Michael Schumacher - The Conqueror
Michael Schumacher (nicknamed Schumi / Schu in German) born January 3, 1969, in Hürth Hermülheim, near Cologne) is a German Formula One driver and seven-time Formula One world champion. According to the official Formula One web site, he is statistically the greatest driver the sport has ever seen.[3] He is the most successful driver in the history of Formula One as well.
Schumacher currently holds nearly every record in Formula One, including those for most drivers' championships, race victories, fastest laps, pole positions, and most races won in a single season. He is the first Formula One driver to win at every track he has started on at least once, starting from his first world championship title year (excluding the recently introduced Turkish GP). He is the world's first billionaire athlete, with an estimated yearly salary over 100 million dollars, tens of millions of which he donates to humanitarian causes.[4]
Schumacher has been noted throughout his career for his ability to produce fast laps at crucial moments in a race, his ability to push his car to the very limit, and for his driving abilities in wet conditions. Wet conditions are often thought of as the great equalizer in Formula One racing, where driver skills trump all else. Some of Schumacher's best performances occurred in such conditions, earning him the title "Regenkönig" (rain king) or "Regenmeister" (rain master).
Schumacher is the senior driver in the Formula One world championship, and he was for many years the president of the Grand Prix Drivers Association. He has also become a committed spokesman for road safety, most recently in support of the Make Roads Safe campaign.
On September 10, 2006, after winning the Italian Grand Prix, Schumacher announced his retirement as a driver. He will be replaced at Ferrari by Kimi Räikkönen for the 2007 season. At the end of 2006, Ferrari will define Schumacher's new position within the reorganised Ferrari team, following his retirement as a race driver. Bernie Ecclestone has said he doesn't believe Schumacher's decision is final and that he could decide to race next year.
Early years
In a sport that has often been thought of as a playground for only the ultra-rich, Schumacher's humble beginnings present a sharp contrast in the history of Formula One. He was the son of a bricklayer, who, as a second job, ran the local kart track in Kerpen. His mother worked in the canteen.[1]
He began kart racing at the age of four and a half, using a homemade kart built by his father Rolf. It was nothing more than a pedal-kart that had been fitted with a motorcycle engine. He quickly mastered the vehicle and won his first kart championship at the age of six. Schumacher's prodigious talents were noted at this point by his parents, but they did not have the financial means to support him. Instead, they had to rely upon the generosity and sponsorship of a few affluent persons who also saw the potential of their son.
From 1984 and on, Schumacher won numerous German and European kart championships, including the Formula Konig Series. By 1987 he was the German and European kart champion, at which point he withdrew from school and began working as a mechanic. In 1988 Schumacher raced in the Formula Ford series and competed in the German Formula 3 series for the next two years, winning the title in 1990. In 1991, he continued his ascent up the racing ladder, joining the Mercedes junior racing programme in the World Endurance Championship, winning races in Mexico City and at Autopolis, at the wheel of a Sauber-Mercedes C291. He also briefly competed in the Japanese Formula 3000 Championship and the German Touring Car Championship in the early 1990s.
Formula One debut
Schumacher made his Formula One debut with the Jordan-Ford team at the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix as a replacement driver for the imprisoned Bertrand Gachot (incarcerated for spraying CS gas in a London taxi-driver's face). Schumacher was signed by Eddie Jordan after he was greatly impressed at a Silverstone test the previous week, and Schumacher assured Jordan that he had vast experience at the challenging Spa circuit, despite the fact that he had only been around the track once —- on a borrowed bicycle. Schumacher impressed the paddock by qualifying seventh in his first competition in an F1 vehicle, matching the team's season-best grid position, and out-qualifying his seasoned team mate, Andrea de Cesaris, an 11-year veteran. He retired on the first lap of the race with clutch problems.
Benetton years 1991-1993
After his impressive debut, he was quickly signed by Benetton-Ford for the next race, and immediately showed great potential. This move angered Jordan who believed Benetton had "stolen" his driver from a binding contract.
Schumacher became known as an up-and-coming driver in F1 as he claimed his maiden victory in the Belgian Grand Prix with Benetton Ford. In 1992 he finished third ahead of three-time world champion, Ayrton Senna in the final standings.
1993 was a year of great expectations for Benetton and Schumacher. Schumacher won one race at the Portuguese Grand Prix, but was not able to challenge for the World Title as the Benetton machine was not fully competitive with the technically more advanced and powerful Williams of Hill and Prost nor the advanced "TAG" electronic package found in the McLaren of Senna, all of which were utilizing electronic suspension and traction control. The same electronics were banned the next year. The year was once again dominated by Williams and only Senna, in a less powerful McLaren, was able to challenge Alain Prost, who had at his disposal the strongest package in terms of engine, chassis, and electronics.
1994
Schumacher won his first World Championship in 1994 while driving for Benetton, in a controversial season marred by allegations of cheating and the deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger at the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola.
Schumacher started the season strongly, winning six of the first seven races. Schumacher's domination was a surprise to the other teams, some of which levelled allegations of cheating. They claimed Benetton had found a way to violate the FIA-imposed ban on electronic aids, including Traction Control and Launch Control. On investigation, the FIA discovered "start sequence" (launch control) software in the Benetton cars, and a variety of illegal software in rival teams' cars as well. FIA had no evidence the software was ever used, so teams found with the software received little to no punishment. No traction control software was found to be in the Benetton cars, however. Additionally, while Schumacher managed to claim 66 points in 7 races(70 possible points), his teammates only managed to make a single point in the very same amount of races. Flavio Briatore, who is currently the chief of Ferrari's biggest rivals, said that Benetton never used any illegal software, and the only thing Benetton was guilty of was being too successful for too young of a team.
