Schumacher isn’t my Hero, my Mother is. But he taught me a lot about life.
The year was 1996. I picked Michael Schumacher as the guy to support - not because I knew a lot about Formula One or the man himself - but because picking him would mean I could pick someone to pit against my brother’s favorite. I was 9 after all. All I wanted to do was annoy my older brother. Man, did I make a great choice or what. Its all about winning Jerez, European GrandPrix, 1997. Final race of the year, Schumacher was walking away with the victory and the world championship. Unexplainably, he starts slowing a few laps from the end. Villeneuve decides to plunge down the inside to overtake Michael - and presumably win the race and the championship. I distinctly remember that moment. Schumacher purposely turns his car into Villeneuve’s - with the express intent of running him off the road. Yeah, didn’t quite work out, Schumacher runs himself off the road instead, Villeneuve goes on to win the race and the championship. Schumacher is stripped off of all his points for the act - gets nothing - not even second place. Yeah, didn’t matter - winning was all. ...