Michael Schumacher temporarily secured pole position in today’s qualifying at the Monaco Grand Prix. Due to the incident whereby he ran into the back of Bruno Senna at the Spanish Grand Prix, he received a five place-grid penalty to take effect at the next grand prix. But the fact remains, Schumacher got his first pole position since his return back in 2010.
With it, many have expressed that his critics have finally been proved wrong. But that’s not entirely true…
Grabbing pole position is only half the battle. We have to remain realistic here. For us Schumacher fans, pole position feels like a win. His critics however, will regard it as just a fluke! Now, he will always have critics who will never admit defeat and then there are those other critics who will put a sock in it when they see Schumacher win a race.
If Schumacher can stay out of trouble and take advantage of others mistakes, then a win is on the cards. Monaco is a difficult track when it comes to overtaking as more care is needed so as to not clip a barrier. Being a five time winner, Schumacher should know this track like the back of his hand giving him the advantage over the field.
If he is to silence the critics, even just for a moment, he needs to do just that! A win, at Monaco no less, would prove that Schumacher still has what it takes and is more than able to fight sight by side with the new generation of Formula One drivers.
For us fans, he has nothing to prove. He is a seven time world champion after all! But I for one would like to see the start of a long line of retractions and apologies from his most loved critics. I am sure I am not alone when I say, I would like to see him grace the top step of the podium and see that infamous leap we have been missing ever so much!
Motorsport Reflections 