didn't know where. Now that I have this blog...
My interest in F1 started in the late 80s. There were a bunch of us at
school who got hooked into F1, Prost, Senna etc. We didn't really have
much exposure beyond the odd report of races in Sportstar. Unbelievable,
as it may sound to all those of you who know me, I had totally lost
touch with F1 through my college years. Remember, that but this was
before the Internet, and newspapers/magazines were the only option for
news. There was no TV even (this was the pre-cable era). This didn't
mean that I wasn't interested, it just was that there was no way for me
to know what was going on. But, when Star TV started showing the F1
races from 1993 (from the Monaco GP), I was instantly hooked. Since
then, I think I have missed less than 5 races over 14 seasons. I've
planned onsite trips, vacations, holidays around the F1 calendar. My
wife even joked that I planned my wedding and honeymoon to fall on a
non-F1 weekend.
Pre Star Sports, my idol was Prost. There was just something so cool
about his style, his smoothness, his no-fuss approach to racing.
Somehow, I never really liked Senna. To my young (but still logical)
mind, I could see myself driving like Prost, but never like Senna. I
still can't understand why, though. When I started watching F1 in 1993,
obviously Prost was winning, a lot, the Williams that year was just so
much better. I was happy, because my favourite driver was winning. But,
watching Senna drive, in an under-powered Mclaren, I slowly became his
fan and he replaced Prost as my favourite driver. I was thrilled when he
moved to Williams, as he would get a world championship that he so
richly deserved.
His start to the 1994 season was not good. He was on pole for the fist
two races, but spun off in Brazil and was taken out at the first corner
at Aida. That fateful day at Imola, I still remember the date, May 1,
1994 happened. I had been rooting so much for Senna that his death left
me searching for someone else. A void that Schumacher would go on to
fill.
I can't really say that I noticed Schumacher too much in hi early
career. I totally missed his arrival in F1. Even in 1993, I didn't
really notice him too much. He won the race at Portugal , all right, but
then I was so focused on Prost and Senna. And remember, in those days,
it was just the two hours on TV every alternate weekend. No Internet, F1
didn't feature in the newspapers at all. Even when he won the first two
races in 1994, I was more distraught that Senna lost. The turning point
was the fifth race, at Barcelona , I think. Schumacher had a problem
that resulted in him being stuck in 5th gear. Yet, he adjusted
brilliantly and came home 2nd. I still remember that due to senna's
accident, they had put temporary chicanes with tyres. The way that he
changed his line of entry was truly amazing and made converted me into
his #1 fan. I went through the highs and lows of the 1994 season and
felt that justice was done when he won the championships that year
despite all the controversies.
When he moved to Ferrari, I became a Ferrari supporter. I really enjoyed
his brilliant drives (Barcelona 96, Spa 98, Malaysia 99, Suzuka 2000,
France 2004 really stand out). To me, he was a man who could make the
impossible possible. You felt that he was always a threat for the win,
even if his car was incapable of challenging for it. His commitment,
passion, the ability to give it a 100% every single time, these are
qualities that I wished I had in the same measure.
He's retired from F1, now I need someone to take his place. I guess as
you grow older, and the sporting heroes are younger than you are, you
tend to look at them differently. You become a fan, you root for them to
win, but somehow it is never the same as before. Schumi was probably the
last of my sporting idols.
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