Hall of Fame- Michael Schumacher

PAVAN KADAM · 21st July 2010, 22:35

Found on F1.com

A fitting tribute to the legend

World Championships 7
Grand Prix Entries 261
Grand Prix Wins 91
Pole Positions 68
Nationality German

History

Since the Formula One World Championship began in 1950 the title has been won by 31 different drivers, 14 of whom won more than one championship. Of the previous multiple champions the most prolific was Juan Manuel Fangio, whose record of five titles stood for five decades until it was eclipsed by the most dominant driver in the history of the sport. By the time he retired, still the man to beat after 16 seasons at the top, Michael Schumacher had seven driving titles and held nearly every record in the book by a considerable margin. Though his ethics were sometimes questionable, his sheer brilliance behind the wheel was never in dispute.

The most extraordinary driver's origins were most ordinary. He was born on 3 January, 1969, near Cologne, Germany, six years before his brother Ralf, who would also become a Formula One driver. Their father, a bricklayer, ran the local kart track, at Kerpen, where Mrs Schumacher operated the canteen. As a four-year old Michael enjoyed playing on a pedal kart, though when his father fitted it with a small motorcycle engine the future superstar promptly crashed into a lamppost. But Michael soon mastered his machine and won his first kart championship at six, following which his far from affluent parents arranged sponsorship from wealthy enthusiasts that enabled Michael to make rapid progress. By 1987 he was German and European kart champion and had left school to work as an apprentice car mechanic, a job that was soon replaced by full-time employment as a race driver. In 1990 he won the German F3 championship and was hired by Mercedes to drive sportscars. The next year he made a stunning Formula One debut, qualifying an astonishing seventh in a Jordan for the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa, whereupon he was immediately snapped up by Benetton, where in 1992 he won his first Formula One race, again at Spa, the most demanding circuit of them all.

Over the next four seasons with Benetton he won a further 18 races and two world championships. His first, in 1994, was somewhat tainted in that Benetton was suspected of technical irregularities and in their championship showdown race in Adelaide Schumacher collided (deliberately, some thought) with his closest challenger, the Williams of Damon Hill. But Germany's first world champion was unquestionably worthy of the 1995 driving title, following which he moved to Ferrari, then a team in disarray and without a champion since Jody Scheckter in 1979. The Schumacher-Ferrari combination began promisingly with three wins in 1996 and five more in 1997, though that season ended in infamy when in the final race, at Jerez in Spain, Schumacher tried unsuccessfully to ram the Williams of his title rival Jacques Villeneuve off the road. As punishment for his misdemeanour Schumacher's second place in the championship was stricken from the record books he would thereafter begin to rewrite.

After finishing second overall in 1998, Schumacher's 1999 season was interrupted by a broken leg (the only injury of his career) incurred in crash at the British Grand Prix. From then on there was no stopping 'Schumi' - who in 2000 became Ferrari's first champion in 21 years, then went on to win the driving title for the next four seasons in succession. In 2002 he won 11 times and finished on the podium in all 17 races. In 2003 he broke Fangio's record by winning his sixth driving title. In 2004 he won 13 of the 18 races to secure his seventh championship by a massive margin. Disadvantaged by an off-the-pace Ferrari in 2005 he still managed third overall in the standings. In 2006 he finished his career with a flourish (though at Monaco he was found guilty of deliberately parking his Ferrari to prevent anyone from beating his qualifying time): extending his pole position record to 68 (Ayrton Senna had 65), scoring seven victories to bring his total to 91 (40 more than his nearest rival, Alain Prost) and nearly winning yet another driving title.

Like all the great drivers Schumacher had exceptional ambition, confidence, intelligence, motivation, dedication and determination. What set him apart and helped account for his unprecedented length of time at the top of his profession was a pure passion for racing and an endless quest for improvement. Blessed with a supreme natural talent, he had a racing brain to match, possessing spare mental capacity that enabled him to make split-second decisions, adapt to changing circumstances and plan ahead while driving on the limit, which with his superb state of fitness (he trained harder than any driver) he was easily able to do for lap after lap. The smoothly swift and mechanically-aware driver operated with a keen sensitivity for the limits of his car and himself (he made comparatively few mistakes) and his feedback to his engineers (led by technical director Ross Brawn who worked with him throughout his career) was exceptionally astute.

