As most F1 fans in the city reel over the news of their hero Michael Schumacher, in a critical coma after his skiing accident on Sunday, one in particular seems to be hit the hardest. "It's painful to wake up to the thought of Schumacher in a coma," says Chennai's woman bike racer, Alisha Abdullah. As her foremost hero growing up, she tells us that while she has never met him, his victories were hers whenever a race was won. "I remember buying cake when he won a race once and giving it to all my friends when I was 12," she says with a laugh. "They thought it was really funny at the time."
And then there were the cardboard boxes she would paint to look like Ferraris, with a small MS scrawled by the side. "I've never met him, but I've learnt so many lessons that have shaped my racing," the youngster lets on. These include everything from his protein diet, "his favourite meal is rice and Thai fish curry," she tells us off the bat — to his amazing grit and talent on the track. "I would keep watching this video of his, where an egg and coin were kept side by side on the corner of a track during one of his practice sessions. And Schumi did 50 laps turning the same corner... they checked later and found tire marks on the coin, but the egg was still intact!"
While her biggest dream is to meet the great Schumacher appears a bleak possibility at this point, Alisha vows, "I know I can if I set my mind to it." She adds quickly, "Of course I don't think now is an appropriate time, I don't want to look like a crazy stalker. But definitely when his health is back on track." Will there be a cake to celebrate first? "Definitely something crazier," she smiles.