Formula 1
Secret Diary of Michael Schumacher: Part 44
Saturday June 25 2005
44: Part Vier und Vierzig: USGP
Michael Schumacher gives us another insightful glimpse into events inside the Ferrari camp after their 1-2 triumph at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Hello, my suitably invigorated Ferrari chums – well, you cannot ask better than that. Ten points from the USGP, a Ferrari 1-2 and the opposition nowhere in sight!
Our success was so extreme that later, when we were out of shot of the cameras, we could really explode with excitement and do our usual celebrations of joy. Someone in the German media has suggested Rubens and I donate our winners trophies to a charity auction, because we did not win them fairly and in a square form. But no, it is my 84th win and I shall keep it.
If we are looking on the black side, then it may be my only win of 2005. Perhaps it will be my last win of all time – which is very unlikely, I know, but you have to look at the total possibilities.
It was a strange race to have and I certainly did not intend to bump into Rubens at the first corner after my final pit-stop. The Ferrari rules are simple. We do not need team orders – whoever is in front after the final pit-stops, stays in front. Unless we are in Monaco, though, when that is completely different.
After the race I was a little bit worrying that the FIA might have noticed we weren’t racing any more and were driving much slower, but they have so much to investigate I think we will be able to hide that one under our carpet.
Also, my role in helping design the new chicane that the GPDA said was okay. I hope no-one points to that. Max Mosley, of course, is the only one who can say what is safest. Not the guys who actually know the handling of 2005 F1 machines. It’s better to have someone in an office 10,000 miles away who is not involved and can make an objective decision without letting his own personal bias get in the way of the situation.
Looking back at the RTL replays of the race, it was sad to see that whilst Rubens and I were battling it out in the front, the US fans didn’t get a good show down the rest of the field. It was also strange to see men in Ferrari shirts going up to TV reporters and demanding their money back – they were seeing me at the height of my powers, winning and dicing and duelling and all that exciting business, and they couldn’t even keep their bottom cheeks on a seat.
What the fans didn’t know is that they had it in with their powers to stop the race and have it re-started. If enough of them had been throwing objects onto the track they would have had to stop and think again. Niki Lauda was telling me of a race he had with James Hunt at the Hatch of Brands, British GP and when the fans heard that James Hunt had been excluded they stormed onto the track and would not let it start – or similar.
The organisers HAD to let James start or they would not have had a race. I think if it had been in Italy, UK, France or Germany, we would have had similar protests and objects or people on the track saying no, this is wrong. Because the US fans are polite and their cops have guns, we only got a few beer cans.
There is a very unkind rumour going round the Ferrari motorhome that Jean Todt’s new wife Michelle Yeah or Yo! Or Yeoh, or something like that, is asking for her money back. The whole idea was that she buys this potion, kisses the frog and it turns into a handsome prince. Instead she has kissed Jean and he has turned into jumper wearer of the year.
We are going to ask the FIA to put a new electronic display on their timing system It gives ambient temperature, track temperature and whether we are above or below the Jean Todt jumper removal temperature.
Finally a very fascinating fact that I want to share with you. What is Fernando Alonso’s job? An F1 driver for Reanult? No. He is actually the Flight Test Director of the new European Airbus superjumbo, the A380. No wondering Franck Montagny has to do all their race testing.
Here’s a tip for the French GP. Save your money, don’t bet on Tiago Monteiro
Love ‘n.’ maty cuddles, your big 10 points winning Schum
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Disclaimer: I am not the author, but have archived these entries for posterity as I felt that they were so well written by "Michael Schumacher" for Planet-F1 (who have removed almost all of the originals from their website).
