Schumacher - a good champion but not a great one
September 10th, 2006
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.
Entry Filed under: Formula 1
30 Comments Add your own
1. allan bateman | September 11th, 2006 at 3:55 am
Moot point really, Schumi gave us 10+ years of brillant excitement, especially some of the most brillant wet races in the history of F1. In the French GP he passed Senna on the outside,and later putting pressure on Senna on cold tyres after the safety car pulled off in Imola, Senna’s ego would not allow Schum through which in the end cost Senna his life. Schumacher did the right thing, leave at the top of the sport, not at he bottom in a pine box. ab
2. Ent | September 11th, 2006 at 6:09 am
A little historical revisionism already creeping in? While I have no doubt Schumacher’s reputation now is more than a little tarnished, I think its a little stretch to say he hasn’t had any real competition. He had some tough fights with Hakkinen, and with Alonso over the last 2 seasons.
I don’t really agree with this comparing drivers across eras, either. It always sounds like an old man sitting on his porch complaining that “in the old days, beers were colder, women were prettier and children respected their elders!” Different eras require different types of drivers. Schumacher was the right type for this era. He has 7 (possibly
WDCs to prove it.
What I would consider a valid complaint is that results rely too much on the cars these days. Schumacher has pretty much always been in one of the fastest cars, and that is where the records have come from. At the end of the day, though, he was very, very good at his peak, but “Ferrari inc.”, if you understand what I mean, did as much to damage his reputation as it did to help him break all those records. Thats business. Thats todays F1.
3. bob | September 11th, 2006 at 6:23 am
Hi whoever says Schumi isnt as good as the records should first remember that he is the one who built Ferrari around him to give the car that won he so much. He left Benetton in 1995 at the top to join Ferrari one of the worse teams of F1 at that time. If that isnt a champion what is. The people say he isnt as good are dumb and need a reality check.
All great people become great by doing a few bad things its a part of life, but that just rwaffirms the faith that he is a champion and wants to win at anu cost.
So all the people who think he isnt good enuff can F….. themselves
4. Treasa | September 11th, 2006 at 7:37 am
bob, he left Benetton for a scandalous amount of money and money talks. Plus he took quite a lot of the key personnel with him if I recall correctly. You might also want to remember that in the early pre-F1 days, he wasn’t considered to be the more talented of the two up and coming German drivers - Frentzen was. What Michael Schumacher has shown is that he had a terrific manager who guided him along the right road. I see that not as a sign of a great driver per se, but of a good business man, being in the right place/car at the right time.
All great people become great by doing great things. They don’t become great by doing bad things. They become tarnished, and Michael Schumacher has been tarnished since his first WC imo.
Yes he will go down in history as the most successful driver of all time. But I have to say “most successful” does not equal “greatest” in my book. It does not even equal great.
5. Obi Wan Kenobi | September 11th, 2006 at 10:10 am
“If a Fangio or a Stewart was racing today, where would Schumacher have finished?”
I ask “If Schumacher was racing against Stewart or Fangio where those guys would have finished?”
It is stupid to compare 2 different drivers from 2 different eras.I don’t see you asking same questions about Senna.So Michael is one of the greatest drivers F1 has seen,but is he the greatest,I don’t know.
6. Ângelo | September 11th, 2006 at 11:13 am
Once i heard stirling moss saying that it was a pleasure driving in the rear wing of a driver like fangio.
Does this looks that he fight for the championship.
Many races in the Mercedes (silver arrow) era finished with the 4 pilots in the first position.
Does this look Competition.
He wasn´t the nicest guy, but he was the best of his time.
The problem is not climbing to the top, its staying there with the come of the youg wolfs. Senna didn´t make it, Prost didn´t make it, Piquet didn´t make it. Who did fight with Kimi, most venerable JPM, and won most of the races and after had some dificulties fighting alonso but i hope with success.
