Schumacher - a good champion but not a great one
So the day has come for those of us young enough not to remember much about formula 1 before Schumacher. What can you say about a man who has dominated the sport over the entirety of his career in F1?
What you can say is that he dominated in an era when much of the field was made up of mediocre racers. He required the assistance of some dubious political manouevering to assist him in winning world championships. He never faced a real challenger in similar equipment.
History will record that Schumacher broke most of the important F1 records, but again this has to be judged in the context of the competition. Drivers like Hill, Villeneuve, Hakkinen and so on were very good drivers, but would not be judged amongst the greats of F1. If a Fangio or a Stewart was racing today, where would Schumacher have finished?
The disappointment with Schumacher is that he leaves F1 with a reputation not of being a great driver, but of a tarnished record. His assault on Villeneuve, his dangerous and foolhardy blocking attempts which forced the FIA to introduce the “one movement” rule, his deliberate blocking of the track at Monaco, his attempts to disguise his antics by appearing forgetful and trying to convince us that he was an innocent abroad.
Formula 1 (the business) will be poorer when Schumacher retires, Formula 1 (the sport) will be richer.
30 comments September 10th, 2006
