RE: Schumacher at 50: Time For Tea

RE: Schumacher at 50: Time For Tea

Thursday 3rd January 2019

Schumacher at 50: Time For Tea?

As the great man turns 50, we remember Michael Schumacher in his prime



Five years on from Michael Schumacher's skiing accident, Ferrari has created a 'Michael 50' exhibition at its museum. Opened today - the very day he turns 50 - it's an exhibition chronicling Schumacher's remarkable career with Ferrari, featuring iconic F1 cars, helmets and more from his time there. 72 of his 91 GP victories were with Ferrari, and five of his seven championships.

The 50th birthday of any Formula 1 legend, but particularly Schumacher, should not go unmarked, so below we've selected three of our favourite videos from throughout his career. Feel free, of course, to share your own clips and memories; today is a day where motorsport will come together to celebrate the achievements of a legend - keep fighting Michael.

 

Matt - European GP, Nurburgring 1995
Confidence is what this video is all about. Schumacher was miles behind Jean Alesi with a few laps left to go, but there was clearly never any doubt in his mind - and there can't have been any as a viewer watching it live - that he was going to catch the Frenchman and take the race win. As Alesi floundered, Schumacher's concentration was unerring; a gap to the Ferrari that was 6.7 seconds when this video starts eventually became a victory by 2.6 seconds for the Benetton. Fresh tyres helped, no doubt, but putting in that sort of performance at the end of a race - including an incredible overtake around the outside with two laps to go - should not be underestimated. What a drive.    

 

Dafydd - Hungarian GP, Hungaroring 1998
It's an obvious choice, but Schumacher's performance at the 1998 Hungarian Grand Prix stands out to me for many reasons. Having been seven years old at the time, it's one of my earliest F1 memories; the shriek of the engines, the speed of the cars, Murray Walker's excited commentary. I was hooked on the sport, and the driver of that bright red machine instantly became my new hero. Then there's the fact that it came during a season in which Ferrari was not dominant, and during a weekend on which McLaren held the upper hand. Successful driver's detractors often cite their team's superiority as the primary reason for their success, but this race showed once again that Schumacher's raw talent and outright speed were undeniable. Finally it demonstrates the Brawn-Schumacher collaboration at its best; an incredible piece of tactical ingenuity and a drive to deliver on the promise it held, a scenario that would play out time and again over the coming years with great success, but perhaps never quite as much flair.

 

Sam - Hungarian GP qualifying, Hungaroring 2004
Michael became a master of many circuits, but for me, the Hungaroring was one of the best illustrators of his raw pace. On every visit, Schumacher attacked this circuit of fast-flowing corners with tremendous commitment, his corner entry always followed instantly by a throttle chased so very quickly that in some moments, I wonder if he ever let off.

I've chosen a video of his pole lap for the 2004 Hungarian GP because it features no commentary, allowing us to hear Schumi's masterful control of the machine around him without interruption. Just listen to that glorious Maranello-made V10 as it sings so sweetly to 19,000rpm(!), before gargling ferociously as the sequential box tumbles back down its ratios so brutally (sod the seamless shifters of today). Every mechanical moment of the Schumacher-wrestled F2004 is entirely audible for our hearing pleasure.

I don't doubt that Lewis Hamilton and - perhaps following a bit of muscling-up - Max Verstappen could also hustle Schumi's most dominant championship-winning racer around the Hungaroring to great effect. But I don't believe anyone could be so clearly dialled into this car, one of several Ferrari single-seaters the German played a significant role in the development of, as a then 35-year-old superstar.

This is the sort of stuff that had me setting a 4:30am alarm to watch far-off qualifying sessions, let alone GPs. These days, I'm lucky if I catch the race highlights.

 

Author
Discussion

wab172uk

Original Poster:

2,005 posts

226 months

Thursday 3rd January 2019
quotequote all
Greatest driver of his generation.

TR4man

5,207 posts

173 months

Thursday 3rd January 2019
quotequote all
Goodness, was it really five years ago?