After Senna's death, Damon Hill inherited the responsibility of fighting for the championship for the Williams team. Despite Hill having the superior car, he struggled to keep pace with Schumacher. Due to several mid-season controversial disqualifications and bans for Schumacher, however, he began to close the gap in the standings. In the British Grand Prix, Schumacher was penalised for overtaking on the formation lap [11]. He then ignored the penalty and the subsequent black flag during the race, for which he was disqualified and later given a two-race ban. Benetton blamed the fiasco on a communication error between the stewards and the team. Schumacher was also disqualified after winning the Spa after his car was found to have illegal wear on its skidblock.[12] Benetton protested that the skidblock had been damaged when Schumacher spun over a kerb, but the FIA rejected their appeal, allowing Hill to close the points gap even further.
Leading by a single point going into the final race in Australia, Schumacher clinched the title after colliding with Hill in a controversial incident, taking both drivers out
Ferrari years
In 1996, Schumacher signed with Ferrari. In this bold and risky move, Schumacher was leaving his world champion team for one that, at the time, was considered largely inferior, both technologically and statistically. Ferrari had not won a single drivers championship since 1979, and were racing with a car that was called "a truck", "a pig", and "an accident waiting to happen" by recent Ferrari drivers. Even the poor performance of the Ferrari pit crews were considered the running joke and laughing stock of Formula One.
Schumacher is often credited (along with Ross Brawn, Rory Byrne and Jean Todt) with turning this once struggling team into the most successful team in Formula One history. Whether Schumacher himself was primarily responsible for the reversal of fortune at the Ferrari team, or it was a more synergistic mix of Schumacher and the several other men he recruited into Ferrari, is a matter of speculative debate. The same members that Schumacher brought to Ferrari from Benetton, however, had no success in creating a competitive racing team prior to the hiring of Schumacher. After Schumacher left, having won two world titles for the team in back-to-back years, the Benetton team would win just a single race in the next five years. This win rate was not much different than Ferrari's record prior to hiring Schumacher, with just two wins in the previous five years.
1996-1999
In his first year at Ferrari Schumacher finished third in the Drivers' Championship, behind the two Williams drivers, Jacques Villeneuve and Damon Hill. He won races in Spain, Belgium and Italy, the first one in the wet. The worst moment of his season was arguably France, in which he qualified on pole position but suffered an engine failure on the formation lap.
In 1997, he again took the title fight down to the last race, narrowly leading the points for the Drivers' Championship title. Schumacher and Villeneuve collided after Villeneuve attempted to overtake Schumacher on a right turn. Schumacher ended up on the gravel and out of the race. (see below).
In 1998, there were tyre rule changes in Formula 1 which seemed to favour tyre manufacturer Bridgestone over rival manufacturer Goodyear. Early into the season, it was evident that McLaren, who chose to compete with Bridgestone tyres that year, had the better car. It was then left to Schumacher to challenge the McLaren domination and the fight for the title continued well into the last race. Schumacher had won six races that year, the most memorable of which was in Hungary, where he pitted three times and had to do a whole stint lapping the circuit at qualifying speed, more than a second faster than anyone else to catch up with the McLaren. He also set the record of being the only driver to win a race from the pit lane which he did in the British Grand Prix. Despite the inferiority of the Ferrari, Schumacher pushed hard all the way until the final race in Japan where, after having secured the pole position, he subsequently stalled his Ferrari on the starting grid and had to restart from the back of the grid. He eventually regained lost ground, only to retire some laps later due to a punctured tyre, thereby yielding the title to Mika Häkkinen. Some fans argue that it was not only bad luck that prevented Schumacher from winning the 1998 Drivers' Championship, but also because of Häkkinen's team mate, David Coulthard, whose collision with Schumacher in Belgium, while a lap behind Schumacher, caused the German to retire and lose vital Championship points. This incident caused a great deal of controversy with Schumacher storming into the McLaren garage after retiring and allegedly accusing Coulthard of trying to kill him. This drew criticism, not least because Schumacher had been involved in several other controversial collisions in previous years. Coulthard has since admitted the collision was his fault and cited his inexperience, "I lifted to let him pass me, but I lifted in heavy spray on the racing line. You should never do that. I would never do that now."
After several rebuilding years, Schumacher's efforts helped Ferrari win the Constructors title in 1999. However, his hopes for another Drivers' Championship were dashed at that year's British Grand Prix, where he broke his leg. A rear brake failure caused him to exit the track on the first lap of the race while facing the high-speed, right-hand 'Stowe' corner, and he crashed heavily into a tyre barrier. This accident prevented Schumacher from competing in the next six races. After his return, he assumed the role of a second driver, yielding to his team mate, Eddie Irvine, in order to help his team win a Drivers' Championship title. However, they were once again beaten by Mika Häkkinen in the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.
2000
In 2000 Schumacher won his third World Championship and more significantly, Ferrari's first since Jody Scheckter in 1979, after a hard-fought year-long battle with Mika Häkkinen. A few races into the 2000 season, Schumacher changed his helmet colours from a white base with a blue top and German flag, to a red base with a red top and German flag. The design and pattern remained the same. This was to avoid confusion between himself and his new team-mate, Rubens Barichello, who had a similar white and blue helmet.
Schumacher won the first 3 races of the season, and 5 of the first 8. Midway through the year, he experienced a run of bad luck, which included being hit from behind at the first corner in two consecutive races. This allowed Häkkinen to overtake Schumacher in the championship standings, but a resounding win at the Italian Grand Prix brought him back on track.
The immense pressure of fighting for the world title showed, when at the post-race press conference at the end of the Italian Grand Prix, Schumacher broke into tears when asked about his feelings on equalling Ayrton Senna's record of 41 race wins.
The championship fight went down to the penultimate race in Japan. Starting from pole position, Schumacher lost his lead to Häkkinen early in the race, but a combination of strong mid-race pace and excellent Ferrari pit-work ensured that he came out ahead of Häkkinen after his second pit-stop and went on to win the race and the Championship.
2001
Schumacher took his fourth drivers' title in a season that lacked the championship drama that had defined the previous four seasons. David Coulthard, Ralf Schumacher (Michael's younger brother), Mika Häkkinen, and rookie Juan Montoya all won races, but none was able to sustain a season-long challenge for the championship. Schumacher scored a record-tying nine wins and clinched the world championship with four races yet to run.
