"I think the problem is that you don't ever see his true personality. He's a racer - but a pure racer, nothing but a racer and, because of that, I think the day he hangs up his helmet people will just forget him. Senna, by contrast, will never be forgotten. Some of that is the James Dean factor, of course, because he was killed in action at a young age, but not all of it. I don't even think Michael will live on in people's memories as strong or as long as Prost has - certainly not as strong or as long as Mansell has. Those people attained a hero status that Michael never has and never will.

Michael simply isn't a great champion because he's played too many dirty tricks and because he isn't a great human being. Yes, Senna played dirty tricks too but he did it with more class, more integrity. When he took Prost out at Suzuka in 1990, he said he was going to do it before the race.

So, unlike Michael, who ridiculously insisted he was innocent at Monaco this year, Senna said, 'Yes, I did it. But I told you before the race that I was going to do it.' That's very different from what Michael did at Monaco and Jerez and Adelaide. Senna wasn't lying to the fans. Michael was. And the sad thing is that, of course, the fans accept it - they swear black is white, in fact - just so that they can go on respecting the sport they love. And Michael takes advantage of that loyalty."

Jacques claims that Michael will never be considered great, this sounds quite preposterous coming from a man who has been fired from 3 seperate racing teams, two specifically because of his poor performance. Perhaps Michael will never be considered great, but considering the fact that he has broken almost every possible record and is the most successful racer of all time, this seems highly unlikely.

As for Villeneuve's claims that Schumacher has abused his fans, well he may be correct to a certain extent. As Jacques points out, Michael's actions at the Monaco Grand Prix took advantage of his fan's loyalty, they believed without any possible doubt that Michael had not acted illegaly, while he in fact did.

Jacques referance to Senna might be a bit inacurate though. Senna came from a time when running your opponent off the track was considered to be an almost normal part of racing, this is no longer the case today. Interestingly enough, Schumacher is from this time, and this could explain to an extent why Michael takes actions which today are frowned upon. That is not to say that Michael is justified in acting in an illegal action, but it does provide some reasoning as to why he works as he does.

August 21, 2006