No Ferrari driver worked harder for the team, nor were any of them more appreciated than the German who led the famous Italian Scuderia to six successive Constructors' Championships. He led by example, frequently visiting the factory at Maranello, talking to the personnel, thanking them, encouraging them, never criticising and invariably inspiring everyone with his optimism, high energy level and huge work ethic. The team was totally devoted to the driver who often said he loved the Ferrari ‘family’.

Life with his own family - wife Corinna and their children Gina-Maria and Mick - was deliberately kept as normal as possible (the children never came to the races) and held sacred by the essentially shy and private man who reluctantly became one of the most famous sportsmen in the world. Rich beyond his wildest dreams (he reportedly earned as much as US$100 million a year), he generously supported charities, especially those for underprivileged children, and to help victims of the 2004 Asian tsunami disaster he made a personal donation of US$10 million.

In his last season the 37-year-old driver who had made Formula One racing his personal playground was still at the peak of his powers. No champion had been so excellent for so long, but Michael Schumacher finally grew tired of the effort necessary to continue to excel and decided to quit while he was still ahead - so far ahead that his achievements are unlikely to ever be surpassed.

Yet his retirement proved to be only temporary. In 2010, after a three-year hiatus as a consultant to Ferrari, 41-year-old Michael Schumacher succumbed to the lure of driving for the new Mercedes GP team headed by Ross Brawn.

His feat, can never be repeated by any in the coming times

dmaheshkumar · 29th July 2010, 09:54

Schumacher will surely come back to his winning stretch again and there is another 1 or 2 championship is waiting for him..

I see many people criticise him,Why these guys were doing this.
Anyway A true Champion will surely break this criticisms.

Lightening-Fast · 29th July 2010, 10:07

Thanks for starting this thread Pavan. I have been following F1 since 95. I have seen Schumi in Benetton, Ferrari and Mercedes. He is F1 God. He is what Sachin is to cricket. Few people dont understand what makes him so special. But for someone who watches him race will know what makes him stand apart.

MutantX · 29th July 2010, 10:18

A hair raising writeup of a true champion. A wonderful sportsman. Longlive schumy

Newpunter · 29th July 2010, 11:16

Great write up. My favourite years of Schumacher were the years when he didn't win the championship. The years from 1996-1999 and 2005-06 were the years when he showed his fighting spirit and his real class. The Ferraris of those seasons were no where closer to the top cars of that year, but with sheer determination and talent, he made Ferrari a contender in the championship. For people who think Schumi won only in a dominant car, they should check out those seasons. He did some amazing races during those seasons. His first win for Ferrari at Spain , where the rain neutralized the huge advantage of the Williams, or his numerous wins at Spa , or the race where he was stuck in 5th gear for the whole race but still won it, are all so special races. Thanks for all the memories Michael, we will support you no matter what.

srishiva · 29th July 2010, 11:26

Great Champion. I dont think any big team with good cars might want to use him and hence his chances of winning again may be slim.

RemingtonSteele · 29th July 2010, 11:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lightening-Fast

Thanks for starting this thread Pavan. I have been following F1 since 95. I have seen Schumi in Benetton, Ferrari and Mercedes. He is F1 God. He is what Sachin is to cricket. Few people dont understand what makes him so special. But for someone who watches him race will know what makes him stand apart.

+1 to what you said.

People don't understand how competitive this sport is and the fighting spirit needed to keep your morals & motivation high for so long. They don't remember the 5-6 laps he used to burn in to sneak out the vital seconds before refuelling; some of the lap recors are still unbroken at some circuits; but anyway you can't compare them now as that was different car with different tech.; but you can always compare his fellow drivers then which used to make him stand out.