Season highlights included the Canadian Grand Prix, where Schumacher finished 2nd to his brother Ralf, thus scoring the first ever 1-2 finish with two brothers, and several on-track battles for the lead with Montoya. At the Belgian Grand Prix Schumacher scored his 52nd career win, thus breaking Alain Prost's record for most career wins.
2002
In a dominant year, Schumacher took his fifth Drivers' title (equalling the record set by Juan Manuel Fangio). Ferrari won 15 out of 17 races and Schumacher wrapped up the title with six races remaining in the season. Schumacher also broke Nigel Mansell's and his own record of 9 race wins for most victories in a season, scoring 11 and finishing every race on the podium.
Again, just Williams' Ralf Schumacher and McLaren Mercedes' Coulthard could take something from Ferrari. Montoya remained someone to battle with, finishing third behind the two Ferraris.
2003
Schumacher broke Fangio's record by winning the Drivers' title for the sixth time in a closely contested season.
The biggest threats once again came from the McLaren Mercedes and BMW Williams F1 teams. His brother Ralf and Juan Pablo Montoya, became regular race contenders and scored some victories. Montoya and Raikkonen became title challengers, but Ferrari reacted from the Italian Grand Prix onwards and gained two more decisive wins. After Montoya was penalised in the US GP he was out of the title contention; leaving the title fight between Kimi Räikkönen and Schumacher. Räikkönen performed strongly and consistently all year, in an inferior car, benefitting from the newest points system and giving Schumacher a challenge all the way to the final round. Schumacher took his hotly contested sixth World Driving Title, barely clinching it at the final round in Suzuka, finishing a mere two points ahead of his rival, although Raikkonen had just a single victory to his credit compared to Schumacher's six.
2004
Schumacher at Indianapolis in 2004Schumacher won a record twelve of the first thirteen races of the season, only failing to finish in Monaco after a controversial accident with Juan Pablo Montoya under the safety car period. He clinched a record seventh drivers' title at the Belgian Grand Prix. Bridgestone had been the key as the tyre was superior to Michelin over the season. He would finish this season with a record 148 points, and a new record of 13 race wins out of 18 that season, surpassing the previous best of 11, which he had scored in the 2002 Formula One season.
2005
The 2005 season was a struggle for Schumacher, as the Ferrari package was far from ideal, especially in the use of its Bridgestone tyres, which had been dominant in past years but were now of inferior quality. Ferrari, Bridgestone, fans, and commentators alike attributed this to the 2005 rule changes, which required tyres to last the distance of the whole race. Some believe the rule changes were entirely targeted to end the domination of Ferrari and Schumacher.[19]
Less than half-way through the season, Schumacher admitted he didn't have the potential to defend his title. In an interview he said, "It's hard to put up a fight when you don't have the same weapons."
Despite this, Schumacher had some moments, most notably his fight with Fernando Alonso in the San Marino GP and a pole in Hungary.
Ultimately and most importantly he finished third in the World Championship standings, barely ahead of McLaren's Juan Pablo Montoya. His points total included the 10 points from his only victory of the season, the United States Grand Prix, which was only contested by 6 cars due to Michelin tyre problems.
There were many on-track problems for Schumacher, including collisions with Mark Webber (Turkish GP), Nick Heidfeld (Australian GP), Takuma Sato (Belgian GP) and Christijan Albers (Chinese GP).
2006
Schumacher started 2006 well, narrowly edging out new Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa to take pole position at the first grand prix in Bahrain. Doing so, he equaled Ayrton Senna's record of 65 pole positions that had stood for 12 years after Senna's death. He went on to finish second, behind the Renault of reigning drivers' champion Fernando Alonso, making it his first podium finish in seven races, the last being a second place at the 2005 Hungarian Grand Prix.
Ferrari's engine troubles resulted in an engine change for Schumacher before qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix, demoting him to 14th on the starting grid. He finished the race in 6th, just behind team-mate Felipe Massa. He qualified 11th in changing weather conditions at the Australian Grand Prix. Mid-way through the race, while chasing Jenson Button for 5th place, Schumacher ran wide on the exit of the final corner, hitting a large bump while trying to pull the car back to the circuit and launching the car into the wall, ending his race.
At the San Marino Grand Prix, Schumacher took his 66th pole position, breaking Senna's record of 65. In a reverse situation from last year, he held off an intense challenge from Fernando Alonso for more than 30 laps and two pit-stops, despite struggling with a "bad set" of tyres in the middle stages of the race, to win the race. Barring the boycott marred 2005 United States Grand Prix, this was his first win since the 2004 Japanese Grand Prix, 18 months earlier. With this win, Schumacher tied his own record with his 7th win at the same track, the other ones being Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal and Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours in Magny-Cours.
Schumacher's strong form continued at the European Grand Prix, where he beat Alonso in a closely contested battle, putting in a series of fast laps before his second pit-stop to emerge in front of Alonso. The Spanish Grand Prix, was rather different for Schumacher, as he finished second, some 18 seconds behind eventual home race winner Fernando Alonso. Schumacher has commented that this is a "blip".
In the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix, although Schumacher took pole position with Fernando Alonso 0.064 seconds behind him, there was uproar in the paddock after the end of qualifying, after he stopped his car at the Rascasse hairpin causing an obstruction for his rivals who were trying to set a faster time. Alonso failed to set a faster lap time than Schumacher's best. After interviewing Schumacher and Ferrari personnel, and reviewing evidence and data provided by the FIA and Ferrari, the race stewards stripped Schumacher of all of his qualifying times after deciding he had deliberately stopped his car to disadvantage his competitors. The stewards said Schumacher's actions breached Article 112 of the FIA sporting regulations and that therefore their ruling was final and would not be subject to appeal. Ferrari's director Jean Todt strongly disputed the decision, claiming that "with no real evidence, the stewards have assumed he is guilty."
