My thoughts on the finale of the 2006 F1 season

Schumi goes out in style in Sau Paulo

He didn’t win the title or even the race. Indeed he didn’t even make the podium. However, Michael Schumacher’s farewell drive in Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix illustrated the grit, skill and determination that has made him the greatest driver Formula One racing has ever seen.
The odds were stacked against the Ferrari star from the outset after technical problems in qualifying at Interlagos left him only tenth on the grid. However, an excellent start saw him up to sixth place by the time the safety car intervened following Williams’ Nico Rosberg’s early accident.Soon after the race restarted, Schumacher dived down the inside of Giancarlo Fisichella’s Renault to seize P4, but as he exited the Senna S he appeared to lose the back end of the car, the Italian promptly regaining the position. The cause of the slide quickly became clear - a left-rear puncture thought to have been caused by debris on the track.Schumacher limped back to the pits to take on fuel and fresh rubber, but when he rejoined he was running 19th - and last. However, he was immediately back up to speed, slamming in fastest sector times and slicing his way past backmarkers. His progress slowed somewhat when he once more found himself behind Fisichella in the closing stages, but the Renault driver was eventually forced into a mistake by Schumacher’s relentless pressure, running wide at Turn 1 and surrendering fifth place in the process.McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen - the man who will replace Schumacher at Ferrari - was the next target, and the Finn defended aggressively to maintain fourth place. It took a special move from Schumacher, the pair going side-by-side into Turn 1 just inches apart, with the seven-time champion ultimately emerging ahead.That left him chasing Jenson Button for a podium, but with just two laps remaining there simply wasn’t time to catch the Honda, despite Schumacher's penultimate lap being the fastest of the race, over half a second quicker than team mate Felipe Massa’s best.Schumacher’s competitive Formula One career may be over, but true to form, the great man entertained us to the last. Thank you Michael.

The article above was taken from www.formula1.com
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5 pts was the difference between the top 2 constructor teams. Renault won it (206) by just pipping Ferrari (201) to bring home the constructor's trohpy. Kudos to Renault and Alonso who brought home both titles. Not forgetting Massa who wowed his home fans with a superb drive. Massa seems to be on form to win more races and with a great car on hand, it can only get better for him. For those in LPS, Galileo hse won Edison hse by 5 pts as well in this year's annual school sports meet. I cld see the similarities between Edison hse and the Ferrari team: their determination. Despite Edison hse conceding the championship to Galileo hse who also displayed great perservarance, both fought a good fight. Schumi fought till the very last sec and so did Edison hse participants. This is truly what i call "never ever give up or admit defeat while the race is still on."

So what is the lesson here? Its does not matter if the odds are stacked against you. What matters is that you give your 110%, put in your best effort. Winning may be impt but it is the whole process that you go through that makes you a better person and steepens you learning curve. Schumi may not have won but as the article mentioned above, he retired with style and many will remember him as the best driver ever in the history of motor sports. I sure do.