The importance of knowing your history

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Written by G Wood

Tuesday, 26 January 2010 18:50

Those who don’t know their history, it is said, are doomed to repeat it ad infinitum.

The adage is usually trotted out at moments of great social or historical importance – understanding the events of the end of the First World War, for example, goes a long way to making sense of the rise of Adolf Hitler and the start of the Second World War.

In Formula 1 the lesson is no less apposite. Knowing why certain safety measures have been put in place – the requirement that drivers wear helmets and protective gear, for example – makes it hard for anyone to argue for their removal. If a driver knows that half the field came off at a certain corner during practice, he will take more care there during qualifying.

Michael Schumacher’s determination to ignore his own history, as demonstrated by his outburst at Monday’s Stuttgart launch, is therefore a cause for concern. If the German driver is unwilling to acknowledge that some of his many races and championships were won under the mantle of poor sportsmanship, then it is a certainty that the forthcoming season will see a continuation of the status quo.

For those unaware of the Stuttgart incident, Schumacher was asked at yesterday’s launch whether the legendary driver intended to use his comeback to demonstrate that he could “win in the right way”. Bristling with indignation, the seven-time champion responded: "Ninety-one victories, seven titles, you win only in a bad way. Absolutely. Yeah, you're right, I need to prove [myself] now."

When the journo emphasised the fact that the question related to the aggressive manner in which Schuey clinched some of his titles, and not his impressive track record, the German’s response missed the point entirely. "Yeah, I know. I did win all this in the manner in which you are trying to ask questions," he said. Except that it is the job of a journalist to ask awkward questions, and to keep pressing when the interview subject doesn’t want to talk.

To the best of my knowledge, it is not in an F1 driver’s job description to build a reputation for dangerous driving, or to add to his list of titles the ignominy of being the only F1 driver to be disqualified from a championship for dangerous driving (1997).

There is no doubt that Michael Schumacher is an extraordinarily talented circuit racer. It is his talent that makes the more questionable on-track decisions all the more depressing. Determination to win or no, it is disheartening to watch someone who should be able to win on merit resort to dirty tricks on those days when qualifying and racing didn’t go quite as planned. Even Schuey’s biggest fan should be ready to admit that the German’s behaviour at the 2006 Monaco GP qualifying session was not worthy of the man himself. And unlike the other racing incidents Schumacher’s been involved in over the years, it is hard to argue that by parking on the track Schumacher was just emulating the aggressive driving legitimised by Brazilian legend Ayrton Senna.

Reformed characters, be they something-aholics on a twelve-step programme or just those full of personal remorse for whatever reason, usually make amends by acknowledging their past bad behaviour to those they have wronged. While Schuey may have spoken privately with Damon Hill, Fernando Alonso, Heinz Harald Frentzen, and Jacques Villeneuve, he has yet to acknowledge the damage his past actions have done to Formula 1 as a sport.

This might be because he – like so many others – believes that his positive contributions to the world of motorsport far outstrip the negatives. I hold that the two should be kept separate. Off-track, Schumacher keeps his nose clean and does nothing to bring F1 into disrepute. His importance as the sport’s ambassador cannot be understated: to those uninterested in F1 he is a reason to watch, more so than recent champions Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton, and Kimi Raikkonen. But it is because of his unique status of ambassador that he must fight fairly this time around.

The 2010 season sees the potential to bring a whole new generation of fans to Formula 1. People will be switching on in their droves to see if the legend still has it, whether or not they watched the sport in his era of dominance. With the eyes of the world on him, Schuey must stay clean as the uninitiated assumption will be that Schumacher’s – master of the sport – will be the tyre tracks to follow. If early qualifying sessions see more petulant parking, or a chase to the chequered flag is cut short with an all-too-convenient collision, the assumption will be that F1 is a cheat’s display, not a sport.

Over the years F1’s reputation has taken something of a battering in the outside world. It’s the antithesis of green, using carbon reserves for sport. In a global recession, the running costs of F1 are largely looked upon as an unnecessary extravagance, of races happening to the tune of Nero’s fiddle. The litany of -gates that we’ve seen in the past two seasons alone leaves a nasty taste in the mouth for those not inured to them as we are.

Scandals sell papers, and Schumacher sells papers. To ensure that he and the sport are making headlines for the right reasons in 2010, it would behove the German champion to make an honest assessment of his racing history and compile a list of actions not to be repeated. Kate Walker for Girlracer Magazine www.girlracer.co.uk