During the race itself, Schumacher persevered through the penalty and battled back from the 22nd spot, passing 5 cars on the opening laps, moving him to 17th. By lap 12 he aggressively passed Jenson Button into the Nouvelle chicane for 15th and made up several spots with the fastest laps during the crucial pit-window stages. He finished fifth after further retirements of cars in front of him.
At the British Grand Prix he salvaged second by passing Kimi Räikkönen after the second round of stops after being trapped behind the Finn for most of the race. The Canadian Grand Prix was much of the same for Schumacher as he was stuck behind Jarno Trulli at the start of the race. He passed Trulli at the final chicane before he made his first stop and snatched second from Kimi Räikkönen when the Finn ran wide at the hairpin with two laps to go. After qualifying on Pole position for the US Grand Prix, Schumacher was passed by team-mate Felipe Massa at the first corner but by lap 30 was back in front, going on to win the race. After his win, he is the only racing driver ever, in any racing class, to win five times on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
After winning the French GP on July 16th, 2006, Michael Schumacher became the only driver in history to win the same Grand Prix eight times. Schumacher then proceeded to win the German GP, a result that gave him a hat-trick of wins following those of France and America. With championship rival Fernando Alonso finishing the race 5th, Schumacher reduced the gap between the two to 11 points with 6 races remaining. Schumacher is now only three wins short of the combined total of wins of Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna.
The practice sessions of the Hungarian GP brought a lot of controversy. Fernando Alonso was penalised for two incidents in the second free practice, receiving a two second penalty in every qualifying round. Schumacher, who could have used the opportunity to reduce Alonso's lead further, also suffered a two second penalty for overtaking two cars, one of them being Alonso, during a red flag situation. Schumacher qualified in 11th position, while Alonso qualified 15th on the grid. This was the first time in its 20 year history that the Hungarian GP was rain soaked and set the stage for the most exciting race of the year. Schumacher and Alonso were extremely fast and aggressive from the start, pulling up to fifth and seventh after the opening lap. However, it was clear that the Bridgestone tyres were far inferior to the Michelin tyres in wet conditions, and Schumacher slowly drifted backwards to 8th place, and was lapped by Alonso until a safety car incident allowed him to regain the lap. As the track dried, Schumacher began setting the fastest laps of the race and began to regain positions from Michelin cars which were slower in dry conditions. He retired only 2 laps from home after colliding with Nick Heidfeld. This was failed chance to make up a huge deficit in the points, to points leader, Alonso, who had retired earlier with a broken drive-shaft whilst leading. He was classified 9th but was soon promoted to 8th following Robert Kubica's disqualification.
At the Turkish GP Ferrari looked very strong against the opposition and they even set the fastest time through Michael Schumacher in the third practice session in the Saturday morning. For the three 15 minute qualifying sessions Schumacher was the fastest for the first two sessions under a light fuel load. However, at the start of his hot laps in the third session Schumacher made a mistake by out braking himself down into the first corner. At the end of the final session Schumacher qualified second just behind his team mate Felipe Massa for Massa's first pole of the season and, more importantly he qualified in front of Fernando Alonso who qualified third without the controversial mass dampers in his Renault. At the start he nearly made contact with Fernando Alonso but managed to hold him off and was comfortably ahead of him until Liuzzi from Scuderia Toro Rosso had a spin off at the first corner and the safety car had to come out to assist the marshals as the car was on the racing line. This bunched up the pack again and because Felipe Massa was leading Schumacher had to come into the pits and wait 6 seconds for Massa to make his stop while Alonso was able to pit and leave. However, Schumacher was slower in the second phase of the race and could not maintain pace with Alonso. He started lapping more quickly in the latter stages of race and closed Alonso down but was unable to pass. Felipe Massa won by 6 seconds with Schumacher less than a tenth of a second behind Alonso in second.
Immediately after beating Kimi Räikkönen to win the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, on September 10, 2006, Schumacher announced that he would retire at the end of the 2006 season, ending the career of the most statistically successful driver in history. His seat at Ferrari will be taken over by current McLaren driver Kimi Räikkönen.
However, in the press release stating his retirement, it also mentioned that Schumacher would stay on as part of Ferrari. It did not state what his role might be.
In the Chinese GP, all initially seemed well for Ferrari and Schumacher, with Schumacher being the pre-race fastest in dry conditions. However, things soon became very bleak. Rain began to pour down on the track, and it looked as though it was going to be wet-conditions for both qualifying and the race. While normally rain would have been a boon for Schumacher, Bridgestone, the tyres which Ferrari used, proved to be a tremendous liability. Only Schumacher, reaffirming his title of the Rainmaster, would be able to put up a fight for pole position against the Michelin using teams. In fact, he was the only Bridgestone user to make it into the top 12, qualifying in 6th. The Bridgestone intermediates were so poor, Massa, Schumacher's teammate and the next highest Bridgestone runner, qualified 13th.
During the race the track slowly went from wet conditions to wet but drying conditions, slowly reducing the tyre advantage of the Michelin using teams. Alonso pulled out a 22 second lead early in the race while Schumacher fought through slower drivers. Schuamcher had cut Alonso's lead down to 8 seconds after he got through most cars. The Renault duo of Alonso and Fisichella did their best to prevent schuamcher from passing them, even at points blocking the entire track by running tire to tire with each other. Schumacher would finally slip past both of them and add on a signifanc buffer of time in the lead, while Massa would continue to struggle with his tires, spinning out or going off the track several times. Noting his lead, Schumacher raced conservatively to avoid any possible incidents. Alonso would slowly begin to make up some time after changing to dry-weather tyres, but he could not bridge the gap Schumacher had put between them. Schumacher would win his 91st victory, his first in Shanghai, tying Alonso in world championship points. Schumacher is now technically 1st in the run for the championship, since he has won more races than Alonso.
The Japanese GP was almost a complete reversal of the previous race, Chinese GP. Schumacher and Massa dominated in qualifying, placing second and first, respectivley. Towards the end of the race, however, with Schumacher in first and having over a six second lead on second place Alonso, the engine blew out in Schumacher's Ferrari. In order to win the drivers' championship, Schumacher now needs to win the last race, and Alonso must not gain any more points.
