By common consensus he chose the right option.
Three-time world champion Sir Jackie Stewart said the decision was long
overdue and questioned once again the wisdom of Schumacher’s comeback.
“The speculation within the whole F1 community has been that Michael should be
retiring – and hopefully not for a short period this time,” he said. “In a
way I am sorry Michael came back. Recently he’s had too many incidents.”
Stewart added that he had been alarmed by two incidents this year — the
collision with Williams’ Bruno Senna at the Spanish Grand Prix in May and
the one with Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne in Singapore a fortnight ago.
“These two incidents, running up behind other drivers and hitting them at
great speed, you might have expected from an inexperienced driver in their
first year, but not from one of the great drivers,” he said.
The use of the word “great” to describe Schumacher has always been
contentious. With 91 grand prix victories and seven world titles to his name
there is no question Schumacher is the most successful driver of all time.
But controversial incidents during his career — notably the cynical collision
with Damon Hill in Adelaide in 1994, which resulted in his first
championship; the failed attempt to bury Jacques Villeneuve in similar
circumstances three years later in Jerez; the ‘parking’ of his Ferrari at
Rascasse during qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix in 2006; and most
recently his squeezing of Rubens Barrichello into the wall at the
Hungaroring in 2010 — meant the listing of his achievements always came with
a caveat.
What was never in doubt was Schumacher’s speed behind the wheel. His second
career, after three years out of the sport, threw even that into doubt.
Without the advantages he enjoyed at Ferrari, without the alleged technical
chicanery that went on at Benetton, some believe Schumacher was shown up.
There can surely be little doubt, though, that Schumacher was, and remains, an
extraordinary driver. And as long as he had the motivation to continue he
was a huge asset to the sport. This season, his third since his return, was
probably his most competitive.
The 43 year-old has been desperately unlucky on more than one occasion while
anyone who can put their car on pole at Monaco still has pace and skill to
burn.
The fact is that the standard of the competition improved during his absence.
And Schumacher is no longer the force of old. Having taken pole at Monaco he
had to drop five places in the race as a penalty for his collision with
Senna in Barcelona. It almost summed up his second spell in Formula One.
While his struggles may have affected the fans’ perception of him, Schumacher
showed a new, more relaxed side to himself as a man which may mean he will
be missed more this time around. “In the past six years I have learned a lot
about myself,” he said on Thursday.
“For example, that you can open yourself without losing focus. That losing can
be both more difficult and more instructive than winning. Sometimes I lost
sight of this in the early years.”
Of his controversial moments, he added: “We are all humans and we all make
mistakes. And with hindsight you would probably do it differently if you had
a second opportunity, but that’s life.”
Schumacher said he had not yet made a decision on what he would do after the
season finished. It is thought he may race in DTM [German Touring Cars].
Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn said recently he would like the German to
stay involved in the team, although his new acquisition Hamilton said he did
not think that he would.
Asked if he would miss Schumacher, Hamilton spoke with more authority: “The
sport will always miss a legend like him.”