In India, Formula1 was not as popular before 2000 as it is now. The Indian media started covering the sport, when Michael Schumacher created a lot of excitement on track and made the sport more popular. After the advent of Narain Karthikeyan in F1, Indian media took keen interest and wrote more and more about the sport.
Besides, a new breed of automobile-loving elite audience surfaced after a few years of globalisation. It coincided with the success of Schumacher; they started watching the sport and spread the word that Schumacher was the best; and Ferrari was the benchmark. Not just Indians, but also a lot of people living across the world accept it. And this opinion snowball has been rolling in the internet with polls being conducted and forums discussing Schumacher is better than anyone else. What if I decide to differ?
The problem with a lot of people is, they believe they know everything. They claim they know what lies beyond the horizon; they might not have looked beyond the terrace wall. Ask them who is Stefan Bellof; ask them who is Gilles Villeneuve; ask them if they know Emerson Fittipaldi. They won’t know. Ask them if they have watched any of those drivers on track. They would not have watched; yet if you say Schumacher could be considered the second best and they have not just seen the better one who existed before Schumacher started winning, they will defame you and label you an idiot. Let them do their worst; I’ll stand by my judgement. Ayrton Senna was the best driver ever.
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| (Left to Right): Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell & Nelson Piquet Sr. |
I started watching F1 long before Michael Schumacher won his first championship on a Benetton Ford. Cable TV gave us the choice to watch something other than DD; but there were only three channels those days - DD, Star TV (I don’t remember if Star Sports was there) and Star Plus. When I was a child I would write grammatically flawless English. But I couldn’t understand the English they spoke in the TV channels. So, I would watch anything that is visually appealing. Crystal maze was one such show; F1 was the other.
During those days, Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet Sr. were the ones who often occupied the podium. All of them were great drivers who won championships out of sheer skill; but Senna would shine uniquely like a diamond amidst crystals. Even when I could not understand the sport, it was a treat to watch the qualifying sessions, where he would appear noticeably faster and fiercer on TV. I have seen both Senna and Schumacher; only Senna’s driving got deeply etched in my memories.
If you wish to loathe me and shower verbal abuse for placing Senna above Schumacher, you should first understand why I believe so. Since the popular opinion was against my own, last month, I went to youtube and watched a lot of races again and again to check if my judgement is wrong. Those were not about just Senna’s driving, but also that of the other legends I had mentioned. But at the end, I had a even stronger feeling that I was right. My next post will point out why I believe Senna was better than Schumacher.
PS. Anyone can have an opinion. If you believe Schumacher is the best, I have no intention to convince you to change your mind. I respect your opinion, though I don’t agree with it. But abusing me or shaming me for having a different opinion is unacceptable and I have become a bit less tolerant towards idiocy these days.
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