Cafe Bucky

Farewell to Michael Schumacher, who retired from Formula One racing today after 16 seasons. I got see him race a few times: Nurburgring ‘99, Australia ‘00, and Monaco ‘00. He was the best driver of his generation, bar none. It was the combination of Michael, Ross Brawn, and Jean Todt that jelled Scuderia Ferrari. There will be gaping holes for them in 2007. Will Kimi Raikkonen be able to fill the boots of the missing Schu? He’s good …

His longtime rival, Mika Hakkinen, flew in to Brasil to see the last race. It was typical of Michael to battle back from being nearly a lap down, to finishing in 4 place. One has to wonder if he would have won, were it not for a tire puncture early on.

Speaking of Mika, I will never forget The Pass at Spa ‘00 … Simply Epic. I miss their rivalry.

I’ll refer to my fave F1 photographers at Schlegelmilch.com for shots of Michael and Ferrari. (I blame the Schlegelmilch family for getting me started on zoom blurs :-)

With a little more practice, Luca could lay down the olympic rings in rubber. From the Opening Ceremony in Torino.

2/18 - apparently this video has been pulled from YouTube …

If you’re an F1 fan, you know where to find the info about the sad state of politics in the sport.

I used to follow Formula 1 Racing quite closely, and have attended Nurburging ‘99, Australia ‘00, and Monaco ‘00. I can’t imagine any of the fans making the trek to Indy ‘05 feeling anything but utter disappointment at the complete debacle of today’s “race” (only 6 cars starting out of 14). Of course, this doesn’t excuse the handful of idiots that started throwing debris on the track.

For Michelin to come to Indy for the 6th time in as many years, and not be able to produce a safe tire is incomprehensible. For the FIA to not allow a chicane in Turn 13, when it seemed to be the only sensible compromise, proves them to be an incarnation of bureacratic inflexibility. It was absolutely amazing to see 14 cars return to the garage at the end of the formation lap. Sad, but understandable from their point of view (your tire supplier tells you the tires are not safe, what do you do?)

This incident will only speed the split between the teams and the FIA. It’s glaringly obvious that the FIA does not have the interests of the fans in mind. I look forward to the creation of a series that is not run Eccelstone and Mosley.

Three years ago this weekend, I watched Thursday practice for the Formula 1 GP of Monaco from the Rascasse. I watched qualifying from an apartment across the street from the pits, and the race from a grandstand overlooking the harbor.

Monaco, in racing terms, is a total anachronism. Heinz-Harald Frentzen has compared it to “trying to ride a bicycle in your living room”. Guardrails are over your head. It’s like driving through a canyon. The pits are very cramped. There’s hardly any place for overtaking.
The streets are narrow and bumpy.

But most would have it no other way. The atmosphere is electric! You can check the SpeedTV listings to see when to set up TiVO or a VCR to record qualifying/race (hint: 5:00 am PST…)

If you ever get the chance, go! I can heartily recommend Grand Prix Tours. We stayed in Nice, FR, and took the crowded trains with many true Tifosi. It’s fun, hot, happy, and so much to see that is unlike any other event - a swirl of glitterati, personal helicopters, lots of great food and swag on the street, and tons of fans coming off trains from France and Italy.

Michael Schumacher won the San Marino GP today at Imola, just hours
after his mother passed away. He and his brother, Ralf (4th), were
surely href="http://www.speedtv.com/articles/auto/formulaone/5946/">put to
it by the mix of emotions.

It’s a tribute to Michael that he was able to hold it together
at such a difficult time. Can you imagine? Imola is often emotional
(Ayrton Senna died there in 1994). For Ferrari to get their first
victory of the season (and for Rubens to pick up a 3rd place), under
such circumstances, adds another chapter to that legacy. His
mother, who avidly encouraged the Schumacher brothers
throughout their karting years, would have been very proud.

Condolences to Schumi and Ralf.