7. Nick | September 11th, 2006 at 1:13 pm
It is obvious for someone with the talent of Michael to have friends and of course enemies. A good champion but not a great???!?!! 7 World titles and you really believe that he is not great? Well, whatever suits you mate. Take a look on the stats below….
Titles: Seven (1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004).
Longest reign as champion: Four years 11 months 17 days (October 8, 2000 to September 25, 2005).
Most Wins: 89.
Most pole positions: 68.
Most wins in a single season: 13 (2004).
Longest run of wins in a season: Seven (2004).
Most second places: 43.
Most fastest race laps: 75.
Most races led: 138.
Most laps in the lead: 5013.
Most points: 1344
Most points in a single season: 148 (2004).
Most successive seasons with a win: 15.
Most podiums: 152.
Most wins at the same track: Eight (France).
Most wins from pole position: 40.
Most hat tricks (pole, win, fastest lap): 22.
Most successive races in the points: 24 (2001-2003).
Most successive podiums: 19 (2001-2002).
8. bluenose | September 11th, 2006 at 1:46 pm
This comment about leaving in a pine box is pathetic at best.
As for driver ego, we’ve seen that Schumacher’s is no less than Senna when it comes to letting another driver past, an attitude he had many years ago, and even as recently as a couple races ago.
Ferrari one of the worst teams in F1 before MS arrived? Hardly - just one of the more poorly run. That changed as soon as Jean Todt arrived.
9. Angel | September 11th, 2006 at 2:13 pm
I always think that debating whether or not someone is great is always biased by whether or not we like them. Most comments I’ve read that say that Schumi isn’t great, depend on the reasoning that he made some questionable decisions along the way. Reality check: Which driver has never done that? Which driver in Formula 1 has always done right by everyone and has never made enemies because he was better or stronger or cleverer? Name me one and I’ll debate the point further.
My point is that whether or not we like it or agree on it, Schumacher is one of the greatest drivers in Formula 1. I also don’t think that you can compare drivers across eras, simple because they drove different cars, the situations were different, the teams were different and the politics and rules of the sport were different.
Things change. New champions rise. Schumacher finished his career in Formula 1 on a peak, and no one can deny it. He deserved every single one of the world championships, because he won them. Alonso won one so far, and he deserved it in the sense that he had the best car and he knew how to drive it to finish on top. That’s the sport.
Whatever Schumachers reputation, it has nothing to do with his ability as a driver. That’s something totally different. Another thing: Many things we hear that are negative about someone are spoken by their enemies. The same with Schumacher. Most of the “tarnished reputation” comes from those sore losers that cannot accept that he is great and that he can beat them, therefore they try to destroy him in any way they can. I’m not saying he didn’t make mistakes, but slamming someone because of that is not an admirable attitude. Putting someone down does not damage that person’s character, it only shows the weak character of those that do the name-calling.
10. allan bateman | September 11th, 2006 at 2:25 pm
I always compare Schumi driving like winding a watch up tightly then letting it unwind in the race. Schumackers ability to drive at a quailifying level throughout a race, has been slipping. Maybe it’s not being able to concentrate at this level throughout a whole race as one gets older, but he did the right thing and retire, before his ego gets ahead of his aging ability and it costs him is life or someone eles’s. ab
11. Stewart | September 11th, 2006 at 4:06 pm
Yes, I agree. It would only be a matter of time until his driving would cost him his life or someone else’s. I mean, what is he thinking, driving so reckless! Ramming people off the road, wielding dangerous weapons on the track (like the Knife incident in 2001), winning races by skipping a few laps when no one is looking, etc… sheesh… this guy is a ticking time-bomb. Thank goodness he’s retiring, cuz he’s just the worst thing that ever happened to Formula 1.
12. Sven | September 11th, 2006 at 4:41 pm
Just remind us again, what was this “Knife incident in 2001″?