Michael Schumacher (nicknamed Schumi / Schu in German) born January 3, 1969, in Hürth Hermülheim, near Cologne) is a German Formula One driver and seven-time Formula One world champion. According to the official Formula One web site, he is statistically the greatest driver the sport has ever seen.[3] He is the most successful driver in the history of Formula One as well.
Schumacher currently holds nearly every record in Formula One, including those for most drivers' championships, race victories, fastest laps, pole positions, and most races won in a single season. He is the first Formula One driver to win at every track he has started on at least once, starting from his first world championship title year (excluding the recently introduced Turkish GP). He is the world's first billionaire athlete, with an estimated yearly salary over 100 million dollars, tens of millions of which he donates to humanitarian causes.[4]
Schumacher has been noted throughout his career for his ability to produce fast laps at crucial moments in a race, his ability to push his car to the very limit, and for his driving abilities in wet conditions. Wet conditions are often thought of as the great equalizer in Formula One racing, where driver skills trump all else. Some of Schumacher's best performances occurred in such conditions, earning him the title "Regenkönig" (rain king) or "Regenmeister" (rain master).
Schumacher is the senior driver in the Formula One world championship, and he was for many years the president of the Grand Prix Drivers Association. He has also become a committed spokesman for road safety, most recently in support of the Make Roads Safe campaign.
On September 10, 2006, after winning the Italian Grand Prix, Schumacher announced his retirement as a driver. He will be replaced at Ferrari by Kimi Räikkönen for the 2007 season. At the end of 2006, Ferrari will define Schumacher's new position within the reorganised Ferrari team, following his retirement as a race driver. Bernie Ecclestone has said he doesn't believe Schumacher's decision is final and that he could decide to race next year.
Early years
In a sport that has often been thought of as a playground for only the ultra-rich, Schumacher's humble beginnings present a sharp contrast in the history of Formula One. He was the son of a bricklayer, who, as a second job, ran the local kart track in Kerpen. His mother worked in the canteen.[1]
He began kart racing at the age of four and a half, using a homemade kart built by his father Rolf. It was nothing more than a pedal-kart that had been fitted with a motorcycle engine. He quickly mastered the vehicle and won his first kart championship at the age of six. Schumacher's prodigious talents were noted at this point by his parents, but they did not have the financial means to support him. Instead, they had to rely upon the generosity and sponsorship of a few affluent persons who also saw the potential of their son.
From 1984 and on, Schumacher won numerous German and European kart championships, including the Formula Konig Series. By 1987 he was the German and European kart champion, at which point he withdrew from school and began working as a mechanic. In 1988 Schumacher raced in the Formula Ford series and competed in the German Formula 3 series for the next two years, winning the title in 1990. In 1991, he continued his ascent up the racing ladder, joining the Mercedes junior racing programme in the World Endurance Championship, winning races in Mexico City and at Autopolis, at the wheel of a Sauber-Mercedes C291. He also briefly competed in the Japanese Formula 3000 Championship and the German Touring Car Championship in the early 1990s.
Formula One debut
Schumacher made his Formula One debut with the Jordan-Ford team at the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix as a replacement driver for the imprisoned Bertrand Gachot (incarcerated for spraying CS gas in a London taxi-driver's face). Schumacher was signed by Eddie Jordan after he was greatly impressed at a Silverstone test the previous week, and Schumacher assured Jordan that he had vast experience at the challenging Spa circuit, despite the fact that he had only been around the track once —- on a borrowed bicycle. Schumacher impressed the paddock by qualifying seventh in his first competition in an F1 vehicle, matching the team's season-best grid position, and out-qualifying his seasoned team mate, Andrea de Cesaris, an 11-year veteran. He retired on the first lap of the race with clutch problems.
Benetton years 1991-1993
After his impressive debut, he was quickly signed by Benetton-Ford for the next race, and immediately showed great potential. This move angered Jordan who believed Benetton had "stolen" his driver from a binding contract.
Schumacher became known as an up-and-coming driver in F1 as he claimed his maiden victory in the Belgian Grand Prix with Benetton Ford. In 1992 he finished third ahead of three-time world champion, Ayrton Senna in the final standings.
1993 was a year of great expectations for Benetton and Schumacher. Schumacher won one race at the Portuguese Grand Prix, but was not able to challenge for the World Title as the Benetton machine was not fully competitive with the technically more advanced and powerful Williams of Hill and Prost nor the advanced "TAG" electronic package found in the McLaren of Senna, all of which were utilizing electronic suspension and traction control. The same electronics were banned the next year. The year was once again dominated by Williams and only Senna, in a less powerful McLaren, was able to challenge Alain Prost, who had at his disposal the strongest package in terms of engine, chassis, and electronics.
1994
Schumacher won his first World Championship in 1994 while driving for Benetton, in a controversial season marred by allegations of cheating and the deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger at the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola.
Schumacher started the season strongly, winning six of the first seven races. Schumacher's domination was a surprise to the other teams, some of which levelled allegations of cheating. They claimed Benetton had found a way to violate the FIA-imposed ban on electronic aids, including Traction Control and Launch Control. On investigation, the FIA discovered "start sequence" (launch control) software in the Benetton cars, and a variety of illegal software in rival teams' cars as well. FIA had no evidence the software was ever used, so teams found with the software received little to no punishment. No traction control software was found to be in the Benetton cars, however. Additionally, while Schumacher managed to claim 66 points in 7 races(70 possible points), his teammates only managed to make a single point in the very same amount of races. Flavio Briatore, who is currently the chief of Ferrari's biggest rivals, said that Benetton never used any illegal software, and the only thing Benetton was guilty of was being too successful for too young of a team.
