It took all of
Michael Schumacher's remarkable professional discipline to contain his emotions after winning Sunday's Italian Grand Prix as he announced that he will retire after this year's season-closing
F1 race at Interlagos in Brazil.
Schumacher scored his sixth win of the year in Italy, and pulled himself to within two points of championship leader
Fernando Alonso after the Spaniard's engine blew in the race's closing stages. His win also pushed
Ferrari into the lead of the manufacturers' championship, three points ahead of
Renault with three races to go.
After a shaky start to the season, Schumacher and Ferrari have come on strong this year and, by winning at the spiritual home of Italian motor racing, Schumi and the team have put themselves in position to win both
FIA championships yet again. If Schumacher pulls it off - and, on current form, it's looking very likely - it will be his eighth world title, a seemingly unbeatable record.
Schumacher was heavily criticised last week, in the Italian media in particular, for not confirming
before the weekend that it would be his last race at Monza. His decision had been rumoured for weeks and it was believed that a statement clarifying the situation would be released by Ferrari sometime after Sunday's race.
"I'm sorry if it may have taken longer than some of you wanted," Schumacher announced at the start of the press conference following the race, "But you have to set a moment and you have to find the right moment, and we feel this is the right moment. To make it short, this is going to be my last Monza race I'm going to do. At the end of this year, I've decided, together with the team, that I'm going to retire from racing. It's been a really exceptional time. What motorsports in more than thirty years has given to me, I really loved every single moment of the good and bad ones, those ones that make life so special."
Schumacher then thanked his dad, his late mother, and his wife and kids for their support.
"Without their support and their strengths, to survive in this business, in this sport, and to perform, I think it would have been impossible," he remarked. "I can't be thankful enough to my family but, as well, to all my mates at the Benetton team, and obviously, especially the Ferrari days where I've made so many friends. There are so many great guys in that team and it's been a really tough decision to decide to not work together at this level with all my friends and engineers and everybody. It's been so great."
He also acknowledged replacement
Kimi Raikkonen, who was sitting next to him, without mentioning his name.
"At some stage the team will tell, but I always was pleased a long time ago to hear that he was the person," Schumacher said.
