Since 1991, the world of motorsport watched one man rise to dominate the competition.
He goes by many names. Rain-Master, Rain-King, Red Baron, Schumi and Schuey, but his full name Michael Schumacher, is a name that helped to make F1 more popular across the world.
He is credited with helping to make the sport popular in Germany, previously it was considered more of a fringe sport.
Michael burst onto the scene in 1991, and in his early years, he made a name for himself against the likes of the great Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell, Nelson Piquet, and Damon Hill.
After initially impressing in his debut race for the Jordan team, Michael decided to join Benetton. This was unprecedented, and Eddie Jordan was furious over his decision, to the point he tried to take it to court. It was thrown out because Michael had not signed a contract.
In 1992 to 1993, Schumacher became the best of the rest, as the Williams team was very dominant during this period. Williams had much superior technology on their car, but Michael was still able to pick up podiums and even his first win in Spa. Everyone could see how talented he was, in any condition, whether it be Dry or Wet, Schumacher was a driver to look out for.
1994 was the beginning, and the end of an era. Schumacher and Ayrton Senna were battling over the World Championship. However Ayrton Senna would die at the San Marino Grand Prix, a cruel twist of fate robbed the world of a season where the two greatest of all time would have battled it out.
Michael Schumacher took the win, but he dedicated the win to Senna, and was very upset during the post-race interview. He told us that F1 needs to learn from this.
Skip to 16:30 for Schumacher's post-race conference:
During the year of 1994, many teams where accused of breaking regulations, including Benetton. The season ended in dramatic fashion as Michael would crash and end up hitting his main rival Damon Hills car, crowning him the World Champion for the first time. This was the beginning of negative feelings by some fans of the sport, as some had felt it was something done on purpose to win the Championship.
In 1996, Michael Schumacher decided to leave Bennetion, after winning two championships with them. He felt Benneton had made some damaging choices in 1994, and didn't want to be part of it no longer.
Despite the fact Ferrari had not been successful in many years, Schumacher, along with Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne from Benetton, decided to build the Ferrari team around him, and they would go on to make Ferrari the most successful team in F1 history.
In 1997, Schumacher battled with Villeneuve over the championship. He gave his rival a sharp knock on the last race at Jerez, but ended up getting the worst out of it.
From 2000-2004, Schumacher had the greatest run of success in the history of Formula 1.
He won five Drivers championships in a row, winning the majority of the races, and rarely retiring. Ferrari were so dominant, and were also controversial, as they would have Barrichello slow down to allow Schumacher to pick up race wins. Some fans became disgruntled with F1 during this period, as everyone knew who was going to win races. He had raised the bar in all aspects of the sport, and no one was good enough to stop him.
Schumacher can be seen crying in the video below, after being told that he had equaled the late Ayrton Senna's race victories.
In 2005, F1 made rule changes in a bid to stop the dominance by Ferrari. The new rules favored cars using Michelin tyres over Bridgestone, and Michael only managed to win one race, and finished 3rd in the Championship.
In 2006, Fernando Alonso made his presence known when he battled Schumacher over the World Championship. The season was full of back and forth action, however in the end, he had to concede to Alonso. This was Schumacher's final season at Ferrari, and his final season of him regularly fighting for race victories.
Schumacher retired in 2006, and became more of an Ambassador to the sport. He continued to be an adviser and worked behind the scenes at Ferrari for a couple more years.
In 2010, the announcement that he would return to the sport was made, and he would join Mercedes alongside the younger German driver, Nico Rosberg.
Since his return, Michael was never able to reproduce the same magic that had won him his seven World Championships.
He had moments of brilliance, often being a very good starter, making excellent overtaking moves, while also picking up a podium in Valencia 2012, and a Pole Position (which was taken away due to a penalty) in Monaco, proving he still had the raw speed.
In typical Schumacher fashion, he had many incidents with other drivers over the last few seasons, but he was already doing that in his prime, so it was nothing different.
He may be one of the coldest, and controversial sportsmen in the history of sports, but he was also one of the greatest, and as long as F1 and Motor Racing exists, the name of Michael Schumacher will stand up there, alongside Ayrton Senna, and all the other legends.