Augustus Windsock

3,340 posts

154 months

Thursday 3rd January 2019
quotequote all
wab172uk said:
Greatest driver of his generation.
And the worst cheat; taking out Damon Hill, trying to take out Villeneuve, ‘parking’ his car in the middle of the track at Monaco
Not forgetting the time he claimed to be able to modulate the throttle just using his sensitive little foot TWELVE TIMES PER SECOND (think you’ll find that was the traction control you weren’t allowed to have Michael but which Ferraro managed to get around by getting FIA to say they couldn’t prove it was used even though it was fitted..)
Great driver?
Undoubtedly
Great cheat?
Indubitably.
Personally I really cant like or admire him, but that said, I sincerely hope that he makes a recovery from the injuries he received whilst skiing.
As an aside, I was musing over the greatest drivers of the last 40yrs, and came up with Lauda, Prost, Senna, Schumacher.
Of those, I’d guess Senna is loved the most, because whilst all of them were single-minded and arrogant, only Senna seemed to have the common touch and a sort of vulnerability that endeared him to fans.
I stand to be corrected, of course...

FK

161 posts

63 months

Thursday 3rd January 2019
quotequote all
The argument regarding whether he is the greatest driver of all time will rage on long after we have all gone. But to my mind he is certainly within that conversation.

Great lap round round Hungary. V10 shows part of what we are missing in F1 at the moment. I might argue that the lap he did a year later at the same circuit was even more shocking, as the 2005 Ferrari was comparatively off the pace. Yet somehow he managed to get pole by more than 1 second, although it was later admitted that his Ferrari had been fuelled 'aggressively'.

Happy Birthday and hope there are many more to come

The Green Triangle

138 posts

85 months

Thursday 3rd January 2019
quotequote all
I grew up watching schuey win weekend in and out. He made F1, and even tho I didn't support him, he was the perfect ego we loved to hate. Wouldn't have been half the entertainment without him

And I'm sure the other drivers were just as arrogant...

Here's to you Schuey and some sort of recovery.

Buzypea

225 posts

138 months

Thursday 3rd January 2019
quotequote all
The Dick Dasterdly of F1. I loved to hate him but in a pantomime kind of way. Loved watching him battle against Mika Hakkinen in the late 90’s, it was probably one of my favourite eras in F1 history. Ultimately I think Schumacher was overrated, 7 world titles definitely flatters his actual ability. Some of the stunts he pulled over the years were absolutely disgraceful and his team mates would always come to Ferrari on the understanding they would be a no.2 driver and help him win.

When he returned to F1 at Mercedes and wasn’t given the number 1 treatment, Rosberg outpaced him easily. Though to be fair, Rosberg was actually a very good driver.

I wish Schumacher well as he’s provided years of entertainment in F1 and hope he eventually makes a good recovery.


BlackPrince

1,271 posts

168 months

Thursday 3rd January 2019
quotequote all
Augustus Windsock said:
And the worst cheat; taking out Damon Hill, trying to take out Villeneuve, ‘parking’ his car in the middle of the track at Monaco
Not forgetting the time he claimed to be able to modulate the throttle just using his sensitive little foot TWELVE TIMES PER SECOND (think you’ll find that was the traction control you weren’t allowed to have Michael but which Ferraro managed to get around by getting FIA to say they couldn’t prove it was used even though it was fitted..)
Great driver?
Undoubtedly
Great cheat?
Indubitably.
Personally I really cant like or admire him, but that said, I sincerely hope that he makes a recovery from the injuries he received whilst skiing.
As an aside, I was musing over the greatest drivers of the last 40yrs, and came up with Lauda, Prost, Senna, Schumacher.
Of those, I’d guess Senna is loved the most, because whilst all of them were single-minded and arrogant, only Senna seemed to have the common touch and a sort of vulnerability that endeared him to fans.
I stand to be corrected, of course...
Although I think you're a dhead for saying such negative things about someone who has suffered what for most of us would be considered a worse fate than death...those things you wrote are likely true, and ALSO true of Senna - surely you must realize that?

