massa hit the kerbs and broke his suspension for the second time in two days, thus ending his race.

Algersuari took some important points for Toro Rosso finishing eighth ahead of Adrian Sutil's Force India and Sergio Perez's Sauber. Narain Karthikeyan, the home hero who started the race in 24th position for the Hispania Racing Team, finished an impressive 17th just ahead of his highly-regarded teammate Daniel Ricciardo. It was only fitting that Sachin Tendulkar, by far India's biggest sporting talent and an iconic cricketer considered as the God of Cricket, waved the checkered flag to mark Vettel's victory. And that also marked the end of a hugely successful inaugural Grand Prix of India with a rumored 110,000 fans watching the event live from the stands. In the end, all we can say is that it was a job extremely well done by the organizers and all others associated with it.



Images Source: www.espnf1.com & respective owners

Sebastian Vettel is 2012 F1 World Champion

It is a known fact that the current Formula1 grid is one of the most competitive ever to have graced the sport. When the 2011 season started, the lineup had no less than five world champions in Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel who, amongst them, held a mind-boggling 12 titles. Then, there were Felipe Massa and Mark Webber both of whom came agonizingly close to becoming a world champion in the previous years and Nico Rosberg who has all the makings of a champion, if given the right car and the right circumstances. As the season progressed, the much-hyped rookies Paul Di Resta and Sergio Perez also proved that they are up there with the very best through their skillful driving.



To make such a mighty competitive grid look highly uncompetitive needs some really special skills combined with a car that can complement those skills. And, that is exactly what Sebastian Vettel and the Red Bull RB7 had, the latter courtesy master-designer Adrian Newey. And for most of the races this season, they did make the entire field look highly uncompetitive. Now, digest these facts. With 15 of the 19 races over this season, a Red Bull car has started on pole in every single race with Sebastian Vettel being the wingman in 12 of them. Excepting 6 races in which Jenson won 3, Lewis won 2 and Fernando won 1, Vettel has won the remaining 9 of them. With such figures, its hardly surprising that Vettel has officially sealed his second consecutive world title with 4 races remaining.



But, it was quite an anti-climax for Vettel in the recently-concluded Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, as the RB7 that was untouchable in his hands for most part of the season, was beaten fair and square by the McLaren of Jenson Button and the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso. The latter two along with Lewis Hamilton and Mark Webber, are fighting for the second place in the world championship, which is proving to be more interesting and is where the real action is with four top drivers vying for the spot. It was clearly apparent long back that Vettel was running away with the 2011 championship as he, in that RB7, was a class apart and flying above the rest of the field.



In a sport where your teammate is considered to be your fiercest rival, Mark Webber has had a tough year as Sebastian Vettel has literally crushed him and, in all probability, his confidence too. To be fair to Webber though, it was his Red Bull that always seemed to have all the problems early on in the season. In doing so, Vettel has become the youngest ever multiple world champion in Formula1’s history, a record held by Fernando Alonso until now. For Sebastian Vettel though, this is just another record in an impressively long list that constitutes youngest ever world champion, points scorer, podium finisher, race winner, race leader, pole sitter and what not.



But, for the sake of racing fans across the world and for the overall benefit of the sport, I sincerely hope and wish that the 2012 world championship would be a close battle like what we saw in 2010, an epic 5 way fight that went until the last lap of the last race. But, one thing is for sure. If the Vettel-RB7 duo continue to be even half as deadly as they are right now, my wish is going to remain just that as the Vettel train would continue chugging along. Let us, for the moment, assume that we are not witnessing the beginning of an era of Vettel dominance, one that has the potential to become as ruthless and boring as the Michael Schumacher era. Don’t mistake me, that would be great for Vettel and a showcase for his talent but a total disaster for the sport.



Images Source: www.redbull.com

2011 F1 season all set to go

The typical lazy Sunday evenings are not going to be the same anymore. It’s time to fasten the seatbelts and get ready for some adrenaline-pumping action. Yes, after the cancellation of Bahrain Grand Prix, the 2011 Formula 1 season is all set to begin in Melbourne this weekend, with all the happiness and disappointments of the previous season still lingering fresh in the minds of F1 fans across the world. 

Whats more, with the inaugural Indian Grand Prix scheduled on Oct-30-2011, we could even get to catch some action live from Delhi. With Force India among the competing teams and Narain Karthikeyan back in F1 with Hispania Racing, we Indians have all the more reasons to cheer.

An unprecedented 5 World Champions would be lining up on the grid this year in the form of Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button and the defending champion Sebastian Vettel. Between them, these drivers have won 12 titles, an amazing 7 of them going to Schumacher, 2 to Alonso and 1 each to the other three. Add to them front-runners like Mark Webber, Felipe Massa and Nico Rosberg and you know that this is going to be no ordinary season.