If it wouldn't have been the in season testing ban then people would have seen the real colours of Schumacher in the current season. Not matter what you can't keep this man down for too long; I am just waiting when he pops his head again to hold it high.

Lightening-Fast · 29th July 2010, 12:00

When every other driver struggles in rain, schumi used to lap other drivers. With a struggling ferrari, he used to be miles quicker than others in Spa. He was the one who worked overnight with engineers to make Ferrari what it stands today. And all this with a smile and not a cry baby. You know whom am i refering to!!!

f1fan · 29th July 2010, 12:02

One piece missing in the original post is how Schumi got his lucky break in 1991. Betrand Gachot, the Jordan Driver got arrested ( and later imprisoned) due to a tussle with his cab driver just before the Belgian GP. Jordan needed a replacement driver and they gave Schumi his first break and he never looked back.

VJ_MAVRICK · 29th July 2010, 12:13

A fitting tribute to a "Phenomenon" in motor sport and thanks Pavan for sporting it here as I could not wait to comment and come out of hibernation. He is still got the edge and a passionate competitor and just like other Schumi fans, I am also waiting for that one defining moment which is all that is needed to put him back in a league of his own.

Lightening-Fast · 29th July 2010, 12:22

Anyone remembers his last race before he went into retirement. Brazilian GP and a what a race. The way he overtook Kimi at Turn1 was simply superb and is still rated as one of the best overtakings in f1 history till date. Saw that again last night on youtube

dkhatau · 29th July 2010, 12:28

Schumi well what can we mortals say about the man, sheer talent grit and sometimes questionable behaviour but inspite of that i truly admire him and will always do. Difficult to foresee a man winning 7 world titles(maybe more if he continues into the second year) in our lifetime. Cheers to Schumi The Great.

RemingtonSteele · 29th July 2010, 14:57

Check this:
Jenson Button has accepted a portion of the responsibility for Michael Schumacher's testing return to Formula One this season.

Button takes blame for Schumacher form
ESPNF1 Staff
July 29, 2010
Jenson Button says Michael Schumacher is struggling to adapt to a car designed for him
Jenson Button has accepted a portion of the responsibility for Michael Schumacher's testing return to Formula One this season.

Schumacher's Mercedes car is based on the Brawn GP 2010 car, designed to accommodate the world champion's preference for understeer.

Button's switch to McLaren, however, meant that Schumacher had to adapt to a car with characteristics not entirely to the seven-time world champion's liking.

"Michael likes a very pointy car," Button told Germany's Sport Bild. "But the Mercedes understeers pretty strongly. I was always happy with it that way."

Despite the German's struggles this season, Button does not think that people should write Schumacher off until his performance in the 2011 car can be seen.

"He will have more influence on the development of the next car. This year [the 2010 car] was quite late for him -- the fundamental characteristics were in place long before his signature."

Jenson Button takes blame for Schumacher's dip in form | McLaren | Formula 1 news, live F1 | ESPN F1

azeemhafiz · 27th August 2010, 23:38

One has to just see the 2003 San Marino Grand Prix, the most special to me as a huge Schumi fan.

A few hours after his mother's death, comes back on track to take the first victory of 2003 (Remember Ferrari had a tough start in 2003). The sight of a Champion on the podium with tear filled eyes. That, for that particular moment Schumacher in my mind went beyond the realm of F1 sport and became one of the most admired sport personality.

vamsi.kona · 28th August 2010, 17:36

Of all the duels I cherished Shumi and Mika's challenge. That was the time when these two were literally on a different levels. I enjoyed those contests immensely irrespective of who won. Also the qualifying then was such that it always produced last minute surprises with 90% of the time mika and schumi doing laps just before the time.

