Schumacher wins a landslide victory

13 April 2012

God bless America, land that it is possible to love under some circumstances, specifically these. If Formula One was to gain any footing in the United States after its nine-year absence, then only victory for Michael Schumacher would do. Yesterday his Ferrari became an American express, and it did very nicely indeed.

Granted, some pretty dull Americans have won their share of CART and NASCAR races on the hallowed tarmac of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. But the very thought of a championship-boosting win at the US Grand Prix for the charisma-free Mika Hakkinen was enough to have many a Formula One devotee swinging from the nearest gibbet.

The Finn is a decent cove but it is an unfair world. In a contest between the two, it is hard not to hope that this, at the sixth time of asking, will be the year of Schumacher's Ferrari.

The situation is promising. With an eight-point advantage and two races left, the German can mathematically take the title at the next joust, in Japan. He can even afford to finish second in both remaining races. In that case two victories for Hakkinen would put him level on points but still leave Schumacher with one victory more, giving him the title.

Within the confines of the famous old oval, it was possible to believe that Formula One matters to America at large. Undaunted by the cold and the deluge two hours before the Grand Prix began, almost 250,000 spectators packed the stands. But such attendance is not a reliable gauge of broad public opinion, given that the local petrolheads would turn out in equal numbers for a lawn mower contest.

Time will tell if Formula One made much of an impact beyond the Indianapolis city limits.

Schumacher did his best to win favour, along with the race. Indeed, it could be said that between arrival and departure he under-went a complete personality transformation. Last Thursday, he and other drivers seemed not to have quite grasped that this weekend was meant to be Formula One's big sell to the American public. The basics of courtesy would not have gone amiss. Locals were not impressed.

"Have you noticed that all Formula One cars are designed with their noses raised in the air?" queried one commentator. "Kind of a metaphor, wouldn't you say?"

No wonder. Schumacher and others shrugged and mumbled their way through media conferences, looking frankly bored. All were asked whether they felt a sense of motorsport history about the venue, in response to which Schumacher was frankly rude.

"I'm not a fan of motorsport history," he said loftily. "It doesn't interest me. This is just another track."

Even Jacques Villeneuve, who won the sacred Indy 500 here in his CART championship season of 1995, was flip about it.

"Just because you're a driver doesn't mean you're interested in the sport's history," he said. "I spent my whole two seasons in CART hearing how some legendary driver or other used this toilet door at such and such a time, and so the door was left there forever to mark the historical significance of the toilet. It isn't like that in Formula One."

Now, it may be true that Schumacher and Villeneuve care not a hoot about motorsport history - although in Schumacher's case that does not tally with his public tears at Monza when he drew level with Ayrton Senna's total of career victories - but to be so blunt about their indifference was not what the occasion called for.

Indianapolis is the holiest of motorsport venues to American fans. Imagine the outrage if the leading US golfers shrugged with smart arse lethargy when asked if they felt a sense of history on arrival at St Andrews.

By last night it seemed very much as if someone had instructed Schumacher that when in Rome, make like the Romans. Suddenly the German couldn't gush enough about the fans, the venue and the history of it all. He was positively humble.

"This is really, really nice," he oozed. "We never expected to get such a great welcome from the American fans. They were magnificent, the best.

"Round the last couple of laps I was thinking about being the first Formula One winner here. It's great. It means a lot to me."

Naturally, Schumacher was not so overwhelmed that he forgot to slag off David Coulthard's tactics, as usual. But all the same, such modesty was quite eerie. Any minute now he'll be running for Congress.

Running on a Ferrari ticket, he would win the Indiana State vote by a landslide.

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Schumacher wins a landslide victory

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