Michael Schumacher
When Michael Schumacher burst onto the Grand Prix stage with a sensational qualifying performance on his debut for Jordan at Spa, the Grand Prix hype-machine went into overdrive, billing this young 'unknown' as the next Senna. In truth Michael's racing career had been very carefully planned before he ever stepped into a Formula One car, and he had the comforting prospect of major manufacturer and commercial backing with which to develop his top-level career. However, he has since proved beyond all doubt that he has been the supreme driver of his age, and statistically, overwhelmingly the greatest of all time.
A former karting star with but a single season of Formula Ford 1600 and Formula König in 1988 behind him, Schumacher was signed by leading German F3 team OTS to support Heinz-Harald Frentzen in 1989. It was a closely contested season, with the pair both finishing just one point behind series winner Karl Wendlinger. It was then that Mercedes sporting director Jochen Neerpasch stepped in with his junior-driver scheme that placed all three drivers in the Sauber-Mercedes Group C programme for 1990. Under the wise tutelage of Jochen Mass, the drivers were schooled in the art of handling big, powerful cars in a very disciplined and professional framework. In parallel to his sports car drives, Michael was back in German F3, and this time won the series comfortably. He also took in two end-of-season races at Fuji and Macau, and confirmed his talent by winning them both.
Most drivers would want to try their hand at F3000 by this time, but Michael was happy to stay within the confines of the Mercedes team. This second season saw a change of emphasis with the young lions Schumacher and Wendlinger paired together and allowed their heads. Both did an excellent job, but the consensus was that Michael had the edge, the pair's reward after a trouble-strewn year being victory in the round at Autopolis. With a Formula One drive inevitable sooner (as it would turn out) or later, nothing was left to chance and Neerpasch arranged for Schumacher to race a Formula 3000 car at Sugo, well away from the glare of publicity. He finished second and enjoyed the different experience of racing a powerful single-seater.
A month later came the Jordan drive at Spa which, after his stirring deeds in practice, ended disappointingly when Michael's clutch failed at the start. Suddenly Schumacher was a hot property and, after much legal wrangling, the somewhat bemused driver was whisked off to join the Benetton team in time for the next race at Monza. Three points-scoring finishes in his first three races were more than enough evidence for Flavio Briatore to plan the team's future around the German star and he was not to disappoint.
In his first full Grand Prix season Michael proved to be not only very quick but also remarkably consistent, rarely making costly mistakes and putting in some scintillating performances such as his second place to Mansell in the rain at Barcelona and his climb through the field to third at Monza after being left at the start. Of course, the supreme moment was his fully deserved, if slightly fortunate, win at Spa where he made his own luck - and reaped the rewards.
The 1993 season provided more evidence of Schumacher's increasing maturity. Only Williams' dominance stood between him and the top step of the podium on numerous occasions and he took a superbly thought-out win at Estoril. Much work was done over the winter months, and when the new Benetton B194, mated with the Ford Zetec-R V8 engine, was placed in Schumacher's hands he left Senna and Williams struggling in his wake in the opening two races. It seemed that the balance of power might be about to shift, and tragically it did so at Imola, leaving Michael with the prospect of chasing a world championship that he felt would be much devalued by the loss of the Brazilian. From then on his season was to be surrounded by controversy. Amid rumblings that the team were running some form of traction control, Schumacher won six of the first seven Grands Prix, but he was excluded at Silverstone for ignoring the black flag, which was later to earn him a two-race ban, and this, together with the loss of his crushing win at Spa when he was disqualified for having an illegal skid-block, left the door open for Damon Hill to make a late challenge for the title. When the pair collided in Adelaide, Schumacher became Germany's first world champion, but the manner of his triumph was tarnished and can have brought him little inner satisfaction.
The following season was to be a different matter entirely as Schumacher, given superb support by the whole Benetton squad, ruthlessly exposed the shortcomings of both the Williams team and their drivers. From the Spanish Grand Prix onwards Michael upped the stakes to put in a succession of brilliant performances. His dominant wins in Monaco, France and Germany looked almost routine, especially when compared with his extraordinary displays at Spa (where he drove through the field from a lowly 16th place on the grid) and in the European GP at the Nürburgring, where, quite frankly, the rest of the field, Alesi apart, were made to look like novices. It was fitting that Michael and Benetton had the opportunity to win the 1995 championship in a manner that reflected their talent and commitment.
It was natural that Ferrari, so long in the doldrums, should look to Schumacher to return them to the top and they were prepared to stump up a massive retainer to capture his signature. With a huge amount of restructuring needed, his immediate championship prospects for 1996 were not deemed bright, but the German still produced drives of genius, such as in the wet in Spain, and later in the season at Spa and Monza. It was much the same story the following year as Michael took the fight to the superior Williams of Jacques Villeneuve, brilliant wins in the wet at both Monaco and Spa and on slicks on a treacherous track at Magny Cours emphasising his mesmeric car control. His refusal to concede defeat was to lead to an inglorious end to his title challenge in a Jerez gravel trap after an outrageous manoeuvre on his title rival. Schumacher was subsequently stripped of his points and his second place in the championship.
With the slate wiped clean for 1998, Ferrari was still the underdog, as McLaren Mercedes now boasted the fastest machine on the track. Michael again ruthlessly took advantage of any weakness shown by his rivals and some of his drives (such as in Hungary, and at Spa before he ran into the back of Coulthard's ambling McLaren) were on a different plane from the rest. In the end stalling the Ferrari on the grid at Suzuka effectively stymied his title chances for the third time in as many years, but it would be churlish to criticise the German too harshly for his error, as it was only his brilliance that had extended the title fight to the end.