13. Roy Madden | September 11th, 2006 at 5:18 pm
I’m not the biggest fan of MS, but describing him as an armed criminal is a bit much
14. allovergirl | September 11th, 2006 at 5:59 pm
It has been said of many sportsmen in the past and I think it applies to MS, “We don’t know how much he contributed until he is gone.” Two or three years from now when Alonso and Kimi are deeply into their first contracts “Post-Michael” we can assess thier skill against his. How great will Kimi be at Ferrari? How great wil Ferrari be without Michael? It will be wonderful to watch. Will Alonso get on well with McLaren? I hope so. I think to summarize Schmachers decade-plus career into a sentence or two shows incredible ignorance. To dredge up snippets of a race without context doesn’t help to paint an accurate picture.
15. Stewart | September 11th, 2006 at 7:18 pm
I’m actually a big Schumi fan. Just wanted to overdramatize the
“costing him his life” issue. There’s no “Knife incident”. Sure, Schumi made some mistakes, but so did every other driver. I for one will miss Schumi.
16. veterano42 | September 11th, 2006 at 8:56 pm
We can say that Michael has been the most succesful driver ever in F1, but we can’t say he has been the best, simply because it’s imposible to compare drivers of different times. You must take into account the competitors, drivers and cars, and can’t forget that the five championships with Ferrari happened when this team was much stronger than their enemies.
As an example, Senna and Prost had to fight against each other. If Ayrton had not been on the track (he won three titles), Prost most probably would have won seven titles (his own four ones and those of Senna). Thus, to say who has been the best is impossible objectively.
17. Tony T. | September 11th, 2006 at 11:50 pm
I definately think that MS is the best driver of his generation, and I doubt that his records will ever be beaten in our lifetime. However, he did have some good fortune coming his way. First, Senna got killed and I doubt it had anything to do with Ego and more likely a mechanical failure as Tamburello was hardly a difficult corner (one Senna took so many times in a decade). Secondly, MS was in a position to go to Ferrari at a time where they had the resources without the organization, and he built a great team around himself. He even had Goodyear initially(98) on his side and later Bridgestone.
Was he great driver and no doubt the best of his generation, no question. Was he the best driver of all time, cannot say as you cannot compare drivers from Different Eras. However, I do think had Senna not been killed, the statistics would look a lot different today.
18. Sven | September 12th, 2006 at 5:30 am
I could not agree more with you
19. Clinton Bowen | September 12th, 2006 at 6:02 am
Guh, I’m a bit torn about this. While his record shows that he really is one of a kind when it comes to drivingl. His SPORTSMANSHIP did not equal his driving ability at all.
Why I’m torn about this is because I look at Zidane and the Matterazzi fiasco this year. Is Zidane a lesser champ because of it? I will forever say no. But he did give him a mighty blow like Schumi has blocked competitors (Monaco, etc.).
overall Schumi just good. had the full driving package, but not the sportsmanship. Not qualified to be called GREAT.
20. Ângelo | September 12th, 2006 at 10:28 am
who would you call GREAT.
For veterano42, Senna won 2 championship with Prost at ferrari. One Prost was second, in the other i don´t think he even got to top 3.
Don´t call enemies to the other driver, it´s bad to the sport.
21. allan bateman | September 12th, 2006 at 3:20 pm
Senna V.S. Schumi, really 2 totally different people. Schumi the total professional commited driver, with complete dedication to his team, while Senna was his own man, and liked the spot light and glamour of F1. Schumi was alway at the track, testing, while Senna was water skiing, Senna was in the media spot light, while Schumi focused on getting his team and car at the front, and was far mor the private man. Schumi did all his testing unlike Senna who left that job to Prost. As Prost later said after leaving Mclaren, that he has tired of doing all of Senna’s work, and as later discovered, without Prost’s endless developement on the car, Senna really turned very ordinary of a driver.Senna lacked Schumi’s work ethic. pure and simple. But one thing cannot be said of either that they lacked a talent for driving fast. F1 will always have stars, and contraversy. ab
22. Ângelo | September 12th, 2006 at 3:53 pm
Could not say it better.
