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Michael Schumacher
Schumi's success
continued in 2003 despite the FIA implementing new rules intended to
slow him down and level the playing field. The season though was a lot
closer than the previous one with both McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen and
Williams' Juan Pablo Montoya still in the running for the title at the
penultimate race.
A controversial penalty at the US GP for
Montoya however meant only Raikkonen could put an end to Schumacher's
run of success. The Finn, though, needed to win the final race of the
season and for Schumi not to score. It was not to be. Barrichello
stormed to the victory and assured his team-mate of his sixth world
title. To be safe though Michael brought his car home in eighth place
and won the title by a slim two-point margin, which gave his rivals a
glimmer of hope ahead of the following year's Championship.
Although
Schumi's rivals saw a glimmer of hope ahead of the following year's
championship, it was soon extinguished as Michael blitzed the field to
win the first five GPs. Victory number six eluded him when he did or
didn't brake-check Montoya in Monte Carlo. Either way, the result was
Schumi crashing into the tunnel walls
However, his campaign was back on track at the European GP, which was
the start of a seven-race long winning streak. His next non-victory
came at the Belgium GP where he finished second behind Raikkonen. The
eight points though were enough to ensure the German bagged title
number seven.
But with the title came a change of fortune and
the remaining four races resulted in just one victory and too many
rookie errors for the World Champion. They also yielded his worst-ever
qualifying position, a P19 at the inaugural Chinese GP. That race was
also the only one of the 17 that he failed to score a single point in
despite reaching the chequered flag.
Schumi's fortunes did not
recover in 2005, which saw the rule changes play an important role in
the changing of then guard, especially the tyre regulations.
Bridgestone struggled to produce a tyre capable of recording a
competitive pace for an entire race distance.
Schumacher's only
win occurred at the United States Grand Prix, which took place sans the
Michelin runners who had all withdrawn due to safety concerns. That win
was one of only five podium finishes for the German, who could not
nothing to stop Fernando Alonso from ending his five-year reign.
Schumi finished the season third in the Drivers' standings having lost out to Kimi Raikkonen as well.
However,
in 2006 the German bounced back strongly and, following a mid-season
revival, was in contention for the World title right up until the final
race of the season. It was not to be, though as a puncture sent him to
the back of the field.
That race, the Brazilian Grand Prix, will
forever be remembered by F1 fans around the world, as not only did it
produce one of Schumacher's most phenomenal drives ever but it was also
his very last F1 grand prix.
Alonso was crowned champion, but with such a dignified and magnificent exit, Schumi had earned a host of new admirers.
The
seven-time World Champion hung up his helmet at the end of the 2006
season, bringing to an end a career that spanned 16 years, yielded
seven titles, 91 victories and 68 pole positions - records that many
doubt will ever be broken. | Often controversial, often brilliant, pretty often the F1 World
Champion but always immensely talented, Michael Schumacher was
undoubtedly one of the finest drivers to grace motorsport's centre
stage. His shrewd racing mind and awesome driving ability, especially
in the wet, brought him deserved praise and respect - if not popularity.
The
winner of more grands prix and World Championships than any other
driver in F1 history, Michael Schumacher finally retired from the sport
at the end of the 2006 F1 season.
Following his F1 debut for
Jordan in 1991, Schumacher made rapid progress up the F1 ladder and
took his first World title in 1994. But along with success came
controversy with race suspensions and accusations of bad sportsmanship
that date back to 1994 when he was involved in a series of incidents,
culminating in a collision with Damon Hill in the Australian GP, which
won Schumacher his first Championship title.
Another infamous
incident, this time with Jacques Villeneuve (at Jerez in 1997), was
blamed on Schumacher and resulted in a one-race ban and the loss of his
runner-up status in the Drivers' Championship.
The following
year he again came close, challenging Mika Hakkinen for the title right
to the wire at Suzuka. However, Schumacher's hopes died when he had to
start from the back of the field after his car stalled on the grid.
Many suspect Schumacher of making a rare mistake - Ferrari blamed the
car.
1999 looked as though Schumacher might finally take the
Drivers' Championship back to Maranello. However a first-lap accident
at the British
GP left the German with a broken leg. Despite missing
six races, Schumacher returned in style in Malaysia, where he utterly
dominated the entire weekend.
A year later Schumacher finally
completed the job that he joined Ferrari to do. He clinched the
Drivers' Championship in Japan, handing the Italian team their first
world title for 21 years. In Malaysia, he went on to complete the
double.
Armed with the dominant Ferrari F2001 in 2001 and the
F2002 in 2002, Schumacher, who'd previously won world championships in
cars that weren't
the best, proceeded to rewrite the F1 record books
(almost certainly for ever). He won his fourth title easily in 2001 and
cruised to his fifth world title in 2002.
But 2002 wasn't
without huge controversy. At the Austrian GP, the sixth race of the
year, Ferrari team boss Jean Todt asked team-mate Rubens Barrichello to
gift Schumacher the race. A furious Austrian crowd booed them on and
off the podium and Schumacher was so embarrassed he put Barrichello
onto the top step to take the winner's trophy. He was booed heavily in
Monaco and Canada afterwards.
Later in the year, at the US GP,
it looked to be another Schumi victory when he backed off close to the
line, attempting a dead-heat with his team-mate. It backfired and a
surprised Barrichello found himself the winner.
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