Nickp82

3,165 posts

92 months

Thursday 3rd January 2019
quotequote all
The Green Triangle said:
I grew up watching schuey win weekend in and out. He made F1, and even tho I didn't support him, he was the perfect ego we loved to hate. Wouldn't have been half the entertainment without him

And I'm sure the other drivers were just as arrogant...

Here's to you Schuey and some sort of recovery.
Very much this

Mackofthejungle

1,069 posts

194 months

Thursday 3rd January 2019
quotequote all
BlackPrince said:
Augustus Windsock said:
And the worst cheat; taking out Damon Hill, trying to take out Villeneuve, ‘parking’ his car in the middle of the track at Monaco
Not forgetting the time he claimed to be able to modulate the throttle just using his sensitive little foot TWELVE TIMES PER SECOND (think you’ll find that was the traction control you weren’t allowed to have Michael but which Ferraro managed to get around by getting FIA to say they couldn’t prove it was used even though it was fitted..)
Great driver?
Undoubtedly
Great cheat?
Indubitably.
Personally I really cant like or admire him, but that said, I sincerely hope that he makes a recovery from the injuries he received whilst skiing.
As an aside, I was musing over the greatest drivers of the last 40yrs, and came up with Lauda, Prost, Senna, Schumacher.
Of those, I’d guess Senna is loved the most, because whilst all of them were single-minded and arrogant, only Senna seemed to have the common touch and a sort of vulnerability that endeared him to fans.
I stand to be corrected, of course...
Although I think you're a dhead for saying such negative things about someone who has suffered what for most of us would be considered a worse fate than death...those things you wrote are likely true, and ALSO true of Senna - surely you must realize that?
I can't see why his health would ever be part of a conversation about his racing career... Senna was a dick, Schumacher was a dick. Both great drivers.

Plug Life

978 posts

90 months

Thursday 3rd January 2019
quotequote all
Augustus Windsock said:
And the worst cheat;
That's why him and Ferrari were the perfect combination.

BVB

1,097 posts

152 months

Thursday 3rd January 2019
quotequote all

No.1 - always. All the current generation of drivers learnt from Michael. Ross Brawn correctly stated that Schumi raised the bar totally.
Keep fighting Champ.

Gandahar

9,600 posts

127 months

Thursday 3rd January 2019
quotequote all
Augustus Windsock said:
wab172uk said:
Greatest driver of his generation.
As an aside, I was musing over the greatest drivers of the last 40yrs, and came up with Lauda, Prost, Senna, Schumacher.

I stand to be corrected, of course...
You seem to forget that man from the paved with gold streets of Stevenage....


Hamilton matched Alonso, one of the greatest drivers of his generation, in the same car in 2007.
Rosberg beat Schumacher whilst at Mercedes handily
Hamilton then beat Rosberg at Mercedes.

No Lewis in your list?

Of course what makes a great driver a great driver depends on your definition of great,

MS was not someone you could love as a champ, considering how he went about his business, but he made the most of a fantastic Ferrari team at the time.

All the best champ.




Augustus Windsock

3,340 posts

154 months

Thursday 3rd January 2019
quotequote all
BlackPrince said:
Augustus Windsock said:
And the worst cheat; taking out Damon Hill, trying to take out Villeneuve, ‘parking’ his car in the middle of the track at Monaco
Not forgetting the time he claimed to be able to modulate the throttle just using his sensitive little foot TWELVE TIMES PER SECOND (think you’ll find that was the traction control you weren’t allowed to have Michael but which Ferraro managed to get around by getting FIA to say they couldn’t prove it was used even though it was fitted..)
Great driver?
Undoubtedly
Great cheat?
Indubitably.
Personally I really cant like or admire him, but that said, I sincerely hope that he makes a recovery from the injuries he received whilst skiing.
As an aside, I was musing over the greatest drivers of the last 40yrs, and came up with Lauda, Prost, Senna, Schumacher.
Of those, I’d guess Senna is loved the most, because whilst all of them were single-minded and arrogant, only Senna seemed to have the common touch and a sort of vulnerability that endeared him to fans.
I stand to be corrected, of course...
Although I think you're a dhead for saying such negative things about someone who has suffered what for most of us would be considered a worse fate than death...those things you wrote are likely true, and ALSO true of Senna - surely you must realize that?
Wow, I am a dhead?
Hmmm, surely pot/kettle as you fail to recognise that it was him being a dhead that led to his accident, deliberately skiing off-piste where he shouldn’t have
I’d guess his sheer arrogance would have made him think that he was as bulletproof as when he was racing (and no, I wouldn’t wish such an accident on anyone)
Not quite sure how Senna would be classed the same other than his ‘incident’ with Prost.
Having said that, in the film ‘Senna’, Prost did say he thought Senna was dangerous because he thought he was immortal (or words to that effect)