After Senna's death, Damon Hill inherited the responsibility of fighting for the championship for the Williams team. Despite Hill having the superior car, he struggled to keep pace with Schumacher. Due to several mid-season controversial disqualifications and bans for Schumacher, however, he began to close the gap in the standings. In the British Grand Prix, Schumacher was penalised for overtaking on the formation lap [11]. He then ignored the penalty and the subsequent black flag during the race, for which he was disqualified and later given a two-race ban. Benetton blamed the fiasco on a communication error between the stewards and the team. Schumacher was also disqualified after winning the Spa after his car was found to have illegal wear on its skidblock.[12] Benetton protested that the skidblock had been damaged when Schumacher spun over a kerb, but the FIA rejected their appeal, allowing Hill to close the points gap even further.
Leading by a single point going into the final race in Australia, Schumacher clinched the title after colliding with Hill in a controversial incident, taking both drivers out
Ferrari years
In 1996, Schumacher signed with Ferrari. In this bold and risky move, Schumacher was leaving his world champion team for one that, at the time, was considered largely inferior, both technologically and statistically. Ferrari had not won a single drivers championship since 1979, and were racing with a car that was called "a truck", "a pig", and "an accident waiting to happen" by recent Ferrari drivers. Even the poor performance of the Ferrari pit crews were considered the running joke and laughing stock of Formula One.
Schumacher is often credited (along with Ross Brawn, Rory Byrne and Jean Todt) with turning this once struggling team into the most successful team in Formula One history. Whether Schumacher himself was primarily responsible for the reversal of fortune at the Ferrari team, or it was a more synergistic mix of Schumacher and the several other men he recruited into Ferrari, is a matter of speculative debate. The same members that Schumacher brought to Ferrari from Benetton, however, had no success in creating a competitive racing team prior to the hiring of Schumacher. After Schumacher left, having won two world titles for the team in back-to-back years, the Benetton team would win just a single race in the next five years. This win rate was not much different than Ferrari's record prior to hiring Schumacher, with just two wins in the previous five years.
1996-1999
In his first year at Ferrari Schumacher finished third in the Drivers' Championship, behind the two Williams drivers, Jacques Villeneuve and Damon Hill. He won races in Spain, Belgium and Italy, the first one in the wet. The worst moment of his season was arguably France, in which he qualified on pole position but suffered an engine failure on the formation lap.
In 1997, he again took the title fight down to the last race, narrowly leading the points for the Drivers' Championship title. Schumacher and Villeneuve collided after Villeneuve attempted to overtake Schumacher on a right turn. Schumacher ended up on the gravel and out of the race. (see below).
In 1998, there were tyre rule changes in Formula 1 which seemed to favour tyre manufacturer Bridgestone over rival manufacturer Goodyear. Early into the season, it was evident that McLaren, who chose to compete with Bridgestone tyres that year, had the better car. It was then left to Schumacher to challenge the McLaren domination and the fight for the title continued well into the last race. Schumacher had won six races that year, the most memorable of which was in Hungary, where he pitted three times and had to do a whole stint lapping the circuit at qualifying speed, more than a second faster than anyone else to catch up with the McLaren. He also set the record of being the only driver to win a race from the pit lane which he did in the British Grand Prix. Despite the inferiority of the Ferrari, Schumacher pushed hard all the way until the final race in Japan where, after having secured the pole position, he subsequently stalled his Ferrari on the starting grid and had to restart from the back of the grid. He eventually regained lost ground, only to retire some laps later due to a punctured tyre, thereby yielding the title to Mika Häkkinen. Some fans argue that it was not only bad luck that prevented Schumacher from winning the 1998 Drivers' Championship, but also because of Häkkinen's team mate, David Coulthard, whose collision with Schumacher in Belgium, while a lap behind Schumacher, caused the German to retire and lose vital Championship points. This incident caused a great deal of controversy with Schumacher storming into the McLaren garage after retiring and allegedly accusing Coulthard of trying to kill him. This drew criticism, not least because Schumacher had been involved in several other controversial collisions in previous years. Coulthard has since admitted the collision was his fault and cited his inexperience, "I lifted to let him pass me, but I lifted in heavy spray on the racing line. You should never do that. I would never do that now."
After several rebuilding years, Schumacher's efforts helped Ferrari win the Constructors title in 1999. However, his hopes for another Drivers' Championship were dashed at that year's British Grand Prix, where he broke his leg. A rear brake failure caused him to exit the track on the first lap of the race while facing the high-speed, right-hand 'Stowe' corner, and he crashed heavily into a tyre barrier. This accident prevented Schumacher from competing in the next six races. After his return, he assumed the role of a second driver, yielding to his team mate, Eddie Irvine, in order to help his team win a Drivers' Championship title. However, they were once again beaten by Mika Häkkinen in the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.
2000
In 2000 Schumacher won his third World Championship and more significantly, Ferrari's first since Jody Scheckter in 1979, after a hard-fought year-long battle with Mika Häkkinen. A few races into the 2000 season, Schumacher changed his helmet colours from a white base with a blue top and German flag, to a red base with a red top and German flag. The design and pattern remained the same. This was to avoid confusion between himself and his new team-mate, Rubens Barichello, who had a similar white and blue helmet.
Schumacher won the first 3 races of the season, and 5 of the first 8. Midway through the year, he experienced a run of bad luck, which included being hit from behind at the first corner in two consecutive races. This allowed Häkkinen to overtake Schumacher in the championship standings, but a resounding win at the Italian Grand Prix brought him back on track.
The immense pressure of fighting for the world title showed, when at the post-race press conference at the end of the Italian Grand Prix, Schumacher broke into tears when asked about his feelings on equalling Ayrton Senna's record of 41 race wins.
The championship fight went down to the penultimate race in Japan. Starting from pole position, Schumacher lost his lead to Häkkinen early in the race, but a combination of strong mid-race pace and excellent Ferrari pit-work ensured that he came out ahead of Häkkinen after his second pit-stop and went on to win the race and the Championship.
2001
Schumacher took his fourth drivers' title in a season that lacked the championship drama that had defined the previous four seasons. David Coulthard, Ralf Schumacher (Michael's younger brother), Mika Häkkinen, and rookie Juan Montoya all won races, but none was able to sustain a season-long challenge for the championship. Schumacher scored a record-tying nine wins and clinched the world championship with four races yet to run.
