4 Races that
tainted the career of Michal Schumacher.
In all
sports, there are heroes and villains and Formula 1 is no exception. In this
post I will be looking at one of the sports’ all time greats; Michael
Schumacher. Schumacher holds nearly every record in Formula 1 and is considered
by many as the greatest driver of all time. His illustrious career has been
blighted by many controversies; run-ins with Hill and Villeneuve, the arrogance,
the team orders and Monaco 2006 (the famous parking incident at La Rascasse) to
name but a few, could give Schumacher the title of ultimate F1 villain.
His first
major controversy came in 1994 at the final round in Adelaide Australia when
Schumacher and Damon Hill were fighting for the title. Of the 16 races in 94,
Hill and Schumacher had won 14 of them (Schumacher 8, Hill 6), leaving everyone
else in their wake. The whole season came down to a straight fight between the
two of them in Australia, with only a single point separating the two drivers.
Many expected Schumacher to drive away from Hill, but the Brit was able to
stick with Schumacher and put the German under massive pressure. For the first
time in his short career, people could see Schumacher feeling the pressure and
on lap 36, he seemingly cracked when he ran wide and hit the wall. Schumacher
returned to the track very gingerly and Hill, like a shark smelling blood, went
for a move down the inside at the next corner. Enter Michael Schumacher
controversy number one. Schumacher turned into the corner and collected Hill’s
car, leaving Schumacher in the barrier and Hill with damaged suspension. The
argument of whether he meant it or not has rumbled on for 19 years now and it
is my opinion that it was intentional. His mentality of winning at any cost took
over Schumacher and when he saw Hill go up the inside, he panicked, turned into
Hill and took the title with that one move. You could see Schumacher hanging
round the corner where he retired with a look of anguish just waiting for Hill
to come round. Ultimately Hill didn’t, and Schumacher rejoiced at his first
world championship. His ruthlessness came out in all of its glory, leading to
many people in the press slating Schumacher as an arrogant cheat. I don’t
however, believe that Schumacher wanted to end the race in retirement; he
wanted to give Hill a message but went too far. If Australia 1994 was a debatable incident, then Jerez in 1997 was a lot easier to judge. The scene was very reminiscent of Australia 94, with Schumacher fighting a Williams in the final round for the title. Jacques Villeneuve had stormed on to the F1 scene in 1996 and almost took the title in his debut year. 1997 saw him locked in a battle with Schumacher's Ferrari which went down to the wire. The two drivers were separated by a single point. On lap 48 Schumacher chalked up another moment of controversy when he drove into the side of Villeneuve, but only managed to take himself out of the race. Various angles have shown the incident and it’s clearly evident that he meant to take Villeneuve out and go on to be champion. Villeneuve went on to collect 4 points and take the title. Schumacher was not penalised after the race by the race stewards. However, two weeks after the race, Schumacher became the only driver in the history of Formula 1 to be disqualified from the official classifications at the end of the season. The incident showed that Schumacher was willing to win at any cost and it backfired. Arguably, this win at all cost attitude is what gave him his seven titles, but at the cost of a tainted career.
We then come to May 12th 2002; the
day sporting integrity was thrown away by Ferrari. Team orders in F1 have
always been controversial and were put directly under the spot light during the
Austrian Grand Prix in 2002. Over the
course of the weekend, Ferrari number 2 Rubens Barrichello had been quicker
than Schumacher, even taking pole position. Barrichello had lead the majority
of the race and with barely 100 metres to go was told by Ferrari to move over
and let Schumacher through. At this point in the season, Schumacher already had
a healthy lead over the Williams of Juan Pablo Montoya, so why did Ferrari feel
the need to give Schumacher the win? Personally, I believe it was the amount of
influence that Schumacher had in the Ferrari team. The whole of the team was
moulded around Schumacher and the number two was seemingly always used as a
rear gunner. This didn’t just go for Barrichello; Eddie Irvine received similar
treatment during his time as Schumacher's team mate. With the structure of the
team being built around Schumacher, did they fear that if they hadn’t ordered
Barrichello to move over, Schumacher would have something to say? Ferrari
argued that if Schumacher had lost the title by four points or less they would
have looked foolish that it was Barrichello who prevented Schumacher from
winning the title. I don’t think that this is a viable excuse that the team
gave. Schumacher didn’t need the points at the time; it was Barrichello that
needed them. There was outrage from drivers, teams and fans over the move with
one title reading “Schumacher steals Austrian win”. Greeted with boos on the
podium, Schumacher stepped aside and encouraged Barrichello to take the top
step. He could see the disgust from the fans but ultimately, I feel it was his
influence within Ferrari pushed them into the decision.
Monaco 2006
would see Schumacher be branded as an out-right cheat by many drivers, team
bosses, ex world champions and the media. On his final flying lap in
qualifying, Schumacher could see Renault’s Fernando Alonso was about to take
pole position away from him. At the La Rascasse corner, Schumacher parked his
Ferrari across the circuit, blocking any chance of Alonso taking pole. Alonso
slowed down, handing pole position to Schumacher. Flavio Briatore, boss of
defending champions Renault, fumed “It was unbelievable. This is Monaco, this
is Ferrari, so nothing will be done. It’s a disgrace”*. Keke Rosberg went as
far as to call Schumacher a “cheap cheat”*. Schumacher was seen moving the
wheel right then left, nudged the barrier and climbed out. At this point
Schumacher knew that this was to be his final season (only to return in 2010)
and that he was the old lion now being chased by the young hungry cub Alonso.
Alonso’s skill behind the wheel was now better than Schumacher's and Schumacher
knew it. In Monaco, pole position is huge and Schumacher was so hungry for it
that weekend. Schumacher’s win at all cost attitude got the better of him and
ultimately tainted his unbelievable reputation in F1 even more.
*Taken from an article in the Daily Telegraph 28th May 2006
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