Twenty Years of Schumacher

Today is 20 years since Michael Schumacher made his Formula 1 debut at the wheel of a Jordan at the Belgium Grand Prix. As befitting a seven time World Champion I have chosen seven of my own favourite moments that I remember from the last 20 years. There were too many to choose from and I’ve left out a lot including several Belgium races and his only real head to head with Ayrton Senna. So let’s forget the controversy and just celebrate one of the greatest drivers the sport has ever seen.

1.       British Grand Prix 1998 & 2004

Let’s start not quite at the beginning, because as a race winner 91 times you’d have been very unlucky if you’d attended a few races and not seen him win. I was beginning to think that might happen to me after seeing four races and he’d not won, he’d barely got half way in most of them but then came 1998 and six years later I was lucky enough to see him win a second time.

They were very different wins, despite both coming at Silverstone in a Ferrari, and I was sitting in almost exactly the same position at Club corner. 2004 was a dry race, he’d won nine of the previous ten races, and was in a dominant position on his way to a 7^th world championship. Starting fourth he outfoxed the rest on strategy and held off Kimi Raikkonen to take a fine win. But it’s the 1998 race win I remember most fondly. It was in the time of struggle when Schumacher was still in the midst of recovering his reputation after the Villeneuve incident the year before and was also continuing to build up Ferrari, who again managed to provide him with a less than perfect car that year.

On this day, it was raining. It was almost monsoon weather, there were safety cars, there were accidents, but there was one red car that kept hurtling into view every lap through the spray, kept getting quicker and quicker and after passing a spinning McLaren of Mika Hakkinen, kept pulling away and disappearing into the distance in what was a mesmeric drive. It was also the first time someone won in the pit lane!

Watching him through Club, I could see his hands dancing on the steering wheel, correcting every slight twitch almost before it had even happened as the rain cascaded down. He may have lost the championship that year, but drives like this cemented his reputation as the best out there.

2.       Belgium Grand Prix 1992

He had impressed immensely since he entered Formula 1, mixing it with the star drivers almost immediately, but he hadn’t won. I remember as a 10 year old being absolutely on the edge of my seat as Schumacher found himself in the lead in his green and yellow Benetton Ford. It had been a wet dry race and he’d called in for dry tyres on a still damp track at just the right moment to take the lead. However, it seemed almost impossible that he’d be able to hold off the dominant Williams Renault of Nigel Mansell.

But luck, almost ever present in his career, shined brightly on him that day. The Williams developed a problem and dropped back, and the young 23 year old German took his first win just a year after his debut and I’d gained my new favourite driver.

3.       European Grand Prix, Nurburgring, 1995

You have out manoeuvred your championship rival, and now he has retired from the race. You have a strong points lead, but there are still three races to go. You are second in the race behind a tough Ferrari driver called Jean Alesi, but who is on worn tyres. Play it safe for the championship or go for the win? Twelve laps to go, 20 seconds behind, there’s only one answer on this day.

I’d never seen such a race as Schumacher hunted down the long-time leader for lap after lap. He just went quicker and quicker setting the fastest lap again and again until with just three laps to go, he’d caught him. Coming up to the final chicane, he dived to the outside, their wheels briefly interlocked, a slight bit of contact, but he was through. An outstanding drive and overtake, there was no way he wasn’t coming through. At the next race he won his second world championship after running rings around the generally faster Williams.

4.       1997 Season

 The car was a box on wheels, it struggled to beat a Benetton or a McLaren in the days when Williams were still in control, Ferrari had no right to challenge for the championship. Yet for all that he still won five races and came within a few points of taking the title, although of course he was later disqualified from the whole season for deliberately ramming eventual champion Jacques Villeneuve at the final race of the year.

Let’s forget that for now, because he brought results that shouldn’t have been possible. To drag it on to the podium sometimes was a decent achievement. You just have to look at the points his team mate Eddie Irvine earned to realise it was a struggle. Despite this there were some magical moments, in the rain in Monaco he was 22 seconds in the lead by lap 5. Another wet race in Belgium resulted in a lead of almost a minute after just over 10 laps, sublime performances that demonstrated true skills on circuits where the driver can make a real difference.

He’d hustled this car into a title winning position, it was just unfortunate Schumacher couldn’t see that even if he’d lost the title he would have been regarded as the best of the year by a long way. But second for a racing driver is never any good, first of the losers. As Villeneuve dived for the inside approaching the closing stages of the race, Schumacher saw him coming and turned into the side of him. It didn’t work, but despite this unfortunate end, it’s arguably my favourite season of his as he far exceeded what his car was capable of, a sign of a true driving great.

5.       Japanese Grand Prix 2000

At last, after four years of helping to build Ferrari up they did it. Winning the championship was no easy task. The McLaren’s of Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard were just as quick if not quicker, but this was his year. A good start to the season was followed by a bad mid-season, but by the time Japan came he could clinch the title.

It was an intense race, both Schumacher and Hakkinen were on an entire other level exchanging fastest laps as they left the rest of the field trailing. It was only decided towards the final pit stops, Schumacher was running second when a few drops of rain fell. He immediately closed up and after Hakkinen pitted was able to pull out enough of a gap to secure the win and Ferrari’s first drivers’ championship for 21 years.

6.       Japanese Grand Prix 2006

This is memorable for very different reasons. Schumacher’s main rival in the final year of his first career was Fernando Alonso who is still regarded as the most complete driver five years later. The Ferrari and Renault were very similar in terms of performance. Schumacher had pulled back a huge point’s deficit to be level with just two races to go.

It was very similar to 2000, they pushed each other hard but this time there was no fairy tale ending. With 16 laps to go the Ferrari’s engine broke and his car glided to a halt. As he walked away I couldn’t help feeling like his luck had finally run out. But what I really find memorable about this race and 2006 in particular was that he was still so competitive despite what we thought was his last year, he certainly went out on top.

7.       Canadian Grand Prix 2011

Of course he didn’t retire for long. Three years is a long time out of Formula 1, especially with the regulation changes during that time. Whether it was right or wrong for him to come back, or if its damaging his legacy doesn't matter. Ultimately he wanted to come back because he missed competing, missed driving and who can deny him that? He’s not quite as quick, has a love of crashing into people and can’t beat his team mate, who previously would have been easy prey.

But sometimes you see the old style and flash of genius there. In Canada in the wet he was awesome, and for the first time in ages I was on the edge of my seat for all the right reasons as the maestro sliced through the field. He lay second and was catching Vettel before the last safety car appearance brought the field back to him. With the track drying, he couldn’t make the difference anymore, but he fought brilliantly holding Button and Webber back for as long as possible. Not quite a podium, but a fantastic drive which reminded you how good he can be.

It’s the Belgium Grand Prix this weekend. The track where he made his debut, won his first race, had several spell binding drives resulting in a further five victories. Maybe, just maybe there might be a bit of magic this weekend.