Season highlights included the Canadian Grand Prix, where Schumacher finished 2nd to his brother Ralf, thus scoring the first ever 1-2 finish with two brothers, and several on-track battles for the lead with Montoya. At the Belgian Grand Prix Schumacher scored his 52nd career win, thus breaking Alain Prost's record for most career wins.
2002
In a dominant year, Schumacher took his fifth Drivers' title (equalling the record set by Juan Manuel Fangio). Ferrari won 15 out of 17 races and Schumacher wrapped up the title with six races remaining in the season. Schumacher also broke Nigel Mansell's and his own record of 9 race wins for most victories in a season, scoring 11 and finishing every race on the podium.
Again, just Williams' Ralf Schumacher and McLaren Mercedes' Coulthard could take something from Ferrari. Montoya remained someone to battle with, finishing third behind the two Ferraris.
2003
Schumacher broke Fangio's record by winning the Drivers' title for the sixth time in a closely contested season.
The biggest threats once again came from the McLaren Mercedes and BMW Williams F1 teams. His brother Ralf and Juan Pablo Montoya, became regular race contenders and scored some victories. Montoya and Raikkonen became title challengers, but Ferrari reacted from the Italian Grand Prix onwards and gained two more decisive wins. After Montoya was penalised in the US GP he was out of the title contention; leaving the title fight between Kimi Räikkönen and Schumacher. Räikkönen performed strongly and consistently all year, in an inferior car, benefitting from the newest points system and giving Schumacher a challenge all the way to the final round. Schumacher took his hotly contested sixth World Driving Title, barely clinching it at the final round in Suzuka, finishing a mere two points ahead of his rival, although Raikkonen had just a single victory to his credit compared to Schumacher's six.
2004
Schumacher at Indianapolis in 2004Schumacher won a record twelve of the first thirteen races of the season, only failing to finish in Monaco after a controversial accident with Juan Pablo Montoya under the safety car period. He clinched a record seventh drivers' title at the Belgian Grand Prix. Bridgestone had been the key as the tyre was superior to Michelin over the season. He would finish this season with a record 148 points, and a new record of 13 race wins out of 18 that season, surpassing the previous best of 11, which he had scored in the 2002 Formula One season.
2005
The 2005 season was a struggle for Schumacher, as the Ferrari package was far from ideal, especially in the use of its Bridgestone tyres, which had been dominant in past years but were now of inferior quality. Ferrari, Bridgestone, fans, and commentators alike attributed this to the 2005 rule changes, which required tyres to last the distance of the whole race. Some believe the rule changes were entirely targeted to end the domination of Ferrari and Schumacher.[19]
Less than half-way through the season, Schumacher admitted he didn't have the potential to defend his title. In an interview he said, "It's hard to put up a fight when you don't have the same weapons."
Despite this, Schumacher had some moments, most notably his fight with Fernando Alonso in the San Marino GP and a pole in Hungary.
Ultimately and most importantly he finished third in the World Championship standings, barely ahead of McLaren's Juan Pablo Montoya. His points total included the 10 points from his only victory of the season, the United States Grand Prix, which was only contested by 6 cars due to Michelin tyre problems.
There were many on-track problems for Schumacher, including collisions with Mark Webber (Turkish GP), Nick Heidfeld (Australian GP), Takuma Sato (Belgian GP) and Christijan Albers (Chinese GP).
2006
Schumacher started 2006 well, narrowly edging out new Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa to take pole position at the first grand prix in Bahrain. Doing so, he equaled Ayrton Senna's record of 65 pole positions that had stood for 12 years after Senna's death. He went on to finish second, behind the Renault of reigning drivers' champion Fernando Alonso, making it his first podium finish in seven races, the last being a second place at the 2005 Hungarian Grand Prix.
Ferrari's engine troubles resulted in an engine change for Schumacher before qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix, demoting him to 14th on the starting grid. He finished the race in 6th, just behind team-mate Felipe Massa. He qualified 11th in changing weather conditions at the Australian Grand Prix. Mid-way through the race, while chasing Jenson Button for 5th place, Schumacher ran wide on the exit of the final corner, hitting a large bump while trying to pull the car back to the circuit and launching the car into the wall, ending his race.
At the San Marino Grand Prix, Schumacher took his 66th pole position, breaking Senna's record of 65. In a reverse situation from last year, he held off an intense challenge from Fernando Alonso for more than 30 laps and two pit-stops, despite struggling with a "bad set" of tyres in the middle stages of the race, to win the race. Barring the boycott marred 2005 United States Grand Prix, this was his first win since the 2004 Japanese Grand Prix, 18 months earlier. With this win, Schumacher tied his own record with his 7th win at the same track, the other ones being Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal and Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours in Magny-Cours.
Schumacher's strong form continued at the European Grand Prix, where he beat Alonso in a closely contested battle, putting in a series of fast laps before his second pit-stop to emerge in front of Alonso. The Spanish Grand Prix, was rather different for Schumacher, as he finished second, some 18 seconds behind eventual home race winner Fernando Alonso. Schumacher has commented that this is a "blip".
In the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix, although Schumacher took pole position with Fernando Alonso 0.064 seconds behind him, there was uproar in the paddock after the end of qualifying, after he stopped his car at the Rascasse hairpin causing an obstruction for his rivals who were trying to set a faster time. Alonso failed to set a faster lap time than Schumacher's best. After interviewing Schumacher and Ferrari personnel, and reviewing evidence and data provided by the FIA and Ferrari, the race stewards stripped Schumacher of all of his qualifying times after deciding he had deliberately stopped his car to disadvantage his competitors. The stewards said Schumacher's actions breached Article 112 of the FIA sporting regulations and that therefore their ruling was final and would not be subject to appeal. Ferrari's director Jean Todt strongly disputed the decision, claiming that "with no real evidence, the stewards have assumed he is guilty."
During the race itself, Schumacher persevered through the penalty and battled back from the 22nd spot, passing 5 cars on the opening laps, moving him to 17th. By lap 12 he aggressively passed Jenson Button into the Nouvelle chicane for 15th and made up several spots with the fastest laps during the crucial pit-window stages. He finished fifth after further retirements of cars in front of him.
