Schumi has retired.... Almost everyone in this world who watches the F1 circus would be talking about it. Well, I am just writing this to show my gratitude to a man whom I never really liked, mostly because of his arrogant attitude and overly aggressive driving skills which other drivers were supposed to bow down to!!

No, I was never a Schumacher fan. Ever since his introduction in 1994 (at least that’s when I remember seeing that name first on the timing chart) he has been nothing but trouble to Formula 1. I still remember the way he used to race Villeneuve Jr. and use excessively aggressive street racing tactics to push his racing counterparts to non finishing positions. The way he tried to assert his superiority over Senna in Spa and got what he rightly deserved, a crash into the barriers!! Schumi was a great driver, no doubt!! What I never liked was the haughty attitude he came packaged with. An attitude that was unasked for and unwanted in a gentlemanly sport. An attitude that got him more enemies than friends. Some people quote it as "that’s how an aggressive driver is". Sorry, if they've ever watched F1 over the ages, the way in which Nikki Lauda, Villeneuve Sr., Senna, Damon Hill raced, they would accept with me saying his behavior is absolute hooliganism!! I've seen races when fellow racers have actually stopped when a team mate was leading the race and develops problems before the finish line and actually let him win the hard earned race!! When Barrichello was asked to pull over (pit orders) to allow Schumi to take lead and win a race that he (Barri) had so rightfully lead form start to finish, I was aghast!! How could they do this?? All my friends supported the act saying it was 'team work' to allow the pole car to continue and get maximum points!! I would call it cowardice!! Stopping a fellow team mate from winning a race for selfish need is nothing short of gangster behavior!! I would not blame Schumi on this, but when his team announced this on radio, the least he could have done is not complied!!

I have indeed seen Schumi shine over the years, go in the dumps in some and return like a phoenix from the ashes later, but I still am not his fan!! If you ask me, yes, I have remained a Mclaren fan through the ages!! Simply because not only were the drivers of mutual respect for each other, there was lovely clean racing between them!! A healthy competition that I have seen go corrupt with the entrance of the 'famed Schumi'. I am not sure how many of you reading this are Schumi fans, I know this would peeve you all off no bounds, but I would say read the whole thing and then decide.

How many times have we heard that an accident was caused by the 'other' person and supported Schumi? How many times have we genuinely seen an overtaking maneuver that has not involved the other car being thrown into the barriers? How many times have we seen team mates being asked to pull over for another's benefits? I mean, if I have to state reasons, there are millions. But no, I will tell you what, I used to admire the man sheerly because of his determination. An unforgiving warrior who accepted no prisoners, move over or die. The attitude was right, but it was molded in the wrong direction ever since he joined Benetton. The over aggressiveness, the haughtiness, the 'I know everything' press conference attitude... damn!!

I don't know how many people remember Mika Hakkinen, now that was a chip off the old block!! The only person whom I know has managed to retain the finesse of racing a formula 1 car and also respect his fellow racer. If memory serves me right, in Spa Franco champs in ’98, he pulled off one of THE MOST AMAZING overtaking maneuvers with Ricardo Zonta playing the innocent bystander!! The sight of a Ferrari and a Mclaren on each side of your rear view mirror approaching at break neck speed is definitely a scary thought!! Still brings back nostalgic memories!! I thoroughly enjoyed every single duel between Mika and Schumi all though ’97, ’98, ’99 and ’00. Mika had a bad season peppered with multiple engine failures, technical glitches and pure bad luck in some cases (running out of fuel in the last corner in the US GP), that resulted in a decision that saddened many souls, a retirement from F1.

I admired Senna, Hill, Lauda, Villeneuve and Mika. To me, they were demi gods of speed, people who could flip a car sideways and maintain the same speed and pull off eye popping moves that got the viewer’s adrenalin pumped up in no time!! No wonder Steve Slater acts as if he has an orgasm every time he sees something scarlet flash by on the monitor!! I genuinely cried my guts out when Senna crashed, beat my fists out when Villeneuve missed the world championship and was depressed for an entire month when I heard Mika retired. Now, since I heard Schumi is planning to go too, somehow I can’t help but feel bad. After all, he was a part of providing all the excitement, the curses, the swearing which resulted in pumped up races and championships that were nail biting till Suzuka!! A genuine speedster who was never fully understood in his time. Go on man, I will miss you!! I Really will man!! I mean it!!