SPECTATOR SPORT
Move over Schumacher
Simon Barnes
IN about half a second, the carefully assem- bled beliefs of three years were shattered. Michael Schumacher of Germany is one of the greatest drivers ever: this is the required creed in Formula One motor- racing. Mika Hakkinen of Finland has, for the past two years, somehow got in the way of Schumacher's destiny; for successive years he has been a champion by default.
Now it is one of those Emperor's-new- clothes truths about Formula One that it is, in fact, an extremely boring thing to watch: just cars going round and round (you get no impression of speed from television) and, occasionally, thrillingly stopping for petrol.
Its charm comes from the soap-opera side, which is surreal and, if you let it get beneath your guard, enthralling. But big moments of live action are far rarer than wickets in a Test match; race after race goes by, its audience remaining hooked by the prospect of what nearly happened and what might happen next time around.
Yet last weekend brought what has already been called 'the best ever manoeuvre in grand prix racing'. Admit- tedly, this assertion came from Ron Den- nis, Hakkinen's team boss at McAllen, but even unbiased observers of the sport agree that he didn't get it that far wrong.
So, if the salt-cellar is Schumacher's Fer- rari, the pepper-pot is Hakkinen. First, Hakkinen tries to overtake and Schumacher shifts across the track to block him. This insanely aggressive move is Schumacher's trademark, and is regarded as one of his lov- able peccadillos, for people see in Schumach- er the true racer. Compared to Schumacher, everyone else is just a driver. Or so it seemed.
So round they.go, with Schumacher still in front, and they meet this mustard-pot, which is Ricardo Zonta's car, one of the back- markers. They must both lap him before con- tinuing their duel. Schumacher sweeps past majestically on the left, but Hakkinen sling- shots through on Zonta's right: pity poor Zonta sitting there petrified as he is passed on both sides by cars travelling at 200 mph.
But Schumacher was far more amazed than Zonta, for he came out of his overtak- ing manoeuvre to find Hakkinen not behind but ahead: it was as if reality itself had been altered. Hakkinen must have dematerialised and then become solid again a few crucial yards further on. And off Hakkinen went, roaring away to victory: the pepper-pot wins. And the entire sport has changed its opinion of Hakkinen: not a soulless accumulator of points after all, but a racer to inflame the blood of petrol-heads the world over.
It took courage to go for this move, but you take courage for granted at the high levels of any sport, especially motor-racing. The truly breathtaking thing was Hakld- nen's self-certainty. That was the quality that enabled him to bring it off. It did not seem as if he was taking a risk. The move was born of perfect confidence.
Hakkinen was living in that extraordinary moment when a top sportsman truly believes that he can do anything he wants. This total empowerment, this moment of perfect inspiration, is a thing that comes but rarely even to a serial witness of great sporting events. For the performers they are rarer still. Even for the great, they come a handful of times in a lifetime. They are worth savouring when they do.
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