The 2010 season was so extraordinary with so many twists and turns in the course of the championship that ended with a dramatic climax which stunned and shocked the audience in equal measure. An amazing comeback in the final few races of the season, especially in the season-ending Abu Dhabi saw Sebastian Vettel become the sport’s youngest ever world champion, while an extremely rare flawed strategy by the Ferrari team made sure that Fernando Alonso lost the championship by a whisker.

If this season is even half as dramatic as the last one, we are in for a treat. And, it promises to be more than that. While all the drivers would make sure that intra-team and inter-team rivalry is at its highest, the new-for-2011 quickly-degrading Pirelli tires, the adjustable rear wings and the return of KERS are sure to make things more interesting for us and a bit messy for the drivers. I just can't wait for it all to begin.

Not to forget that Robert Kubica, the highly rated Renault driver who was involved in a horrific crash at a rally event a couple of months back, is recovering quicker than expected. Once back, he is sure to spice things up even more.

2011 Indian GP Countdown begins

People seem to be really crazy at times. Take for instance those who would love to own and drive super-fast sports cars but are against Formula 1 racing. ‘What an irony?’ you would think, but, they have their own set of so-called logic and reasons. The prime reason is that it’s a total waste of precious fuel. This being said, I don’t see anyone conserving and consciously saving every drop of fuel that they could. The other most commonly heard reason is that it’s not men-dependent but machine-dependent and hence not fit to be classified as a sport. I bet those who said this statement would not have watched the still fresh-in-memory 2009 Belgian GP where Kimi Raikkonen and Luca Badoer drove similar-speced Ferraris, but finished first and last, the latter, with all due respect to him, also enjoying an incident-free race like the former but still finished where he did.

Any which way it is, India, after years of speculation of whether it will or it won’t, has finally joined the list of nations hosting an F1 race and the 2011 Indian Grand Prix is all set to burn the adrenaline rush of many die-hard F1 fans in the sub-continent, myself included. Amidst increasing doubts of whether its going to go the 2010 CWG way, which by the way, much to the shock and surprise of the entire world, started and ended in a spectacularly grand manner, the inaugural Indian F1 race is scheduled on October-30-2011 at the Greater Noida circuit near Delhi, being developed by the Jaypee Group. With the addition of India along with the new for 2010 Korea, the 2011 F1 calendar now stands extended to an unprecedented and historically long 20 rounds.

The fact that the 2010 F1 season, being proclaimed by many as one of the best F1 seasons ever, is headed towards a thrilling and dramatic finish with 5 drivers still in contention for the championship with just 2 races to go will only add to the excitement and enthusiasm of the fans and organizers alike. We can only hope and wish that the organizers get everything ready on time unlike this year’s Korean Grand Prix, the presence of which in the 2010 F1 calendar was confirmed just two weeks before the actual event happened on October-24-2010. Here begins the countdown to make my dream of watching Ferraris, McLarens, RedBulls and Force Indias live in action come true.

2010 F1 Season headed for a dramatic climax

Racing is all about fighting it flat-out and passing on track, swapping positions due to strategies and above all close but fair competition amongst the racers. Formula 1, the highest rated motor racing series in the world was hardly any of the above, atleast in recent memory. A myriad of reasons made it tougher and tougher to even challenge the top-runners, let alone fight and pass them on track. That’s exactly why spectators and F1 followers across the world are all smiles and thrilled with the way in which the 2010 F1 season has unfolded. With only 5 out of the 19 races remaining, not two, not three, but five racers are still in hot contention for the driver’s title whereas it’s a three-way fight for the constructor’s title. Nothing like this have ever been witnessed in the recent past, not since early eighty’s, say experts and pundits, who have been following the sport for many decades.

 

With 4 world champions on the grid in the form of seven-time champion Michael Schumacher, two-time winner Fernando Alonso, the defending champion Jenson Button and the 2008 title-winner Lewis Hamilton, everybody could sniff that the stage has been set for an epic battle on track. Add to the already impressive list, Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, two drivers from a relatively new team on top of their game in the quest for winning both the championships and Felipe Massa, the 2008 runner-up on his comeback after a life-threatening injury and you know that this is not going to be the usual run-of-the-mill season in F1.

And it hardly turned out to be so. With a storming 1-2 in the season-opener in Bahrain, a slump in form after that, a dominating but controversial 1-2 again in Germany, a humiliating setback in Spa and a stunning return to form in Monza, none other than Ferrari hinted better at what the championship holds for all the teams. Red Bull, McLaren, Renault, Mercedes – you name the team and they would have experienced their fair share of ups and downs, the latter two yet to find their competitive touch and consistency this season. And so, here we are right now, almost at the end of the storm. Mark Webber, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel will try everything in their reach and some things out of their reach too in their quest for becoming the 2010 world champion and folks at Ferrari would kill their brains to try, reach and beat Red Bull and McLaren for the constructor’s trophy.



For die-hard F1 fans across the world like me, it’s going to be a lengthy, nail-biting climax to the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and I can’t wait for the results. If this season is any indication of how F1 is going to be, we can rest assured that F1’s future is secure and there are going to be no dearth of fans for the sport and no half-filled grand stands at the venues.