anonymous-user

53 months

Thursday 3rd January 2019
quotequote all
BlackPrince said:
Although I think you're a dhead for saying such negative things about someone who has suffered what for most of us would be considered a worse fate than death...
I completely fail to see how a person’s condition should influence a discussion about them?

BlackPrince

1,271 posts

168 months

Thursday 3rd January 2019
quotequote all
Augustus Windsock said:
Wow, I am a dhead?
Hmmm, surely pot/kettle as you fail to recognise that it was him being a dhead that led to his accident, deliberately skiing off-piste where he shouldn’t have
I’d guess his sheer arrogance would have made him think that he was as bulletproof as when he was racing (and no, I wouldn’t wish such an accident on anyone)
Not quite sure how Senna would be classed the same other than his ‘incident’ with Prost.
Having said that, in the film ‘Senna’, Prost did say he thought Senna was dangerous because he thought he was immortal (or words to that effect)
Sorry - I retract my statement. However, I would hope you could at least understand my overreaction as surely you must have some compassion for Schumacher's current situation?

He was skiing off-piste but my understanding is that he was a very experienced skier and was wearing a helmet (though affixed with a Go-Pro with a drilled-in mount, perhaps compromising the lid's structural integrity).

Senna isn't on the level of being dangerous as Schumacher was, admittedly, but I think a lot of people would agree that he was often a very dangerous driver, who yes, cheated, and was very manipulative

0a

23,879 posts

193 months

Thursday 3rd January 2019
quotequote all
Plug Life said:
Augustus Windsock said:
And the worst cheat;
That's why him and Ferrari were the perfect combination.
Ha I’d agree with that talking to some engineering bods from Ferrari last year!

lord trumpton

7,321 posts

125 months

Thursday 3rd January 2019
quotequote all
I alway disliked Schumacher when he was in F1.

It's sad to say this given his terrible accident and state of health - but take that section of his life away then I always saw him as a bit of a knob.

Obviously I genuinely feel extreme regret for his current situation and wish him all the luck in the world with his greatest battle.

Cold

15,207 posts

89 months

Thursday 3rd January 2019
quotequote all
BlackPrince said:
Augustus Windsock said:
deliberately skiing off-piste where he shouldn’t have
He was skiing off-piste
Not really off piste in what the mind's eye might suggest. It was just a little cut-through from one groomed piste to another. A tiny and short link trail between two slopes on the same side of the hill. An alleyway, if you like and a popular one at that.
Not exactly some sheer cliff or super gnarly rock face with a mere dusting of snow covering it.

soad

32,829 posts

175 months

Thursday 3rd January 2019
quotequote all
wab172uk said:
Greatest driver of his generation.
Potentially so. Haven't really followed or watched the F1 since his "demise".

castex

4,935 posts

272 months

Thursday 3rd January 2019
quotequote all
Cold said:
BlackPrince said:
Augustus Windsock said:
deliberately skiing off-piste where he shouldn’t have
He was skiing off-piste
Not really off piste in what the mind's eye might suggest. It was just a little cut-through from one groomed piste to another. A tiny and short link trail between two slopes on the same side of the hill. An alleyway, if you like and a popular one at that.
Not exactly some sheer cliff or super gnarly rock face with a mere dusting of snow covering it.
The sort of move any half-decent skier would make without giving it a moment's thought.
My own thoughts are with Michael and the Schumacher family until this torture ends.