German Formula One driver Michael Schumacher looks at a monitor inside Ferrari's boxes during a test session at the Montmelo racetrack near Barcelona, Spain on January 18, 2005.
Photo: AP
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"Formula" without #1
// Michael Schumacher Defeated in Final Race of His Career
Michael Schumacher raced for the final time in his career in the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday. The German, to the great disappointment of his millions of fans, did not succeed in performing yet one more miracle to become world champion for a record eighth time. Instead, the championship was captured for the second year in a row by the Spaniard Fernando Alonso from Renault. Nevertheless it was still Michael Schumacher, whose retirement closes an epic chapter in the history of Formula One racing, who was the hero of the day in Brazil.
Hope remained that Michael Schumacher would capture a record-breaking eighth career title in his last race in Brazil. However, in order to recapture the title from Fernando Alonso, he not only had to win the race but also hope that the Spaniard did not get even a single point. These hopes were dashed early when Schumacher failed to complete the qualifying round because of technical problems. As a result, he started the race from the number ten position.
Despite a scorching start that put him ahead of the pack early, his left rear wheel burst after barely perceptible contact between his car and the car driven by the Spaniard's Renault teammate Giancarlo Fisichella. At this point he would have been fully within his rights to wave to the spectators and set off for his new life, but Schumacher, never one to give up, fought his way back up from last place to finish the race in the fourth position. He finished behind Felipe Massa, two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, who captured the title on points, and Jenson Button, who, despite winning the race, attracted little of the attention paid to Schumacher and Alonso.
Schumacher's departure after wining seven world championships closes as epic period in Formula One history. Many believe that racing will lose the focal point of its sporting, commercial, and technical structures after Schumacher exits the scene. Schumacher, with his incredibly easy (and thus terribly boring) victories, has done much to make the sport what it is today. Many technical changes in racing, such as decreases in the permitted engine capacity of Formula One cars, are unofficially explained by many as attempts to rein in Schumacher. In 2004 Formula One's highest official, Bernie Ecclestone, even agreed to a proposal to add 10 kg of ballast to Schumacher's car.
It is widely believed that Schumacher would have had an eighth world championship title within his grasp last year if it were not for an unfortunate combination of poor-quality Bridgestone tires with a car that was generally agreed to be the fastest on the track. Similarly, many attribute his failure to recapture the title this season to an engine failure in the Japanese Grand Prix during a crucial race against Alonso.
All that aside, Schumacher has achieved legendary status in the world of Formula One racing, drawing capacity crowds to his races and pulling in as much as 35 million euros a year from Ferrari's sponsor Phillip Morris. It will be difficult for Fernando Alonso to fill such big shoes, but the Spaniard seems well on his way. Like Schumacher, he is reported to have nerves of steel and to practically never make mistakes. Alonso, like Schumacher in his time, has become the sport's youngest world champion. Schumacher even won his first two titles under the direction of Flavio Briatore on the Benetton team, which has since switched to its current name of Renault. Alonso, like Schumacher, is now leaving this team to move to a highly-touted team with much potential but as yet few results: Schumacher moved to Ferrari in 1996, while Alonso will go to McLaren, which is under the command of Ron Dennis.
Afsati Jusoiti
All the Article in Russian as of Oct. 24, 2006
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