[MFAFF]

Dottore,

No thankfully I'm not a lawyer, use them lots; but not one of them.

And to be honest I have had a long professional and personal association with one of the 'greatest ever' in my own field.

And you know what... MS fits that mould exactly...a dedicated, talented, focused person, whose entire life is their profession.

To all those who meet him he is charm personified, attentive and modest...he has built up a very successful business that employs hundreds of people, he has generated income that is, in our field, unheard of previously, he has won awards and accolades globally for the work his office produces, has built professional links to national leaders in almost every continent... you get the drift..yet that in itself is a facade, a mask deployed to ensure people are supportive and do their best for him.. a remarkable leadership trait. But it is all a mask, a skill being deployed for his benefit...

The reason they are modest and shy is often insecurity, not in their abilities as an XYZ, but in their social skills. They have devoted so much of their time to success that they have omitted to provide time for social development...and being perfectionists they seek to work even harder to fit in, to not appear aloof and arrogant or worse , not as able as others.

Similarly the giving away for vast sums of money is only partly altrusitic...even MS, living in Switzerland has tax issues to deal with. This donation is a means of accomodating that, of creating a good profile and of genuine concern for others..

Get beyond that mask, strip it away and an entirely different beast is revealled. One which knows no dissent, no compromise for others, in any area of life...because they do not permit it to themselves. This never demeans their success or ability, but it does bring into question their greatness.
Whilst they may be the best ever, they may not be great.

On the other hand I have know truely able, successful and great people in other fields. They have all the success, all of the ability, but they also know that regardless they are not special people. They are ordinary people with extraordinary abilities....their first priority is to enusre those skills and abilities are what they are known for, not thier success, not their generosity or records, but the skill.

Race day snippets...whilst he is gracious in this thanks to his tema and sponsors.. he has rarely acknowledged his competitors. As we know the best championships are those which have pitted two or more protagonists in a down to the wire result. The only time he has was against Mika H, when he was outdriven, not by a better package, but by a driver who displayed more determination to win.. that he respected and admired. He was ungracious in losing the championship last year, perfering to leave excuses about the material than acknowledging his part in that team failure.. afterall if he takes credit for the rebirth of Ferrari he takes equal blame for the glitch..

As for the hand full of incidents perhaps looking at it the other way would help... If you live a life of probity and conformity, yet just once you break the law and get caught for it you are still a criminal.

Say Paul Thayer or Randy Cunnigham... great heroes, American symbols, very successful in their filed; whose weakness is what they are actually accountable for...

In F1 terms MS falls into that category, a brilliant driver, a dedicated professional with a fanastic record of success, yet with the certain knowledge that he will 'cheat' for want of a better word, to win.

In saying that I do not for an instant think that FA is a 'greater' driver than MS.. he has yet to prove himself in both consistency and ability, all he has done is beat one of the best in a convinncing manner. It brings him into the contention but does not make him a fully fledged member. He needs a few more years to do that.

As for bitterness I think you are mis-tagging my comments. I couldn't care less who or which team wins.. provided it is the person and team that on the day made the most of the opportunites, the work, the conditions etc on the day and did so within the rules that are set out...I'm equally happy to see a Super Aguri win as a Renault or McLaren.

I'm less happy to see a Ferrari win because at the back of my mind is the lingering doubt, a suspicion if you will, borne out over time that they are not playing to the same rules as every one else..and that to me is a sufficient bar to greatness.

Like Lancia's domination of the rallies in the 90s being over hauled by Toyota..it was all great until Toyota were 'discovered' to be using illegal turbos.....it undermines the results, it undermines the sport...and hence makes it a cynical exercise.

MS's ability is uncontested, as is his record...what is being ontested is his greatness...he is a remarkable competitor..but is he a great one?