20 years ago.... the legend began

Germany had been seeking a Formula One World Champion ever since its inception in 1950. But it never materialized. Wolfgang Von Trips was destined for glory but unfortunately died prematurely in 1961 at Monza. Stefan Bellof, another driver who showed potential, was killed in a sportscar crash in 1985. It was not until the arrival of Michael Schumacher in 1991 that the German crowd had someone in whom they beleived could bring them the country's first ever Formula One World Championship.

It was 20 years ago that the previously unheard of young German driver arrived on the paddock for his debut race. His name was Michael Schumacher. It would signal the start of an amazing career in which he took home 7 World Championships and set countless other records along the way.

Michael Schumacher had been brought on the Jordan team as a replacement for Bertrand Gachot who had been sent to prison after an altercation with a London cab driver. Schumacher had impressed Jordan team designer Gary Anderson the previous week during a test drive. As he was still under contract from Mercedes, team boss Eddie Jordan had to pay Mercedes $150.000 to release him from his contract. Schumacher's manager Wili Webber had told Eddie Jordan that Schumacher knew the Spa-Francochamps circuit very well, but the truth was he only knew it from a spectators point of view. His teammate, 11 year veteran Andrea De Cesaris was supposed to show him the finer points of the circuit before testing, but could not make it in time due to sponsor commitment. Instead Schumacher went out on track on his own bicycle. During qualifying he stunned everybody and made the rest of the paddock take notice by qualifying 7th, 4 places ahead of his team mate De Cesaris. Even though he retired due to a clutch problem on the opening lap he had impressed many on his first outing.

Before the next race he was signed on by Benetton-Ford. Jordan applied for an injunction, but lost out as the team and Schumacher had not formally signed a contract. He went on to finish 5th, his first points, in his very first race for Benetton-Ford. At Benetton he formed a partnership with Technical Director Ross Brawn and Designer Rory Bryne. Their partnership proved fruitful as Schumacher and Benetton team went on to win the World Championships in 1994 and 1995. Later Bryne and Brawn would also move to Ferrari with Schumacher in 1996. At Ferrari they were instrumental in getting Ferrari back to the top of Formula One. What followed from 1996 till Schumacher's retirement in 2006 is known to all motorsport enthusiast.

Schumacher has had his fair share of critisisms over the year. Most notable are his alleged "accidents" with Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve. Schumacher is widely known for his aggresive driving style and also his fierce determination to win at any cost. His ability to drive a car beyond its limit and to set fastest laps whenever the situation demands is unparallel. Over the years he earned himself the nicknames 'Reigenmeister' (rain master) and 'Red Baron' (because of his all winning red Ferrari in reference to a World War 1 flying ace). He is also regarded as the best driver after the late Ayrton Senna in wet and slippery conditions. Schumacher has won many accolades in the racing world over the years and can truly be compared alongside Ayrton Senna and Juan Manuel Fangio as the greatest ever Formula One driver.

Tyre Poker

What you generally picture about a race in Hungary is a race held in bright sunshine, hot weather and very few overtakes. But as soon as you through in a rain shower and changeable conditions the race comes alive with thrills and spills all over the track to keep you glued to the television screens And that is exactly what happened this Sunday at Hungaroring.

Ever since the race last week at Nurburgring the fact that McLaren had upped their game was quite evident. Their good run also continued into the Hungarian GP with Hamilton and team-mate Button securing the 2^nd and 3^rd places on the grid. Vettel not surprisingly took the pole. At the start Vettel was able to hold off the challenge from both the McLaren for the first couple of laps. Ferrari was the biggest losers during the start with both the Mercedes drivers overtaking both Massa and Alonso. Meanwhile in the front, Hamilton was pushing Vettel in hope that he makes a mistake. The track was still slippery off the racing line owing to the rain shower just before the start, so Hamliton could not take too much of a risk in overtaking Vettel. On lap 5 Hamilton took a plunge down the inside of Vettel into the first corner and was able to keep his nose ahead through the next couple of corner to take the lead. Gradually Hamilton pulled away from Vettel who was then caught up and put under pressure by Button. As the track began to dry out Webber was among the first to pit for slicks and was immediately quicker. This prompted the rest of the field to change from the intermediates to slicks. Button and Webber were able to jump Vettel and Alonso respectively in the pits.

The positions stayed the same after the second round of stops. Alonso by then had caught up with Webber in 4^th place but could not find a way past him in the tight and twisty track. So he took a gamble of coming in for an early third stop and changed to super soft compound. Webber stayed out for a few more laps but then changed to soft compound which ensured that he could finish the race in that set of tyre if it stayed dry. Button and Vettel, like Webber shifted to the soft compound. But Hamilton took the gamble and pitted for another set of super softs. The super softs as demonstrated by Alonso were quicker for the first couple of laps but then their performances declined due to increased tyre wear.

Then on lap 47 the track was hit by a small shower which barely lasted a lap, but the asphalt immediately became slippery. On the exit of turn 8 chicane Hamilton, who had not put a wheel wrong till then, spun his McLaren almost taking out Paul Di Resta in the process. This enabled Button to take the lead. The McLaren pair fought for the lead over the next couple of laps. Then in a surprising decision which shook the whole outcome of the race McLaren called in Hamilton for a change of tyres from the worn out super-softs to intermediates. Hamilton struggled to keep the intermediates cool enough and thus lost a fair bit of time and position. Just a few laps later he had to come in for soft tyres as he was struggling to keep up on the intermediates. Then his race became even more disastrous as the stewards decided to give Hamilton a drive through penalty on the grounds of unsafe racing when he rejoined from his spin right in front of Di Resta forcing him to take evasive actions. This dropped Hamilton down to 6^th place behind Massa. By the end he climbed up to 4^th place passing Webber down the pit straight and Massa when he made his last pit stop. After 70 laps controlled and sensible driving Button took the chequered flag on the occasion of his 200^th Grand Prix start.

From the start it looked as if it was Hamilton’s race to throw away. But a mistake at the chicane and a bad call for tyre stop derailed his bid for his 3^rd victory of the season. Both the Red Bulls struggled to match the pace of their rivals. Webber though was able to bottle up Alonso in a faster Ferrari for most part of the race. Otherwise towards the end of the race Alonso could have challenged Vettel for 2^nd place. This race again showed that the Red Bull machines tend to struggle in cold and wet conditions (China, Canada, Britain, Germany, and Hungary). In the end it was evident that Button deserved this victory. He pushed when needed and was always in a comfortable position rarely challenged.