Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher (born January 3, 1969) is a German Formula One (F1) driver nicknamed the "Red Baron". Statistically, he is the most successful F1 driver ever, with the most career victories, and a record seven World Drivers' Championships. As of 2004, he earns an estimated US$80 million annually, including all of his endorsement deals. One notable deal is with the German investment counselling company Deutsche Vermögensberatung, which will pay him US$8 million over three years for wearing a four-inch advert on his post-race hat.

Controversy

Since the 1994 death of Ayrton Senna, Schumacher has been widely regarded as the fastest driver in F1 and the most dominant driver of his era. However, his career has at times been controversial, with some commentators questioning his poor sportsmanship and driving tactics and the apparent standing team orders which would require his team mates to play a subservient role.

Related Topics:
1994 - Death - Ayrton Senna

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Furthermore, there have also been questions asked about whether or not Schumacher's driving skills constitute that of a World Champion, most explictly expressed by Jackie Stewart to Tiff Needell during an episode of the TV show "Fifth Gear", who said "Michael Schumacher makes more mistakes every Grand Prix weekend than any Grand Prix multiple world champion I've ever known. I mean, the number of times I went off in a Grand Prix in my entire career I could count on one hand, because if you went off the road there was a very good chance you were gonna hit something hard, and you were gonna hurt yourself, nevermind the car."

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Technical director of Ferrari Ross Brawn, however, has an explanation for this phenomenon. "The truth is that if, during practice sessions, Michael feels he's losing the car, he prefers to let the car go instead of trying to make huge corrections to stay on the track. It's part of his search for the limit. During a race however, he's the driver who makes the least mistakes."

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Driving Tactics

For those who question his driving style the two most often quoted incidents are the previously mentioned 1994 Australian Grand Prix crash with Damon Hill and the 1997 European Grand Prix crash with Jacques Villeneuve. It is widely regarded that he deliberately crashed with Villeneuve during the 1997 European Grand Prix.

Related Topics:
1994 Australian Grand Prix - Damon Hill - 1997 European Grand Prix - Jacques Villeneuve

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In the 1994 Australian Grand Prix Schumacher was leading Damon Hill, but just barely; if Hill had won the race, he would have won that year's World Championship. During the race Schumacher made an error and ran wide, which led to an overtaking maneuver by Hill into the subsequent corner. Schumacher turned into the corner and collided with Hill, in the process crashing into the barriers and breaking Hill's front left suspension. Both cars were removed from the race, which was eventually won by Nigel Mansell, who was too far behind in the points to challenge Schumacher's title lead. In this case it was judged a racing incident and Schumacher took his first title.

Related Topics:
1994 - Australian Grand Prix - Damon Hill - Nigel Mansell

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During the 1997 European Grand Prix Schumacher was leading the race and was followed by Villeneuve. In a similar situation to 1994 a win for either driver would guarantee him the World Championship. Villeneuve attempted to overtake Schumacher, who then collided with the Canadian in what the FIA finally judged to be dangerous driving. Although Schumacher's car was knocked out of the race, Villeneuve went on to finish third, behind Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard, who were too far behind in the points to challenge Villeneuve for the Championship. Schumacher was stripped of his second place in the World Championship final standings (with Heinz-Harald Frentzen moving from third to second), while retaining his results and points for the season, in a bizarre and unprecedented decision that was widely criticized as representing no real punishment at all.

Related Topics:
1997 - European Grand Prix - Villeneuve - FIA - Mika Häkkinen - David Coulthard - Heinz-Harald Frentzen

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Team Orders

During Schumacher's reign of consecutive World Championships many fans were put off by his dominance of F1 and there was particular attention paid to how Schumacher and his Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello were swapping finishes to engineer specific changes in the World Championship.

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A good example of this was the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix where Ferrari ordered Barrichello, who was leading the race, to move over for Schumacher to take the win. This led to a poor reception on the podium where an embarrassed Schumacher ushered Barrichello onto the top step. The result was a ban on team orders and a $1 million fine for Ferrari. Nevertheless, team orders are at times practiced by many teams and can be executed discreetly, for example, a fuel hose which will not disconnect, an apparent driver error, a radio authorization for a driver to overtake his teammate, clearly heard by the teammate in question, as used by Renault during the 2005 season in Canada (rendered moot by Giancarlo Fisichella's hydraulic pressure problems) and Turkey, etc.

Related Topics:
2002 Austrian Grand Prix - Giancarlo Fisichella

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It has also been argued that unlike some of the great drivers of the past, Schumacher has not had much of a challenge from within the team. For much of his career, the teams he raced for (but Ferrari in particular) have been built around him, with his team-mate being forced to play a subservient role.

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In more recent years, however, his success with Ferrari, moderation of his on-track tactics, and a more relaxed public persona have rehabilitated Schumacher's image for most fans, although the Hill-Villeneuve accidents have not been forgotten by many fans quick to point out his poor sportsmanship.

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