He goes by many names. Rain-Master, Rain-King, Red Baron, Schumi and Schuey, but his full name Michael Schumacher, is a name that helped to make F1 more popular across the world.
He is credited with helping to make the sport popular in Germany, previously it was considered more of a fringe sport.
Michael burst onto the scene in 1991, and in his early years, he made a name for himself against the likes of the great Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell, Nelson Piquet, and Damon Hill.
After initially impressing in his debut race for the Jordan team, Michael decided to join Benetton. This was unprecedented, and Eddie Jordan was furious over his decision, to the point he tried to take it to court. It was thrown out because Michael had not signed a contract.
In 1992 to 1993, Schumacher became the best of the rest, as the Williams team was very dominant during this period. Williams had much superior technology on their car, but Michael was still able to pick up podiums and even his first win in Spa. Everyone could see how talented he was, in any condition, whether it be Dry or Wet, Schumacher was a driver to look out for.
1994 was the beginning, and the end of an era. Schumacher and Ayrton Senna were battling over the World Championship. However Ayrton Senna would die at the San Marino Grand Prix, a cruel twist of fate robbed the world of a season where the two greatest of all time would have battled it out.
Michael Schumacher took the win, but he dedicated the win to Senna, and was very upset during the post-race interview. He told us that F1 needs to learn from this.
Skip to 16:30 for Schumacher's post-race conference:
During the year of 1994, many teams where accused of breaking regulations, including Benetton. The season ended in dramatic fashion as Michael would crash and end up hitting his main rival Damon Hills car, crowning him the World Champion for the first time. This was the beginning of negative feelings by some fans of the sport, as some had felt it was something done on purpose to win the Championship.
In 1996, Michael Schumacher decided to leave Bennetion, after winning two championships with them. He felt Benneton had made some damaging choices in 1994, and didn't want to be part of it no longer.
Despite the fact Ferrari had not been successful in many years, Schumacher, along with Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne from Benetton, decided to build the Ferrari team around him, and they would go on to make Ferrari the most successful team in F1 history.
In 1997, Schumacher battled with Villeneuve over the championship. He gave his rival a sharp knock on the last race at Jerez, but ended up getting the worst out of it.
From 2000-2004, Schumacher had the greatest run of success in the history of Formula 1.
He won five Drivers championships in a row, winning the majority of the races, and rarely retiring. Ferrari were so dominant, and were also controversial, as they would have Barrichello slow down to allow Schumacher to pick up race wins. Some fans became disgruntled with F1 during this period, as everyone knew who was going to win races. He had raised the bar in all aspects of the sport, and no one was good enough to stop him.
Schumacher can be seen crying in the video below, after being told that he had equaled the late Ayrton Senna's race victories.
In 2005, F1 made rule changes in a bid to stop the dominance by Ferrari. The new rules favored cars using Michelin tyres over Bridgestone, and Michael only managed to win one race, and finished 3rd in the Championship.
In 2006, Fernando Alonso made his presence known when he battled Schumacher over the World Championship. The season was full of back and forth action, however in the end, he had to concede to Alonso. This was Schumacher's final season at Ferrari, and his final season of him regularly fighting for race victories.
Schumacher retired in 2006, and became more of an Ambassador to the sport. He continued to be an adviser and worked behind the scenes at Ferrari for a couple more years.
In 2010, the announcement that he would return to the sport was made, and he would join Mercedes alongside the younger German driver, Nico Rosberg.
Since his return, Michael was never able to reproduce the same magic that had won him his seven World Championships.
He had moments of brilliance, often being a very good starter, making excellent overtaking moves, while also picking up a podium in Valencia 2012, and a Pole Position (which was taken away due to a penalty) in Monaco, proving he still had the raw speed.
In typical Schumacher fashion, he had many incidents with other drivers over the last few seasons, but he was already doing that in his prime, so it was nothing different.
He may be one of the coldest, and controversial sportsmen in the history of sports, but he was also one of the greatest, and as long as F1 and Motor Racing exists, the name of Michael Schumacher will stand up there, alongside Ayrton Senna, and all the other legends.