21st July 2010, 22:35	#1
PAVAN KADAM BANNED Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: NAMMA BENGALURU Posts: 5,602 Thanked: 2,549 Times	Hall of Fame- Michael Schumacher Found on F1.com A fitting tribute to the legend World Championships 7 Grand Prix Entries 261 Grand Prix Wins 91 Pole Positions 68 Nationality German History Since the Formula One World Championship began in 1950 the title has been won by 31 different drivers, 14 of whom won more than one championship. Of the previous multiple champions the most prolific was Juan Manuel Fangio, whose record of five titles stood for five decades until it was eclipsed by the most dominant driver in the history of the sport. By the time he retired, still the man to beat after 16 seasons at the top, Michael Schumacher had seven driving titles and held nearly every record in the book by a considerable margin. Though his ethics were sometimes questionable, his sheer brilliance behind the wheel was never in dispute. The most extraordinary driver's origins were most ordinary. He was born on 3 January, 1969, near Cologne, Germany, six years before his brother Ralf, who would also become a Formula One driver. Their father, a bricklayer, ran the local kart track, at Kerpen, where Mrs Schumacher operated the canteen. As a four-year old Michael enjoyed playing on a pedal kart, though when his father fitted it with a small motorcycle engine the future superstar promptly crashed into a lamppost. But Michael soon mastered his machine and won his first kart championship at six, following which his far from affluent parents arranged sponsorship from wealthy enthusiasts that enabled Michael to make rapid progress. By 1987 he was German and European kart champion and had left school to work as an apprentice car mechanic, a job that was soon replaced by full-time employment as a race driver. In 1990 he won the German F3 championship and was hired by Mercedes to drive sportscars. The next year he made a stunning Formula One debut, qualifying an astonishing seventh in a Jordan for the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa, whereupon he was immediately snapped up by Benetton, where in 1992 he won his first Formula One race, again at Spa, the most demanding circuit of them all. Over the next four seasons with Benetton he won a further 18 races and two world championships. His first, in 1994, was somewhat tainted in that Benetton was suspected of technical irregularities and in their championship showdown race in Adelaide Schumacher collided (deliberately, some thought) with his closest challenger, the Williams of Damon Hill. But Germany's first world champion was unquestionably worthy of the 1995 driving title, following which he moved to Ferrari, then a team in disarray and without a champion since Jody Scheckter in 1979. The Schumacher-Ferrari combination began promisingly with three wins in 1996 and five more in 1997, though that season ended in infamy when in the final race, at Jerez in Spain, Schumacher tried unsuccessfully to ram the Williams of his title rival Jacques Villeneuve off the road. As punishment for his misdemeanour Schumacher's second place in the championship was stricken from the record books he would thereafter begin to rewrite. After finishing second overall in 1998, Schumacher's 1999 season was interrupted by a broken leg (the only injury of his career) incurred in crash at the British Grand Prix. From then on there was no stopping 'Schumi' - who in 2000 became Ferrari's first champion in 21 years, then went on to win the driving title for the next four seasons in succession. In 2002 he won 11 times and finished on the podium in all 17 races. In 2003 he broke Fangio's record by winning his sixth driving title. In 2004 he won 13 of the 18 races to secure his seventh championship by a massive margin. Disadvantaged by an off-the-pace Ferrari in 2005 he still managed third overall in the standings. In 2006 he finished his career with a flourish (though at Monaco he was found guilty of deliberately parking his Ferrari to prevent anyone from beating his qualifying time): extending his pole position record to 68 (Ayrton Senna had 65), scoring seven victories to bring his total to 91 (40 more than his nearest rival, Alain Prost) and nearly winning yet another driving title. Like all the great drivers Schumacher had exceptional ambition, confidence, intelligence, motivation, dedication and determination. What set him apart and helped account for his unprecedented length of time at the top of his profession was a pure passion for racing and an endless quest for improvement. Blessed with a supreme natural talent, he had a racing brain to match, possessing spare mental capacity that enabled him to make split-second decisions, adapt to changing circumstances and plan ahead while driving on the limit, which with his superb state of fitness (he trained harder than any driver) he was easily able to do for lap after lap. The smoothly swift and mechanically-aware driver operated with a keen sensitivity for the limits of his car and himself (he made comparatively few mistakes) and his feedback to his engineers (led by technical director Ross Brawn who worked with him throughout his career) was exceptionally astute. No Ferrari driver worked harder for the team, nor were any of them more appreciated than the German who led the famous Italian Scuderia to six successive Constructors' Championships. He led by example, frequently visiting the factory at Maranello, talking to the personnel, thanking them, encouraging them, never criticising and invariably inspiring everyone with his optimism, high energy level and huge work ethic. The team was totally devoted to the driver who often said he loved the Ferrari ‘family’. Life with his own family - wife Corinna and their children Gina-Maria and Mick - was deliberately kept as normal as possible (the children never came to the races) and held sacred by the essentially shy and private man who reluctantly became one of the most famous sportsmen in the world. Rich beyond his wildest dreams (he reportedly earned as much as US$100 million a year), he generously supported charities, especially those for underprivileged children, and to help victims of the 2004 Asian tsunami disaster he made a personal donation of US$10 million. In his last season the 37-year-old driver who had made Formula One racing his personal playground was still at the peak of his powers. No champion had been so excellent for so long, but Michael Schumacher finally grew tired of the effort necessary to continue to excel and decided to quit while he was still ahead - so far ahead that his achievements are unlikely to ever be surpassed. Yet his retirement proved to be only temporary. In 2010, after a three-year hiatus as a consultant to Ferrari, 41-year-old Michael Schumacher succumbed to the lure of driving for the new Mercedes GP team headed by Ross Brawn. His feat, can never be repeated by any in the coming times Attached Thumbnails
	(1) Thanks

