A tribute to the greatest F1 Driver of all time - Michael Schumacher

Since 1991, the world of motorsport watched one man rise to dominate the competition.

He goes by many names. Rain-Master, Rain-King, Red Baron, Schumi and Schuey, but his full name Michael Schumacher, is a name that helped to make F1 more popular across the world.
He is credited with helping to make the sport popular in Germany, previously it was considered more of a fringe sport.

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Michael burst onto the scene in 1991, and in his early years, he made a name for himself against the likes of the great Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell, Nelson Piquet, and Damon Hill.
After initially impressing in his debut race for the Jordan team, Michael decided to join Benetton. This was unprecedented, and Eddie Jordan was furious over his decision, to the point he tried to take it to court. It was thrown out because Michael had not signed a contract.

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In 1992 to 1993, Schumacher became the best of the rest, as the Williams team was very dominant during this period. Williams had much superior technology on their car, but Michael was still able to pick up podiums and even his first win in Spa. Everyone could see how talented he was, in any condition, whether it be Dry or Wet, Schumacher was a driver to look out for.

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1994 was the beginning, and the end of an era. Schumacher and Ayrton Senna were battling over the World Championship. However Ayrton Senna would die at the San Marino Grand Prix, a cruel twist of fate robbed the world of a season where the two greatest of all time would have battled it out.

Michael Schumacher took the win, but he dedicated the win to Senna, and was very upset during the post-race interview. He told us that F1 needs to learn from this.

Skip to 16:30 for Schumacher's post-race conference:

During the year of 1994, many teams where accused of breaking regulations, including Benetton. The season ended in dramatic fashion as Michael would crash and end up hitting his main rival Damon Hills car, crowning him the World Champion for the first time. This was the beginning of negative feelings by some fans of the sport, as some had felt it was something done on purpose to win the Championship.


In 1996, Michael Schumacher decided to leave Bennetion, after winning two championships with them. He felt Benneton had made some damaging choices in 1994, and didn't want to be part of it no longer.
Despite the fact Ferrari had not been successful in many years, Schumacher, along with Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne from Benetton, decided to build the Ferrari team around him, and they would go on to make Ferrari the most successful team in F1 history.

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In 1997, Schumacher battled with Villeneuve over the championship. He gave his rival a sharp knock on the last race at Jerez, but ended up getting the worst out of it.


From 2000-2004, Schumacher had the greatest run of success in the history of Formula 1.

He won five Drivers championships in a row, winning the majority of the races, and rarely retiring. Ferrari were so dominant, and were also controversial, as they would have Barrichello slow down to allow Schumacher to pick up race wins. Some fans became disgruntled with F1 during this period, as everyone knew who was going to win races. He had raised the bar in all aspects of the sport, and no one was good enough to stop him.

Schumacher can be seen crying in the video below, after being told that he had equaled the late Ayrton Senna's race victories.


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In 2005, F1 made rule changes in a bid to stop the dominance by Ferrari. The new rules favored cars using Michelin tyres over Bridgestone, and Michael only managed to win one race, and finished 3rd in the Championship.

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In 2006, Fernando Alonso made his presence known when he battled Schumacher over the World Championship. The season was full of back and forth action, however in the end, he had to concede to Alonso. This was Schumacher's final season at Ferrari, and his final season of him regularly fighting for race victories.

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Schumacher retired in 2006, and became more of an Ambassador to the sport. He continued to be an adviser and worked behind the scenes at Ferrari for a couple more years.

In 2010, the announcement that he would return to the sport was made, and he would join Mercedes alongside the younger German driver, Nico Rosberg.

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Since his return, Michael was never able to reproduce the same magic that had won him his seven World Championships.

He had moments of brilliance, often being a very good starter, making excellent overtaking moves, while also picking up a podium in Valencia 2012, and a Pole Position (which was taken away due to a penalty) in Monaco, proving he still had the raw speed.

In typical Schumacher fashion, he had many incidents with other drivers over the last few seasons, but he was already doing that in his prime, so it was nothing different.


He may be one of the coldest, and controversial sportsmen in the history of sports, but he was also one of the greatest, and as long as F1 and Motor Racing exists, the name of Michael Schumacher will stand up there, alongside Ayrton Senna, and all the other legends.
 
Awesome, but you made a few mistakes:
Schumacher won 5 WDCs from 2000-2004, you put 4.
Alonso won his first WDC in 2005.
Schumacher retired in 2006.

I'll say one thing that I've always believed to be true: Domination is good for F1. How else would Schumacher achieve the recognition he has without showing the rest of the field he is a step above them? People fondly look back at 1988, when McLaren won all but one race, but not recent years like 2011.

Anyway, this sucks for me because I'm going to my first Grand Prix next year, and my hero won't be racing. Maybe he'll still be involved in F1, and I might be able to see him.
 
^ Thanks, I wrote this pretty quickly, so I figured some mistakes would be in there. Edited the info.

