United States Grand Prix for Schumacher
If you had the chance, would you go to a baseball game to see Babe Ruth or Joe
DiMaggio or Hank Aaron play? If you had the chance, would you go to an auto race
to see A.J. Foyt or Richard Petty or Ayrton Senna drive?
If you had the
chance, would you go to a golf tournament to see Jack Nicklaus or Arnold Palmer
or Tiger Woods at their best? If you had the chance, would you go to a soccer
game to see Pele or Ronaldo or Maradona at the height of their art? If you had a
chance, would you watch NFL greats Joe Montana or Walter Payton or Jerry Rice
playing at their best?
In any sport, if you had the chance to see the
best of the best, a legend in the making, a hero, a true master, a person who
will go down in history as one of the greatest ever…if you had the chance, would
you go?
History is in the making right now in Formula One. Records are being smashed.
Records that may never be broken are being set. The person doing all this has
already become a legend in his own time. If you want to see a legend, come to
the SAP United States Grand Prix on Sept. 29 at the Indianapolis Motor
Speedway.
Come and see the astounding Michael Schumacher. Come and see
one of the greatest drivers of all time. Come and see the Ferrari F2002, one of
the best Formula One cars in history. Come and see somebody you will tell your
grandchildren about.
It is fitting that three great legends will come
together at this year's SAP United States Grand Prix. Start with the venue, the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was built in 1909, has played host to the
Indianapolis 500 since 1911 and already has become the modern- day classic venue
of the United States Grand Prix in just three short years. Add Ferrari, the
fabled Italian team steeped in Motorsports history for more than 50 years. And
then add Michael Schumacher, one of the greatest drivers of all
time.
Indianapolis. Ferrari. Schumacher. It is a dazzling mix of three of
the most famous names in all of auto racing. Schumacher already has set just
about every record there is in Formula One. By the time he gets to Indianapolis
for the SAP United States Grand Prix on Sept. 29, he will add more numbers to
those records.
Earlier this year, Schumacher won his fifth FIA World
Drivers Championship, tying Juan Manuel Fangio's record. And Schumacher won this
year's championship in record time. Schumacher's victory in this year's Belgian
Grand Prix means that he now has a record 10 wins in a single season. After 14
races this season, Schumacher's career win tally stands at 63, which puts him
far ahead of Alain Prost (51 wins) and Senna (41 wins), who are next in the
record book.
After 14 races this season, Schumacher was only two points
away from breaking the record of 123 points scored in a single season that he
set last year. Schumacher holds the record for career points scored, fastest
race laps and laps led. And he's equalled Jim Clark's hat-trick record of
earning a pole position, victory and fastest race lap in an event with a total
of 11. Schumacher also holds the record of 19 consecutive top-six finishes and
16 consecutive podium finishes. He's won both the pole and the race at least
once at every Grand Prix on the current calendar.
But Schumacher still
has a few more records to set. By the Belgian Grand Prix this year, he had
earned 48 pole positions, so he has a way to go before catching Senna's record
of 65 poles. And he needs to win another World Championship to stand alone ahead
of Fangio with six titles.
In F1, the cars are the stars, as well. This
year's Ferrari F2002 is one of the greatest F1 cars ever created. It ranks up
there with the Lotus-Ford 79 that Mario Andretti used to win the 1978 World
Championship, the McLaren-Honda MP4-4 that Senna and Prost used to dominate the
1988 season and the Williams-Renault FW14B that Nigel Mansell drove to the 1992
title.
Ferrari has already clinched the Constructors Championship this
year, bringing the team's total to a record 12. By the time they get to
Indianapolis, Schumacher and his teammate, Rubens Barrichello, will aim for the
record 199 points that McLaren racked up in the 1988 season.
Three of the
true legends of Formula One – Schumacher, Ferrari and the Indianapolis Motor
Speedway – will be on display in full glory during the SAP United States Grand
Prix on Sept. 29.