At the British Grand Prix he salvaged second by passing Kimi Räikkönen after the second round of stops after being trapped behind the Finn for most of the race. The Canadian Grand Prix was much of the same for Schumacher as he was stuck behind Jarno Trulli at the start of the race. He passed Trulli at the final chicane before he made his first stop and snatched second from Kimi Räikkönen when the Finn ran wide at the hairpin with two laps to go. After qualifying on Pole position for the US Grand Prix, Schumacher was passed by team-mate Felipe Massa at the first corner but by lap 30 was back in front, going on to win the race. After his win, he is the only racing driver ever, in any racing class, to win five times on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
After winning the French GP on July 16th, 2006, Michael Schumacher became the only driver in history to win the same Grand Prix eight times. Schumacher then proceeded to win the German GP, a result that gave him a hat-trick of wins following those of France and America. With championship rival Fernando Alonso finishing the race 5th, Schumacher reduced the gap between the two to 11 points with 6 races remaining. Schumacher is now only three wins short of the combined total of wins of Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna.
The practice sessions of the Hungarian GP brought a lot of controversy. Fernando Alonso was penalised for two incidents in the second free practice, receiving a two second penalty in every qualifying round. Schumacher, who could have used the opportunity to reduce Alonso's lead further, also suffered a two second penalty for overtaking two cars, one of them being Alonso, during a red flag situation. Schumacher qualified in 11th position, while Alonso qualified 15th on the grid. This was the first time in its 20 year history that the Hungarian GP was rain soaked and set the stage for the most exciting race of the year. Schumacher and Alonso were extremely fast and aggressive from the start, pulling up to fifth and seventh after the opening lap. However, it was clear that the Bridgestone tyres were far inferior to the Michelin tyres in wet conditions, and Schumacher slowly drifted backwards to 8th place, and was lapped by Alonso until a safety car incident allowed him to regain the lap. As the track dried, Schumacher began setting the fastest laps of the race and began to regain positions from Michelin cars which were slower in dry conditions. He retired only 2 laps from home after colliding with Nick Heidfeld. This was failed chance to make up a huge deficit in the points, to points leader, Alonso, who had retired earlier with a broken drive-shaft whilst leading. He was classified 9th but was soon promoted to 8th following Robert Kubica's disqualification.
At the Turkish GP Ferrari looked very strong against the opposition and they even set the fastest time through Michael Schumacher in the third practice session in the Saturday morning. For the three 15 minute qualifying sessions Schumacher was the fastest for the first two sessions under a light fuel load. However, at the start of his hot laps in the third session Schumacher made a mistake by out braking himself down into the first corner. At the end of the final session Schumacher qualified second just behind his team mate Felipe Massa for Massa's first pole of the season and, more importantly he qualified in front of Fernando Alonso who qualified third without the controversial mass dampers in his Renault. At the start he nearly made contact with Fernando Alonso but managed to hold him off and was comfortably ahead of him until Liuzzi from Scuderia Toro Rosso had a spin off at the first corner and the safety car had to come out to assist the marshals as the car was on the racing line. This bunched up the pack again and because Felipe Massa was leading Schumacher had to come into the pits and wait 6 seconds for Massa to make his stop while Alonso was able to pit and leave. However, Schumacher was slower in the second phase of the race and could not maintain pace with Alonso. He started lapping more quickly in the latter stages of race and closed Alonso down but was unable to pass. Felipe Massa won by 6 seconds with Schumacher less than a tenth of a second behind Alonso in second.
Immediately after beating Kimi Räikkönen to win the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, on September 10, 2006, Schumacher announced that he would retire at the end of the 2006 season, ending the career of the most statistically successful driver in history. His seat at Ferrari will be taken over by current McLaren driver Kimi Räikkönen.
However, in the press release stating his retirement, it also mentioned that Schumacher would stay on as part of Ferrari. It did not state what his role might be.
In the Chinese GP, all initially seemed well for Ferrari and Schumacher, with Schumacher being the pre-race fastest in dry conditions. However, things soon became very bleak. Rain began to pour down on the track, and it looked as though it was going to be wet-conditions for both qualifying and the race. While normally rain would have been a boon for Schumacher, Bridgestone, the tyres which Ferrari used, proved to be a tremendous liability. Only Schumacher, reaffirming his title of the Rainmaster, would be able to put up a fight for pole position against the Michelin using teams. In fact, he was the only Bridgestone user to make it into the top 12, qualifying in 6th. The Bridgestone intermediates were so poor, Massa, Schumacher's teammate and the next highest Bridgestone runner, qualified 13th.
During the race the track slowly went from wet conditions to wet but drying conditions, slowly reducing the tyre advantage of the Michelin using teams. Alonso pulled out a 22 second lead early in the race while Schumacher fought through slower drivers. Schuamcher had cut Alonso's lead down to 8 seconds after he got through most cars. The Renault duo of Alonso and Fisichella did their best to prevent schuamcher from passing them, even at points blocking the entire track by running tire to tire with each other. Schumacher would finally slip past both of them and add on a signifanc buffer of time in the lead, while Massa would continue to struggle with his tires, spinning out or going off the track several times. Noting his lead, Schumacher raced conservatively to avoid any possible incidents. Alonso would slowly begin to make up some time after changing to dry-weather tyres, but he could not bridge the gap Schumacher had put between them. Schumacher would win his 91st victory, his first in Shanghai, tying Alonso in world championship points. Schumacher is now technically 1st in the run for the championship, since he has won more races than Alonso.
The Japanese GP was almost a complete reversal of the previous race, Chinese GP. Schumacher and Massa dominated in qualifying, placing second and first, respectivley. Towards the end of the race, however, with Schumacher in first and having over a six second lead on second place Alonso, the engine blew out in Schumacher's Ferrari. In order to win the drivers' championship, Schumacher now needs to win the last race, and Alonso must not gain any more points.