Anyone who feels like posting there own personal moments of his career, whether its a picture of video, that would be a nice addition to the thread.
 
Michael Schumacher's retirement speech in full.

It is probably not a complete surprise to explain a little bit on how my thoughts are on this. Basically I have decided to retire by the end of the year.
Although I am still able and capable to compete with the best drivers that are around, at some point it is good to say goodbye - and that is what I am doing this season. This time it might even be forever.

During the past month, I was not sure if I still had the motivation and energy which is necessary to go on. It is not my style to do something that I am not 100 per cent feeling for. With today's decision, I feel released from those doubts and in the end my ambition to fight for victories and the pleasure of driving is nourished by competitiveness.
It is without doubt that we did not achieve our goals to develop a world championship fighting car. But it is also very clear that I can still be very happy about my overall achievements in the whole time of my career.

In the past six years I have learned a lot about myself. For example, that you can open yourself without losing focus. That losing can be both more difficult and more instructive than winning. Sometimes I lost sight of this in the early years. But you appreciate to be able to do what you love to do. That you should live your convictions and I was able to do so.
I would obviously like to thank Daimler, Mercedes-Benz, the team, the engineers, and all my mechanics for all the trust that they put in those years in to myself. But I would also like to thank all of my friends, partners and companions who over many years in motor sport supported myself.

But most of all I would like to thank Corinna, and my family for standing always by my side, giving me the freedom to live my conviction and share my joy. That is very special.
I would like now to concentrate until the end of the season for the last races, and enjoy them together with you. Let's have fun.
Thank you.
 
Thanks for showing respect Kyle

im sad these days....guess i have to settle for the Hamilton gig.......hopefully it doesnt bore me to death,but i have my doubts

ill keep my fingers crossed he doesnt press any wrong buttons on his steering wheel...jeez
 
So, it's come to this, Michael Schumacher - you are retiring again.
I didn't get into F1 until the year after your first retirement, and when you returned in 2010, I watched you avidly to see what you could do against the new generation of drivers. What I saw was still, in places, the driven and ruthless competitor I had heard so much about... but at the same time, I also saw a man who had grown wiser and more open-minded throughout the three years he had returned for - a better human being overall.
I'll certainly miss you, and I have grown to respect you. Please win again before you go - though your 7 world titles will never go away, it would be a crying shame if you didn't get your foot in the door at least one more time before you go for good.

Auf Wiedersehen and Danke Schoen, Michael - it's been fun.
 
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Michael Schumacher in 1991 with Jordan.

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Benetton 1991.

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Spa 1992 - first victory.

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Portugal 1993, with Alain Prost.

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The Rain Meister at work, 1994.

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The infamous collision at Adelaide.

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World Champion of 1994.

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Schumacher dominated 1995 to win his second World Championship.

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In 1996, Ferrari finished ahead of Benetton in the Constructors' Championship and Schumacher won 3 races that year, which was more than Ferrari won the period between 1991-1995.

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Schumacher's crash with Villeneuve in 1997 resulted in him getting disqualified from the championship.

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When Schumacher's wheel fell off in qualifying for the 2011 Belgian Grand Prix, he said he knew his way around Spa on 3 wheels, referring to his crash with Coulthard in 1998.

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Schumacher broke his leg in the 1999 British Grand Prix.

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In 2000, Schumacher surpassed Ayrton Senna's total career victories.
 
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In 2001, Schumacher became the driver with the most wins when he won is 52nd in Belgium.

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In 2002, Schumacher became the first and only driver to finish every race on the podium.

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In 2003, Schumacher became the driver with the most World championships, winning his sixth by two points from Kimi Raikkonen.

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Schumacher broke his own record with a 7th World Championship in 2004.

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2004 marked the 10-year anniversary of Ayrton Senna's death. Schumacher won both the 1994 and 2004 Imola races.

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The 2005 regulations prohibited tire changes in a race. Ferrar's tire supplier Bridgestone struggled to build compounds that would last the distance of a race while Michelin succeeded. Schumacher only won once, in the 2005 United States Grand Prix when the Michelin teams could not race due to safety issues.

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Alonso and Schumacher fought hard right to the very end of the 2006 season.

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China 2006 - 91st and final win.

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2007 - Advisor to Ferrari.

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2010.

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Canada 2011 - the return of the Rain Meister.

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Solid gold 20th anniversary helmet.
 
this is a sad thing i watched shumi first start out in F1 in 91 and raced with his brother and i have to say other then senna shumi isone of the greatest and my all time fav driver and next in the list is alonso im a huge ferrai fan
 
Kyle thank you for starting this thread. Some beautiful pictures and videos capturing some of Schumi's best moments. It will be sad to see him finally retire at the end of this season. He is a true legend of F1.
 
FIA seems to know something - been to the 2012 Paris Motor Show today and snapped this at their booth. Now, isn't that a certain helmet? ;)

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