It came 2006; I was rejuvenated so was Michael. Both were raring to go. Although I had significantly less to lose, it was a challenge in itself.

It was easy for me because I did not depend much on people. Well, Michael had his team; he had to motivate his team along with him. That was the challenge for him.

It started not so right; I didn’t qualify at the IIT-M fest (Saarang) in Sports and Ent Quiz.
I was confident of putting up a good show along with my pal.

Well, I was disappointed, but the trip was good fun for me. I just witnessed the best among the quizzers in India. The best part was, I had my pal Anucheth, who was part of that league and sitting pretty high.

For me, it was a setback personally. In hindsight, it was good. I prepared hard and was ready with my Sports quiz. Well, it was a test for me, and I was prepared for it. Confident.

It was satisfying at the end of 4 years; I got my reward; the Sports quiz was appreciated.

Michael had not so great races initially, and he was trailing. He came back to his best at Imola, and the highlight was the way he tailored Alonso’s brakes behind him. It was Pay Back time. Exactly opposite happened in 2005.

Somewhere mid-way through the season, Michael lost ground and was 34 points behind Alonso.
Now, what to do??? This cant happens twice in a row, I thought, being a die-hard fan.

Just when everyone in the world, including me, gave up on him winning the championship, one person rose. He was the LAST ACTION HERO. He was ready for the action. Race after race, he grew stronger and stronger, and with two races to go, he was equal with Alonso in points.

The best part was that I stopped having expectations of him winning races, and hence i could enjoy his victories even more and the disappointing Japanese Grand Prix later in the year.

Sadly he announced his retirement at the end of the 2006 season after winning an emotional Italian GP at Monza.

The final two races of his career turned out to be anti-climax,
At the end of it all, he lost the championship due to mechanical failures in successive races. Talk about destiny; his last engine failure was on a dull Sunday of July 2000 at the French Grand Prix.

I did not worry about what happened. But it was a little sad; probably, this is how life goes.

Michael, the way he took those twin blows is worth praising. He had no complaints about his car; he stressed when asked to comment about the car, ” the same car gave me five championships in a row, why to complain now??” he replied.

There are good moments, and there are not so good moments. One needs to accept it as fast as possible and move on. It was a sport, after all.

And in general, life is short after all.

The above incident gave me and every one an insight into a man who lived his dreams. He was happy to end his career on a losing team but a fighting unit.

He won, and indeed, he did conquer everyone by his racing at the Brazilian GP. His last overtaking maneuver on Kimi was the perfect way of showing that he’s still the King when it comes to dominating on the track. His aura was something which we call “The Michael Magic.”

He quit on the track, which produced many great drivers, none better than Aryton Senna, who would have been proud to have seen Michael the way he raced on that day(22-10-06). His final day as a driver in Formula1.

If at all, one thing which needs to be highlighted is the spirit of hope. The hope ignited many Italians and Michael’s fans worldwide.

He lighted the candle of hope for all the people who were struggling to come to terms in life. From nowhere, he reached the position of becoming a champion again. He didn’t eventually, but better than the way he lost in 2005.

It allowed me to acknowledge whatever I had, and it made me realize a lot of things. One of them is to concentrate on giving my best not only when things are going well but also in the same spirit when things are the opposite.

Problems are with everyone; the way one deals with it separates pros from the rest.

It was fabulous for me to have my journey parallely with Michael.

His ruthlessness and his one-lap runs were a treat to watch. At the same time, he managed to have control over himself. Awesome!!!

I always dreamt of being a Schumacher, being ruthless in the things I love, and being the best with the things I loved doing. Well, all I can say, I did get an opportunity. Or at least I think it was.

If conducting UTPT Sports quiz-06 was like taking a pole position, much to my delight.

“Winning on 22nd April at BMS with my great friend Anucheth alongside me felt like winning a Grand Prix just the way Michael did or would have loved to do.”

It was a team effort, with Anucheth continually encouraging me, but with me being ruthless as ever, on that day, all I did was very Schumacher-esque.

With me passing out of college and moving into my next phase, it was great and my privilege to have seen and, more importantly, learned from a person who did most things right.

Like all people, even he committed mistakes. But he corrected them and became a better person.

As Sir Don Bradman, people will remember Michael the way he ended his career.
I guess it happens to the ultimate inspirational guides. Sachin, not winning the World Cup, Pete Sampras not winning the French Open, and many more people like this, leaving a void in their illustrious career.

I am in tears writing this because words cannot explain the impact he had on me.
Well, I am a little emotional; hey, this is how I am. My strength is mostly, and weakness, very little by being passionate, in the way I do things I love.

“A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them
into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals.”

Thanks to this winner, I can enjoy my journey of life, a beautiful life indeed.

People asked- “What’s Michael gotta give”- This would be it, at least for me.

 

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!