All hail the savior, Schumi is back!

All hail the savior, Schumi is back!

Michael Schumacher’s unexpected arrival will add zing to the Formula One circuit, says Mobile ESPN’s Chetan Narula.

Sports can be bizarre. Sports throws up its twists and turns. And when there is an element of speed involved, it becomes a heady combination. Stories from the fast lane has been just that, bizarre. While one came with sheer design, the other came by a stroke of (bad) luck. From Lance Armstrong to Michael Schumacher, it’s been a hell of journey!

At the beginning of the year, Armstrong decided he had had enough of the good old normal life and decided to get back into the saddle. He obviously missed the peaks of the Alps and charging down the Pyrenees at 80 kmph. Last Sunday, he finished a credible third in the most grueling cycling race of them all, Tour de France, proving to most that his decision to come back wasn’t just a head rush.

In the last seven months, since Armstrong made that announcement, and subsequently whenever there was news about him, the heart of every racing enthusiast would have skipped a beat.

But this story is a shade different.

A suspension spring from Rubens Barrichello’s Brawn GP car hit Felipe Massa on the helmet at the Hungarian GP and probably put the Ferrari driver out of contention for the rest of the season. Sad an accident as it may have been, there was almost instant clamor for one man and one man only. And as if answering the collective prayers of the millions of fans world-wide, Michael Schumacher announced his comeback to active racing.

Almost a month to go for the next race in the season and even though the teams are supposed to take a break in this three-week period, there will be a flurry of activity going on at Maranello, where Schumacher will get his first feel in the F60, that too in only straight line testing.

More than that, the onus will be on his fitness, especially to get those neck muscles all ready to take on the g-forces all over again. Although only 30 per cent tickets had been sold for the race at Valencia till last week, now the organisers will only be wondering that the European GP couldn’t come soon enough.

The 2009 season has, up until now, been a near shambles year for a majority of reasons.
First up came the rules that were supposed to encourage more on-track action and reduce the pit-stop poker.

The diffuser row however punctured all the fun of overtaking as its legalization meant that the downforce levels would be high again and the cars wouldn’t easily get close to each other even this year. As Brawn GPs and Red Bulls made progress, the big teams Ferrari and McLaren took quite a few steps backwards. So much so, that they are already close to quitting on this year and focus on the next season.

Then there was the Lewis Hamilton ‘Liargate’ which could have (read should have) been avoided. On its heels, a new fire was stoked by Max Mosley (how could he not do it!) and the last three months have been irksome trying to sort the mess out.

From ridiculous names proposed as new teams on the block to breakaway series threats to new teams chosen in an allegedly illegal manner to feuds over revenue sharing to BMW quitting the sport to rising safety concerns on track, the circus that is the pinnacle of motor sport has rambled on and made even the most ardent fan question, why do they even bother? Formula One seemed to be rotting.

Now things look up again. Like Armstrong, Schumacher too had stopped competing but probably never let go off the love in his heart. He continued testing, visited the races as a Ferrari advisor (whatever that meant), even tried his hand at motorbike racing, to purge that desire to go as quick as possible.

Yes, he may admit to just being loyal to his beloved team in the time of need. But veiled in that compassionate admission is the yearning to get behind the wheel in anger, to lock horns with the young guns out there and to do again, what he does best.

There is still a long way to go for his comeback though. Fitness concerns and the ban on testing will be major hindrances. And they will bring a cloud of questions along as the fans look to mark the Valencia GP on their calendars.

Will he be able to regain prime fitness? Will he be able to get hold of the car in Friday practice when he first drives it? Will he be competitive in an otherwise struggling F60? Will he beat Kimi Raikkonen? Will he beat Lewis Hailton, Sebastien Vettel, or for that matter Fernando Alonso or even Jenson Button? What if he is competitive and scores points? What if he beats them all and desires another championship? Will he like, Armstrong did in Alberto Contador, find a worthy opponent? Will he then stay on for 2010?

Come to think of it, it doesn’t matter. Armstrong didn’t come back to save the Astana team or the sport that is cycling itself. That was quite evident in the fact that the Tour de France has now seen a two-time winner in Contador, a serious challenger to the seven-time winner. Armstrong finishing third while being in the same team as the eventual champion means only means that the next year’s race will be an intriguing one.

The seven time former F1 world champion’s return, though, deals with a more immediate threat faced by his sport. That figure of 30 per cent ticket sales for Valencia is actually a pointer to the times prevalent in F1 today when a race just one season old is struggling to find takers.

And so, Michael Schumacher’s second coming is the arrival of the savior Formula One so badly needs. For his coming is proof that God too tunes into Race Day every other Sunday.