Schumi saying GudBye F1 :(

THERE have been so many fairytale moments in Michael Schumacher’s extraordinary career in Formula One — and there have been nightmares too — but yesterday, in the sunshine of Ferrari’s home track, he announced his impending retirement amid the adulation of his most loyal fans after a textbook victory in the Italian Grand Prix.What was also written in advance, but also drew emotion from the crowd - now amassed on the track to celebrate the victory - was the announcement that Schumacher said he would make about his future in the sport he has dominated for more than a decade.

"This is going to be my last Monza race. At the end of the year, I have decided together with the team that I am going to retire from racing. It has been an exceptional, really exceptional time that motor sport, in more than 30 years, has given to me."

"It's been a very special day, to finish it in this style, looking at the championship, but much more at what's going to happen in the future," Schumacher, 37, said in response to the first question in the post-race press conference broadcast through loudspeakers to the spectators and television.

The word legend is used in sport too loosely these days, but whatever your feelings about him, Schumacher is one of them. His leaving marks the end of an era in motor racing that he has defined by his mere presence. So many wins, so many pole positions, so many fastest laps, so many defeated opponents, most of whom have long since disappeared into the sunset — and two or three awful moments that let him down in 16 years behind the wheel at the highest level.

P.S. - Extracts from various news articles.