29th July 2010, 09:54	#2
dmaheshkumar BHPian Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Coimbatore Posts: 218 Thanked: 152 Times	Long Live Michael Schumacher Schumacher will surely come back to his winning stretch again and there is another 1 or 2 championship is waiting for him.. I see many people criticise him,Why these guys were doing this. Anyway A true Champion will surely break this criticisms.
	() Thanks

29th July 2010, 10:07	#3
Lightening-Fast BHPian Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 251 Thanked: 11 Times	Thanks for starting this thread Pavan. I have been following F1 since 95. I have seen Schumi in Benetton, Ferrari and Mercedes. He is F1 God. He is what Sachin is to cricket. Few people dont understand what makes him so special. But for someone who watches him race will know what makes him stand apart.
	() Thanks

29th July 2010, 10:18	#4
MutantX BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Madras Posts: 868 Thanked: 93 Times View My Garage	A hair raising writeup of a true champion. A wonderful sportsman. Longlive schumy
	() Thanks

29th July 2010, 11:16	#5
Newpunter BHPian Join Date: May 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 744 Thanked: 336 Times	Great write up. My favourite years of Schumacher were the years when he didn't win the championship. The years from 1996-1999 and 2005-06 were the years when he showed his fighting spirit and his real class. The Ferraris of those seasons were no where closer to the top cars of that year, but with sheer determination and talent, he made Ferrari a contender in the championship. For people who think Schumi won only in a dominant car, they should check out those seasons. He did some amazing races during those seasons. His first win for Ferrari at Spain , where the rain neutralized the huge advantage of the Williams, or his numerous wins at Spa , or the race where he was stuck in 5th gear for the whole race but still won it, are all so special races. Thanks for all the memories Michael, we will support you no matter what.
	() Thanks

29th July 2010, 11:26	#6
srishiva Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 4,375 Thanked: 2,256 Times	Great Champion. I dont think any big team with good cars might want to use him and hence his chances of winning again may be slim.
	() Thanks

29th July 2010, 12:00	#8
Lightening-Fast BHPian Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 251 Thanked: 11 Times	When every other driver struggles in rain, schumi used to lap other drivers. With a struggling ferrari, he used to be miles quicker than others in Spa. He was the one who worked overnight with engineers to make Ferrari what it stands today. And all this with a smile and not a cry baby. You know whom am i refering to!!!
	(1) Thanks

