A wise woman once sang ‘you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone’. And while I doubt she would approve of her words being used in a motor racing context, it currently has a certain resonance for F1. In fact, perhaps ‘you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s come back’ is more appropriate, for this season sees the return of Michael Schumacher, the man whose supreme dominance and relentless pursuit of success across an entire decade at once amazed and frustrated as it threatened to suck the life out of the sport.
Record breaker
By the time he retired in 2006, Schumacher had broken, quite literally, every record in the book. In sweeping effortlessly to title after title, the German reduced race-days to a virtual procession where the victor was a forgone conclusion and the battle for second became the main point of interest. And even that was rarely exciting.
His departure was greeted with respectful farewells rather than mourning, and the next three seasons duly served up some of the most entertaining battles ever. Three different champions, countless race winners and more off-track drama than an episode of Thomas the Tank Engine. All of which makes it, perhaps, a little surprising that Schumacher’s return this season is being greeted with quite such breathless anticipation.
Return to the pack
So why the hairpin turn? Well, firstly, in the three short years that he has been away, Formula One has become a very different sport. Last year in particular, the FIA’s constant battle to level the playing field finally began to pay off and a number of technical details threw the entire field into disarray (I’m not sure anyone actually knows what a rear diffuser is but, apparently, it makes quite a difference). Throughout the season the grid was as shaken up as the winner’s champagne and, consequently, the races were highly unpredictable.
Brawn, Red Bull, even Force India, they all got in on the act and it was a world away from the previous decade where a Ferrari one-two became so burned into the vision I can almost still see it when I close my eyes. Allied to the Brawn team’s poor form in the second half of last season and the feeling is that Schumi is unlikely to have the luxury of the best car in the field in a way he became accustomed to last time around.
A true test
In itself, this is an exciting prospect. While universally applauded, Schumacher’s talent was rarely loved by fans who saw it as having a negative effect on the sport. The idea, however, of having the greatest driver ever in an inferior car, trying to prove he still has what it takes to win is an altogether more enticing one. In fact, it appears a little distance has done wonders for our perception of the German. Only in their emergence from beneath a veil of inevitability have the staggering scale of his achievements truly revealed themselves. When he was racing, a Schumacher victory was simply expected. Having watched the clumsy (although highly entertaining) squabbles for the podium since, the difficulty involved in achieving such a sustained period of dominance is all too evident.
Heir apparent
And yet there is one man who, many would have you believe, has the potential to challenge his record. Jenson Button’s title last year was a fairytale, but the new era of Formula One is embodied by Lewis Hamilton. Young, marketable and oh so fast, Hamilton’s introduction to the sport has been a rollercoaster of a ride, but behind all the hype there appears to be a driver to back it up. On the pace from the first lap, he could easily have won the championship in his first two years, and while last year’s car did him no favours, a sense remained that the future belonged to him – until, that is, the past decided to pop his helmet back on.
The history of formula one can be traced through its superstars. But while we never got to enjoy Senna and Schumacher truly race each other, we now have the chance to see two giants from different generations of the sport going head to head. Throw in a couple more world champions and we really do have a mouth-watering prospect on our hands. One suspects that Schumacher will have been paying close attention to the emergence of the new stars of Formula One, and with that characteristic cool determination ruthlessly plotting the route for the master to put these young pretenders in their place. Whether he still has what it takes is a matter for the future. For now, gentlemen, start your engines...