If there was anything in 2005 to Michael Schumacher, seeing his rivals go past him and disappear into the distance. He gave his best, but his machine wasn’t up to the mark, and ultimately it made him look like a miser despite his royal stature as a world champion.

Following my idol for many years, I was not ready to accept this sudden change in fortunes, but he just took it by his stride like all legends. It was his worst year, or to say, would be his worst in his illustrious career. One can’t rest on past laurels. One needs to strive hard to maintain. It’s easy to lose, as we saw in the 2005 season. It was not that he fell for the occasion; his opponents rose to the event.

It was for me; this time around, I did lose my focus because of some goof up in my academics. I was confident, though, but sometimes, results mattered more than confidence. You don’t win just by having confidence. Having faith is like a consolation to the people who didn’t quite make it.
I managed to clear, thanks to my self-belief, but my idol couldn’t. He was helpless.

I learned from this guy that he didn’t complain when things were going wrong for him. Instead, he was keen on improving himself and hoping things could turn this way. Unfortunately, it didn’t.

His attitude helped me a great deal. I was quiet, not reacting to what happened, instead of concentrating on what I had, trust me; this was the beginning for me.

I just went about my business, and I started enjoying this new phase of my life. I started accepting things that came my way without a doubt some of the decisions. If I wasn’t clear, I made sure I got answers to it.

I had failed, and the first thing I did was to accept this fact. I didn’t lie to myself; it was tough comforting myself initially. I turned to this guy, and I was convinced to go his way.
He had failed as well, and he was the first person to acknowledge this fact.

Towards the end of the season, it didn’t change for my champion. But things changed for the better, and it was for me, not for him.

The attitude with which he took this disappointment was something which I wanted to imbibe.
He knew he was the champion; just because he failed, it didn’t tarnish his self-confidence.
He had enough time to recollect his past deeds and be content with what he had.
At the same time, if given an opportunity, he would be the first to seize it.

My life changed, or to say started to evolve in a different way than previous to it.
I didn’t know whether it was the right way or not, but I enjoyed this evolution process within me.

The year ended, hoping to win his 8th title, and for me, I was expecting to continue enjoying this newfound path.

2006 looked promising; I, like Michael, believed in going out there and do my best.

It was a forgotten story to most of them, but it was the first stop for me.

First Pit-stop!