29th July 2010, 12:02	#9
f1fan BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Mumbai Posts: 701 Thanked: 48 Times View My Garage	How Schumi got his F1 break One piece missing in the original post is how Schumi got his lucky break in 1991. Betrand Gachot, the Jordan Driver got arrested ( and later imprisoned) due to a tussle with his cab driver just before the Belgian GP. Jordan needed a replacement driver and they gave Schumi his first break and he never looked back. Last edited by f1fan : 29th July 2010 at 12:04.
	(1) Thanks

29th July 2010, 12:13	#10
VJ_MAVRICK Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Sydney Posts: 1,239 Thanked: 34 Times View My Garage	A fitting tribute to a "Phenomenon" in motor sport and thanks Pavan for sporting it here as I could not wait to comment and come out of hibernation. He is still got the edge and a passionate competitor and just like other Schumi fans, I am also waiting for that one defining moment which is all that is needed to put him back in a league of his own.
	() Thanks

29th July 2010, 12:22	#11
Lightening-Fast BHPian Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 251 Thanked: 11 Times	Anyone remembers his last race before he went into retirement. Brazilian GP and a what a race. The way he overtook Kimi at Turn1 was simply superb and is still rated as one of the best overtakings in f1 history till date. Saw that again last night on youtube
	() Thanks

29th July 2010, 12:28	#12
dkhatau BHPian Join Date: May 2008 Location: mumbai Posts: 162 Thanked: 43 Times	Schumi well what can we mortals say about the man, sheer talent grit and sometimes questionable behaviour but inspite of that i truly admire him and will always do. Difficult to foresee a man winning 7 world titles(maybe more if he continues into the second year) in our lifetime. Cheers to Schumi The Great.
	() Thanks

29th July 2010, 14:57	#13
RemingtonSteele BHPian Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Pune Posts: 596 Thanked: 263 Times	Check this: Jenson Button has accepted a portion of the responsibility for Michael Schumacher's testing return to Formula One this season. Button takes blame for Schumacher form ESPNF1 Staff July 29, 2010 Jenson Button says Michael Schumacher is struggling to adapt to a car designed for him Jenson Button has accepted a portion of the responsibility for Michael Schumacher's testing return to Formula One this season. Schumacher's Mercedes car is based on the Brawn GP 2010 car, designed to accommodate the world champion's preference for understeer. Button's switch to McLaren, however, meant that Schumacher had to adapt to a car with characteristics not entirely to the seven-time world champion's liking. "Michael likes a very pointy car," Button told Germany's Sport Bild. "But the Mercedes understeers pretty strongly. I was always happy with it that way." Despite the German's struggles this season, Button does not think that people should write Schumacher off until his performance in the 2011 car can be seen. "He will have more influence on the development of the next car. This year [the 2010 car] was quite late for him -- the fundamental characteristics were in place long before his signature." Jenson Button takes blame for Schumacher's dip in form \| McLaren \| Formula 1 news, live F1 \| ESPN F1
	() Thanks

27th August 2010, 23:38	#14
azeemhafiz BHPian Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 290 Thanked: 310 Times	One has to just see the 2003 San Marino Grand Prix, the most special to me as a huge Schumi fan. A few hours after his mother's death, comes back on track to take the first victory of 2003 (Remember Ferrari had a tough start in 2003). The sight of a Champion on the podium with tear filled eyes. That, for that particular moment Schumacher in my mind went beyond the realm of F1 sport and became one of the most admired sport personality.
	() Thanks

28th August 2010, 17:36	#15
vamsi.kona BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 280 Thanked: 568 Times	Of all the duels I cherished Shumi and Mika's challenge. That was the time when these two were literally on a different levels. I enjoyed those contests immensely irrespective of who won. Also the qualifying then was such that it always produced last minute surprises with 90% of the time mika and schumi doing laps just before the time.
	() Thanks