“There are no atheists in a foxhole.” I am not sure who said this to me during a Formula One weekend in Europe. It might have been Michael Schumacher, then not yet world champion or winner of a record 91 races. He was already being hailed as successor to the great Ayrton Senna, who had been killed in a crash earlier that season.
Faith—not necessarily religious—is an important element in a sportsman’s kit bag. It reduces anxiety and boosts self-confidence. You don’t have to be a book-thumping member of a religious group to believe in a greater power. Current world champion Lewis Hamilton has said, “God has his hand over me.” It is enough to believe. Faith asks no questions.
Senna himself had a pragmatic way of looking at it, though. “Because I believe in god and have faith in god, it doesn’t mean I am immortal. It doesn’t mean I am immune, as has been claimed. I am as scared as anyone of getting hurt, especially driving a Formula One...
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