You'd think someone with his experience would have a fairly easy time taking the lead in the championship standings, but that hasn't been the case. For one thing, he's driving for a new team, Mercedes-McLaren rather than Ferrari, and this weekend, he's racing on a course he's never driven before. Tire and auto technology have advanced since he retired, and now he's facing a learning curve similar to the one confronting younger, as well as newer, drivers.
During his final lap in the qualifying heats, he was informed by his mechanics team (two-way radios are standard in Formula One) that there was a problem with his power steering and he was asked if could he finish. Silence from Michael as he pushed his car faster and ended up in the top grid. Said one commentator with a chuckle, "I guess that's his answer."
I love seeing a veteran doing what s/he loves and making a comeback. And particularly so when his position in the standings doesn't place him anywhere near the lead. I'm guessing he got plenty of advice, before deciding to return to racing, that suggested this was a risky venture. To begin with, he's older, he's out of practice, and he has his reputation to think about. Did he really want to appear like a former champion who didn't know when to quit?
Apparently, he's got sufficient ego strength and self-awareness to take that risk for the sake of living the life he values the most. He may be like Lance Armstrong, who has begun racing again simply because he loves it. Winning is fine, but he's riding for deeper reasons, to achieve fulfillment, to be his very best self.
Formula One is an expensive enterprise and while having Michael on the team is good PR, sooner or later he's got to pay the rent. I feel certain he knows this and fully intends to do so, leaving those who said he should be cautious to think again.
Sometimes you just have to prove a point.
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About a month ago I got my annual statement from Social Security, and noticed that retirement age (the most financially secure one, anyway) is 70. I suppose retiring any earlier that that would leave a desire to get back into the game...
ReplyDeleteMy friend and coauthor Lynn Smith was in his late 70s when we met, had been retired a couple of years, and planned on leaving retirement behind for a new career as a full-time consultant in mind-body integrative medicine when wrote our book.
ReplyDeleteI think Lance, Michael, and Lynn are persons who show us that careers don't have to be merely higher level or higher paying "jobs." They become a vehicle for self-expression and as long as a person is happiest in that role, they ought to be free to pursue it, in whatever ways suit them. I recently noted a news program about a doctor in Alabama (I believe) who is 101 and continues to see patients on a daily basis. He's never retired and most likely, never will. If someone wishes to retire, and I have a good friend who did so at 60 and is quite happy with his life, that's great. But if someone wishes to do what they do until they drop, by all means, go for it. :-)