Apr 07, 2001 05:52 PM
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Michael Schumacher, born January 3rd 1969 - a true champion was born on this day in my view. Is he the greatest Formula driver that ever lived? Is he the most worthy world champion that has ever been at Ferrari? There are no right or wrong answers to these questions. All that matters is that Michael Schumacher is one of the greats, and is a treble world champion of the FIA Formula 1.
He posses the skill and knowledge to be the best, and I honestly believe that the only person who can truly compete with him is Mika Hakkinen (for the moment at least), perhaps Rubens Barrichello and David Coulthard can, but only up to a point.
So far Michael Schumacher has won 2 world championships with Benetton and 1 with Ferrari. He currently holds the record for the highest number of race wins after beating the late, great Aryton Senna's longstanding record of 42. Schumacher is often described as arrogant, and big headed, and it could be argued that his racing tactics are 'unfair', but the fact remains that he is one of the most competitive drivers and one of the most experienced, and ultimately, one of the best.
When he first won the world Championship in 1994 he was battling it out against Britain's Damon Hill, and it was argued that he deliberately, (very dubiously) drove him off of the track in order to win the race and the world championship. Does Schumacher display an unsporting racing style? Unfair driving? The FIA didn't strip him of the championship, but in many people's eyes, they should have done.
The 2nd World Championship in 1995 he was rivalled only by Damon Hill who had only just recently moved into Formula 1 the year before. Again there were similar incidents regarding deliberate unfair and unsporting like driving but it was on both driver's fault, but Schumacher still won.
This season though, there is nothing that can be taken away from Schumacher - this season I feel he is a worthy champion, and has brought the whole of Italy a very proud feeling indeed. They love him in Italy, and it was evident that Michael felt emotional when he finally won the Italian Grand Prix this season when he broke down in tears. This race was full of incident, and his win, although thoroughly deserved and applauded, was somewhat over shadowed by the tragic death of a marshal who had been hit by a tyre from a catapulting Arrows.
Murray Walker feels that Schumacher is the best driver, and nearly always makes a comment about this. Quite frankly, I find this annoying because it seems whatever Michael does he gets congratulated by Walker, who doesn't speak anywhere near as highly about any other driver. Many people feel he is the best driver, and he has shown he is the best, but he is a slightly arrogant driver in my view. At £26million a year he is one of the highest paid sportsmen around, does he deserve this? Who knows, but who really cares. In my opinion Schumacher will be, and probably is already, a role model for children who want to be a racing driver. He is a very experienced driver, and is still relatively young at 31 years of age. He is a champion, but can he make it four? I think so.
He has always been at a top team, so I would be very interested to see how well he'd do at a lesser team. Or even still, put him in the same team as Mika Hakkinen! Then we'd see who is the true champion.
Here are some results information:
For the 1999 season (please bear in mind Michael did break his leg!)
The first position is his qualifying, and the second (after the race time) is for his actual finishing.
Australia Melbourne: 3rd 1:31.781 8th [Puncture Lap 31] 8th
Brazil Interlagos: 4th 1:17.578 2nd 5th
San-Marino Imola: 3rd 1:26.538 1st 1st
Monaco Monte-Carlo: 2nd 1:20.611 1st 1st
Spain Catalunya: 4th 1:22.277 3rd 1st
Canada Gilles-Villeneuve: 1st 1:19.298 DNF [Accident, hit wall side-on] 2nd
France Magny-Cours: 6th 1:41.127 5th 2nd
Britain Silverstone: 2nd 1:25.223 DNF
[Accident, brake failure] 2nd
Austria A1-Ring: DNE - - [Injured] 3rd
Germany Hockenheim: DNE - - [Injured] 4th
Hungary Hungaroring: DNE - - [Injured] 5th
Belgium Spa: DNE - - [Injured] 5th
Italy Monza: DNE - - [Injured] 5th
Europe Nürburgring: DNE - - [Injured] 6th
Malaysia Sepang: 1st 1:39.688 2nd 5th
Japan Suzuka: 1st 1:37.470 2nd 5th
Fastest Laps: 5
GP Wins: 2
Podium Finishes 6/10 (he only started 10 races)
Points Total: 44
Final Driver's World Championship Position: 5th
The season shown above (1999) Schumacher had to be replaced by Mika Salo for the 6 races for which he was injured. Although Salo did well it was clear that Ferrari missed him, and that he really is a first class driver.
Here are the results of this season (2000)
2000 Season Formula 1 Calendar:
Round Date GP of Circuit Pole Winner
12th March Australia Melbourne: Hakkinen 1:30.556 Michael Schumacher
26th March Brazil Interlagos: Hakkinen 1:14.111 Michael Schumacher
9th April San-Marino Imola: Hakkinen 1:24.714 Michael Schumacher
23rd April Britain Silverstone: Barrichello 1:25.703 Coulthard
7th May Spain Catalunya: Michael Schumacher 1:20.974 Hakkinen
21st May Europe Nürburgring: Coulthard 1:17.529 Michael Schumacher
4th June Monaco Monte-Carlo: Michael Schumacher 1:19.475 Coulthard
18th June Canada Gilles-Villeneuve: Michael Schumacher 1:18.439 Michael
Schumacher
2nd July France Magny-Cours: Michael Schumacher 1:15.632 Coulthard
16th July Austria A1-Ring: Hakkinen 1:10.410 Hakkinen
30th July Germany Hockenheim: Coulthard 1:45.697 Barrichello
13th August Hungary Hungaroring: Michael Schumacher 1:17.514 Hakkinen
27th August Belgium Spa: Hakkinen 1:50.646 Hakkinen
10th September Italy Monza: Michael Schumacher 1:23.770 Michael Schumacher
24th September USA Indianapolis: Michael Schumacher 1:14.266 Michael Schumacher
8th October Japan Suzuka: Michael Schumacher 1:35.825 Michael Schumacher
17 22nd October Malaysia Sepang - - - So, as you can see, Michael not only won the last 3 races, but also qualified in pole position, showing excellent consistency. Well done!
I hope this has been of some use to you. Thanks and goodbye!