Schumi was more professional than Senna.
I think there are only 2 driverr that we can compare to schumi.
Lauda and Prost. The other guys weren´t so professional as these 3. If one wish, could say that maybee better drivers, but not so professionals.
23. Ankit | September 13th, 2006 at 4:03 am
Ok so i havent read all the cooments , too long , so if i repeat something , forgive me !!!
Schumi according to me is a delightful character , all the incidents you talk about , Schumi had only circumstantial evidence against him and sometimes not even that.
We talk like this all the time because we remember what Schumi did , i will talk about an incident here , now brand coulthard as a cheat
1998 belgian grand prix
rain , only 7-8 cars remaining , schumi miles ahead of the pack , atleast 3 minutes. About to overtake coulthard, suddenly coulthard blocks him and Schumi’s tyre just breaks off.
Any comments !!!
considering the fact i am just 17 , i remember a lot about that day , i was 9-10 years old only.
24. enki | September 13th, 2006 at 9:50 pm
One of the greatest drivers without a doubt. Wonder how much effort in the way of mental gymnastics is needed to convince yourself that ALL those world titles, great races, great wins, poles etc are a mediocre driver with the benefit of a 10 conspiracy of fake moon landing proportions. (are the Benetton titles part of it or not? Or just the Ferrari ones?)
Wish I could watch the haters sputtering into their cornflakes in a few weeks as they relate their OUTRAGE at his 7th title (hopefully) to any unfortunate partner/dog/potplant in hearing distance.
More seriouslyish, I wonder how much of MS racing character was formed by Tom Walkinshaw, who was operations chief at Benetton during numerous dodgy incidents. His attitude that rules were what you could get away with must have had some influence, and I doubt MS was chastised for ANY move he pulled on Hill or others at the time by Walkinshaw, probably encouraged.
25. bluenose | September 14th, 2006 at 4:40 pm
I wonder why MS didn’t bring TW to Ferrari with him??
Won’t it be 8 championships, Enki?
26. Tony T. | September 14th, 2006 at 4:49 pm
Tom Walkinshaw was a serious cheat and the reason that MS got the 2 race penalty at Silverstone in 94 was due to the fact that FIA knew that the Benetton had the LC on the software and needed a good excuse to punish the team and make the season more exciting. MS brought the right people with him, the terrific minds who were not cheats, like Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne.
27. MESA | September 16th, 2006 at 9:39 pm
If you want to know how superior is MS, compare what he is able to do with his car compared to any of his team-mates.
Some may argue that MS didn’t have strong team-mates. Yes, but even when the Ferrari is inferior (judging by the fact that his team-mate is not even in the points), MS is able to push this inferior car to second/third.
28. Shashank | September 18th, 2006 at 2:55 am
I think this post is ABSOLUTELY baseless. To answer a few questions raised, it’s not that Schumacher has always driven the best car. It was his perseverance because of which we was able to build the best car around him, and that is a fair sport. Even after that, it’s not that he has had easy going all along. He has battled Mika, Kimi and at times even Rubens to claim the top spot.
Besides, the FIA have been constantly trying to introduce rules which would’nt allow Ferrari to win. And when Shumacher moved to Ferrari, it was just another worthless team. To answer your last question, if a Fangio or a Stewart were racing today, they would be standing on the second and third position on the podium, because Shumacher still would be taking the top step…
29. Koo KOO nest | September 20th, 2006 at 11:34 pm
It smell Brits here, sour grape. Can’t differentiate between result and wanabe. Lived in passed glory (1966 world cup) and expect to achieve good result (in 2006 world cup). Brit are doomed only good at providing save haven for renagde like disposed Thai Prime Minister Mr. Takshin.
30. Roy Madden | September 20th, 2006 at 11:37 pm
Are you accusing an Irish blog of being British?
Thems fighting words.
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