Schumacher and Ferrari were left facing a fourth attempt to clinch a championship that by now must have seemed like the Holy Grail. Dominant performances at Imola and in Monaco provided a satisfactory start, but a relatively low-speed shunt on the first lap of the British Grand Prix left the unlucky German with a broken leg. His title chances were gone but Michael still had a major part to play in the championship battle.
Having seen Eddie Irvine take over Maranello's challenge and carry the fight to McLaren with tremendous effect, the German was back in action at the penultimate race in Malaysia to aid his team mate. Not only did he claim pole position but he also dominated the race, allowing Irvine to win and, at the same time, blunting Häkkinen's challenge in a brilliant but controversial display of team tactics. At Suzuka, he seemed unable to match the pace of the Finn, who duly took a well-deserved second title.
For Michael, the dream of being the first Ferrari driver to win the World championship since 1979 still remained, and the 2000 campaign saw the German partnered by Rubens in a year where it all went right for the Scuderia. A record-equalling nine wins, including three straight at the beginning of the year and another four in a row at the end, clinched that first Ferrari drivers' title since 1979, and Schumacher's third since his impressive entry to F1. In all, the German scored 108 points to nearest challenger Mika Hakkinen's 89 and, had it not been for two successive mid-season accidents - on the startline in both Germany and Austria - the gap could have been even greater.
For 2001, Ferrari managed to retain the line-up that brought it that success. Despite rumours that several key technical members may have been tempted to pastures new, Ross Brawn, Jean Todt, Paolo Martinelli and Rory Byrne all remained on board, determined to give Schumacher a fourth crown and Ferrari back-to-back triumphs.
Their decision paid off and Schumacher dominated the season. The new F2001 looked full of potential right from Melbourne onwards and, as his challengers self-destructed, Schumacher was again the man to beat. Nine wins in the season equalled the record the German already shared with Nigel Mansell, but the title was sewn up by Hungary mid-summer and further successes saw the now four-time champion surpass Alain Prost's records for career wins and total points. Sadly for the rest of the field, much the same occurred in 2002. Indeed, Michael romped to his fifth world title, equalling the record set by Juan Manuel Fangio.
Schumacher again won the title in record breaking time, clinching the crown at the French GP on July 21st. In all, the German would win on eleven occasions – a new record for the most victories in a season – and, just for good measure, he also finished second five times and third once. In total, he scored 144 points, compared to the 77 notched up by team-mate Rubens Barrichello to set new records for the number of points scored in a year and the biggest winning margin.
It wasn't all good news, though, and the 'Austria-gate' affair was a big blemish on Schumacher's year. The decision by Ferrari to order Barrichello to hand victory to the German was universally panned, with he crowd booing the team on the podium, and the media condemning what it saw as the end of competition. The incident went down so badly that the FIA later introduced a rule banning team orders. A similar situation occurred at the US GP, this time as Michael tried for a formation finish only to see his plan back-fire and hand Barrichello the win. It may not have been as controversial as Austria, but again it was disappointing after what had been a good race.
2003 was another Michael-Ferrari-Bridgestone year, although only just, with all three parties having to fight every step of the way. Schumacher eventually triumphed, winning a record breaking sixth drivers' title at the final race of the season. It was by no means an easy year though and, despite scooping six more wins, the new points system meant that Kimi Raikkonen was in with a chance right to the end. Schumacher eventually took the title with 93 points, two more than his Finnish rival, despite a lacklustre showing in Japan.
At the end of 2003, there was much speculation that the German might retire, but again this proved to be wide of the mark. The following year was again all about Schumacher and Ferrari – again – as the combination stormed to both titles with little or no opposition. Schumacher took his seventh crown at Spa at the end of August, eventually racking up victories in 13 of the 18 races, scoring 148 points, and only twice failing to finish in the points.
Retirement rumours surfaced again ahead of 2005, despite Schumacher having extended his deal with Ferrari through to the end of 2006, but the German was back in harness in Melbourne, ready to chase his eighth crown. However, after five seasons at the top, the rule changes instigated by the FIA and the progress made by Michelin over the winter months had brought the opposition much closer. When Renault chalked up four successive victories Michael's chances of an eighth title started to look very doubtful. Despite a couple of exceptional performances to make the podium and an easy ten points taken in the farcical US Grand Prix, Schumacher's task in overhauling Fernando Alonso was still an impossible one, given the lack of outright pace from his Ferrari/Bridgestone package. Nevertheless far from cruising to whatever points might be available on any given race day, the German fought tenaciously for every track position like a young charger.
For 2006 Ferrari provided Michael with the machinery win an eighth title, and how close he came – a rare engine failure at Suzuki – finally crushing his championship hopes as Alonso and Renault prevailed. Sadly, once again, his brilliant performances brought seven wins, but his flagrant disregard for the ethics of racing after blocking the track during practice at Monaco cast a long shadow upon his reputation.
Seven world championships, 91 wins, 68 pole positions, 76 fastest laps and a staggering total of 1369 points are just some of the mind-boggling statistics that are unlikely to ever be beaten. Sadly however, in the hearts and minds of many motor racing fans worldwide, Michael may never be accorded the stature of the likes of past champions such Fangio, Clark and Senna.
