As Damon Hill famously wrote in his biography, there are two things that set Michael Schumacher apart from the rest of the drivers in Formula One — his sheer talent and his attitude.
“I am full of admiration for the former, but the latter leaves me cold,” Hill had said in anger after Schumacher “deliberately” collided with the Briton to take the 1994 title at the season-ending Australian GP.
It was Schumacher’s maiden world championship, but the triumph at Adelaide was tainted a bit as his team Benetton were suspected of technical irregularities and his collision with title contender Hill, driving a Williams, what many alleged, was a deliberate attempt.
Though his sheer brilliance behind the wheel was never in dispute, the 42-year-old’s string of unsportsmanlike acts stained his successful career that reaches a landmark at this weekend’s Belgian GP.
It was at Spa that Schumacher began his F1 journey 20 years ago with Jordan as a last-minute replacement for Bertrand Gachot, who was imprisoned for an altercation with a London taxi driver. Schumacher had to find $150,000 from his sponsors Mercedes for the Jordan drive then.
The German, however, made an immediate impact. After qualifying an astonishing seventh, Schumacher’s debut race lasted just a lap due to a clutch problem. But his talent was rewarded with a full-time seat at Benetton, where in 1992 he won his first Formula One race, again at Spa. Schumacher won two titles with Benetton (in 1994 and 95) before moving to Ferrari.
“When I started racing, I never imagined people would mention my name in the same breath as Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost. Now looking back, I feel proud of what has happened,” Schumacher had told this newspaper, sitting in the Mercedes motor home at last year’s season finale in Abu Dhabi.
Success followed the German and so did the controversies. In the season finale of 1997 at Jerez, Schumacher tried unsuccessfully to ram his title rival Jacques Villeneuve (Williams) off the road. As punishment for Schumacher’s misdemeanor his second place in the championship was taken out from the record books. In another ugly incident in 2006, he found guilty of deliberately parking his Ferrari on track to prevent anyone from beating his qualifying time at Monaco.
From being a son of a bricklayer to a seven-time world champion, Schumacher’s rise to stardom was nothing short of a fairytale.
His domination in F1 saw him becoming one of the richest sportpersons in history. He reportedly earned as much as $100 million a year and he has been a generous supporter of charities. Schumacher’s donation of $10 million to the victims of the 2004 Asian tsunami showed his humane side.
His retirement in 2006 proved to be only temporary as Schumacher made an F1 comeback in 2010 much to the excitement of his fans. But for a driver who had 154 podium finishes and 91 victories, return to topflight racing turned out to be a humiliation.
His agonising wait for a podium continues till date. “Retirement is an emotional decision and it’s tough in any sportsperson’s life. I don’t think I can live away from racing. May be, that’s why I didn’t hesitate when the opportunity came knocking. I will be in F1 as long my body permits,” Schumacher said.