Image Source: AutoBlog (www.autoblog.com/www.aol.com)

2010 F1 Season begins with a Ferrari 1-2

What started off as a daily habit of reading newspaper during my early years has now culminated in a craze for Formula 1 Racing. In those days , I started following Formula 1 courtesy "The Hindu" and the headlines related to F1 used to have two words sculpted in it no matter what - "Michael Schumacher". Everything in F1 was, in a way or other related to the supremely talented racer or his legendary driving on tracks. Yes, there were allegations against his aggressive driving habits, there were controversies over his team favoring him at the expense of his team-mate, but none can even think of denying the divine skills that he possessed, especially in wet tracks, which earned him the title "The Rain Master". 

The 2010 F1 Season, which started yesterday (14-Mar-2010) with the Bahrain Grand Prix is significant for the same reason - the legend has returned to F1 after 3 years in retirement. This along with the presence of 3 other World Champions in Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso had made sure that the expectations for the season-opener were sky-high. Not to mention the young talents like Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg and Adrian Sutil all of whom lined up with all guns blazing, it was pretty obvious that there is going to be no dearth of excitement and surprises in this F1 season. The new regulations also means that this season is going to be a journey in an untrodden path. 

2010 Bahrain Grand Prix - Qualifying:
2009's star performer Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) just managed to nudge ahead of Felipe Massa (Ferrari) to take the pole position in the season-opener. Following Vettel and Massa was the second Ferrari of Fernando Alonso. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) shared the second row with Alonso while Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) managed to pip his illustrious team-mate to take fifth place. Mark Webber (Red Bull) joined Rosberg in the third row while Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) started from the fourth row on the grid. Jenson Button (McLaren), Robert Kubica (Renault) and Adrian Sutil (Force India) completed the Top 10. India's F1 debutante Karun Chandok (HRT F1) started the race from the final position (24th place) after failing to manage a lap in any of the free practice sessions due to technical problems. 

2010 Bahrain Grand Prix - Race Day:
Fernando Alonso took a superb victory ahead of Felipe Massa to make it a Ferrai 1-2 in the season opener. Putting besides them a dismal show in 2009 season, Ferrari has come back with a bang and with two top drivers in top form, I think it will be difficult to challenge the scarlet team this year. By winning on his debut with Ferrari, Fernando Alonso has repeated the feat Kimi Raikkonen acheived in 2007, the year in which he went on to win the driver's championship too. Lewis Hamilton took a decent third place for McLaren. 

Sebastian Vettel had a clean start to the race and lead comfortably until problems in the exhaust system of his Red Bull slowed down his pace and allowed the podium finishers to move past him. Poor chap, let's just hope that he gets not only a quick but also a reliable machine in the forthcoming races. Felipe Massa was in hot pursuit of his team-mate Fernando Alonso for most part of the race after the latter moved past him in the very first corner of the race. Sebastian Vettel managed to bring his Red Bull to a respectable fourth place. Michael Schumacher never managed to get past Nico Rosberg and the two Mercedes drivers took the fifth and sixth places. The defending champion Jenson Button finished a disappointing seventh in his McLaren debut folowed by Mark Webber (Red Bull), Tonio Liuzzi (Force India) and last year's runner-up Rubens Barrichello (Williams). Totally 8 drivers failed to finish the race including Indian racer Karun Chandok, who crashed in his very first lap in F1.

2010 Bahrain Grand Prix - Top 3:

1. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)


2. Felipe Massa (Ferrari)


3. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) 

The Legend (Schumi) is Back in Action

In what has turned out to be the biggest news in motor sport of the year, Michael Schumacher has confirmed that he is returning to what he did best over the years - Formula 1 Racing, in 2010. Mercedes-Benz has managed to pull a casting coup of sorts in it's line-up for 2010 - at one end, the very young and supremely talented Nico Rosberg and at the other end, the legendary, iconic Michael Schumacher. Add to it the Team Principal Ross Brawn and the line-up is incredible. Michael Schumacher and Ross Brawn share a very special relationship and it was this duo which brought the Ferrari team back to winning ways in F1. Also, Michael won all his seven F1 Championships under Ross Brawn.

Being a die-hard fan of Schumi like millions of others across the world, I was overwhelmed when the news of Michael replacing the injured Felipe Massa at Ferrari this year came out. But Schumi's neck injury ensured that the moment for which hordes of fans were waiting with bated breath did not happen. After all no one will ever forget the popular Schumi trademark - pumping his fists and jumping in air while standing in the podium even after making winning a habit over the years. I am sure it was Michael who made many people in India watch F1 and thus turned them into fans of the sport. Now that the legend is going to be back in action next year, competing with people almost half his age, he has made a world of good for the sport making sure that people across the globe will be glued to television sets during the 2010 F1 season. I wish Michael gets a good car and start the season directly challenging for the race victory and ultimately for the championship. Soon cometh March-2010!