“When I leave F1, I want to be remembered as one of the best drivers of all time…when I think about history, it’s not just about me, it’s about how my family raised me, where we came from. For that to be potentially tainted by something like that would really devastate me. That is something I don’t want to be known for.” – Lewis Hamilton on Schumacher’s ‘controversial’ incidents of days gone by.
“It is always a privilege to be on the same track as him, as it is having him in the sport. Now, for me, it would be special if I was on the track with Ayrton (Senna), but everyone has their own points of view.” – Lewis Hamilton on whether driving with Michael Schumacher was special.
Lewis Hamilton has once again set tongues wagging with some passionate words about Schumacher and the late Ayrton Senna.
It has started people asking why Senna is generally held in such high regard by Formula One drivers and fans alike, while Schumacher has the “cheat” label thrown at him so often. The two drivers’ tactics were not so different.
The simple answer, so often used as a “reason” for people being softer on Senna’s legacy is – to be blunt – “because Senna is dead”. And, what’s more, he died on track. Rose-tinted glasses are often mentioned.
I don’t think it’s anywhere near as easy to dismiss as that.
James Allen has written a brilliant biography of Schumacher called ‘Michael Schumacher: The Edge of Greatness’. Here is what Allen had to say on the subject;
“Many find him [Michael Schumacher] an unsympathetic character and for that reason he is not held in such high esteem as Senna, for example.
The new generation of Formula One stars, like Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton, often cite Senna as their great inspiration: they do not speak of Schumacher. There are a number of reasons for this.
Schumacher had a bit of the devil in him and many people are unwilling to forgive him for that. Combined with this was a meticulous dedication to his craft, the quest for perfection…
…He did not have Senna’s sense of style, nor his obvious raw passion. Instead, precision, hard work and discipline were his hallmarks; qualities which do not win over hearts and minds.”
I think the above quote hits the proverbial nail on the head. There are a few things worth adding to and expanding on though.
Unsympathetic Character
It is not entirely fair that a man of Michael Schumacher’s immense talent be dismissed as not being a “true great” just because his personality and his approach to racing was not entirely “sympathetic”. However, I believe that is exactly why he is not held in such high esteem as Senna.
People at every level could relate to Senna, and to his actions a lot of the time, thanks to his highly emotional and passionate nature and his willingness to speak up when he felt injustice being foisted upon him.
Everyone has, at one point or another acted rashly out of anger, sought revenge, said something cruel about a rival or competitor in the heat of the moment. Both Senna and Schumacher were guilty of it in the past. However, it was generally only Senna whose motivations were understood. He was so much more open and “human” than Schumacher is or was.
Clearly, Senna and Schumacher both had their moments on track where they behaved appallingly.
After Senna’s move on Prost at Suzuka in 1990, he famously said the following;
“I said to myself: “OK, you try to work cleanly and do the job properly [in reference to Suzuka the year before] and you get fucked by stupid people. If tomorrow, Prost beats me off the line, at the first corner I will go for it, and he better not turn in because he’s not going to make it.”
This comment is so often referenced when comparing it to and defending Schumacher’s actions at Jerez in 1997, or – indeed – at Adelaide in 1994. In fact, it is often argued – isn’t what Senna did worse than either of the two Schumacher-incidents? What Senna did was premeditated, he said so.
Firstly, we don’t know that one or both of those moves by Schumacher weren’t premeditated – although it is pretty reasonable to assume that they weren’t. Secondly, assuming as most people do that they weren’t pre-planned, the only other reasonable explanation was Schumacher’s desperation. His utter inability to see someone else take his rightful place at the top of the podium.
Don’t get me wrong, Senna was EXACTLY the same in having that arrogant mentality but comparing the two’s characters by using Suzuka vs Jerez/Adelaide is not right. As already mentioned, Jerez especially, was a desperate move by a man caught out by someone who’d sliced up and got the better of him.
Senna’s move in Suzuka, although premeditated, was the move of a man who felt utterly, bitterly wronged by what happened at that very same track one year before and the subsequent fall-out with Jean-Marie Balestre, the then FIA president. It had truly hurt him and he had spoken about it many times previously.
Does that make what Senna did right? Absolutely not. It was unsporting, highly dangerous and childish. Was it – to a certain extent – understandable? Yes. People get upset and do stupid things, even plan to do stupid things.
Schumacher’s moves very rarely came across as understandable, they came across as calculated and ruthless and the move of “a robot”. A terrible thing to call another human being, especially one as gifted as Schumacher, but the moniker so often suited him.
For me, and many others, the other difference between the two comes in how they handled their heat-of-the-moment idiocy after the event. My one massive qualm with Schumacher is his inability to accept blame, apologise and move on. As I said before – everyone does stupid things. It’s how you make up for them afterwards that is the measure of you.
Compare Shumacher’s statement after the incident with Jaques Villeneuve in 1997…
“I did not try to take him out, I just wanted to win the world championship…people do not expect me to make mistakes…worse things have happened in motor races than what happened last Sunday. As for the 1994 incident with Hill, that was a different thing and I wasn’t driving for Ferrari then.”
…to Senna’s after Suzuka in 1990.
“…it just happened. I wish it hadn’t. We were both off and it was a shit way to end the world championship. It was not good for me and not good for F1. It was the result of the wrong decisions and partiality from the people inside making the decisions. I won the championship. So what? It was a bad example for everyone.”
Of course, even Senna doesn’t go so far as to say “I made the wrong call, I’m an idiot. Sorry.” but he does at least acknowledge the stupidity of it all, the fact that his championship lost meaning because of it and expresses regret. Which is more than one can say for Michael Schumacher.
Perhaps it is this more human side, this more emotionally intelligent side of Ayrton Senna that draws people to him and drivers to idolise him – including Schumacher himself. In fact, it’s from Senna that Schumacher learned so many of his “moves”!
Drivers know what it’s like to feel so passionate about something that has happened to them, that the system is so unjust, that they should have won this or that race. They respect Schumacher’s ability, without doubt – they’d be fools not to – but it’s Senna’s ability as well as his passion and strength of character (if I can use that phrase without sounding like an imbecile) that makes him so much more accessible and appealing.
Next week : Part Two – Passion vs Determination and a look at whether “lie-gate” has already tainted Lewis Hamilton’s legacy.
“I’M HERE TO RACE FOR MYSELF THANK YOU VERY MUCH”. Yes you are Button. Yes you are.