Michael Schumacher is still considered to be one of the greatest Formula 1 drivers of all time, over 20 years on from his seventh and final championship triumph in 2004.
While his numbers speak volumes about his ability, it’s the story behind what Schumacher managed to achieve that stands out as special.
He managed to turn Ferrari’s operation from one that hadn’t won a drivers’ championship for 21 years into a dynasty, and it required a lot of patience along the way. He easily could have joined a more competitive rival, but chose to take on an ambitious project.
Nowadays, only Lewis Hamilton can compare to the German. Each driver accounts for the two most dominant spells in Formula 1 history, this side of the 21st century.
Hamilton is unable to emulate Schumacher at Ferrari and has struggled in his first season with the Scuderia. No driver has been able to lead them back to sustained success since he left them in 2006.
Schumacher’s ‘idol’ was Ayrton Senna, something which he has in common with Hamilton and left him emotional at times as he broke records for Ferrari. But just how close did it all come to never happening?
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Michael Schumacher was once ‘at risk’ of being fired by Ferrari before winning an F1 title for them
The year in 1999 and Schumacher has not long recovered from a broken leg. After four seasons with Ferrari, he has managed 16 victories, but no titles.
In fact, Eddie Irvine had been closer to achieving a dream championship than he had. Renowned journalist Giorgio Terruzzi reports that shortly before all of the Scuderia’s historic success kicked off in 2000, Schumacher could have lost his drive.
“I mean, German, he surprised everyone because he took a long time, Schumacher was at risk of being fired in the first few years, he took 5 years, with even Irvine, who could have won a world championship,” he told Moto.it.
“In short, he was in trouble, right? Instead, he changed with an intensity… they were admired by Schumacher at Ferrari.
“He was someone who you would say to him “we have to try this stuff here, you have to do 100 laps”, he did 100 laps with a gap between the fastest lap and the slowest lap of 2 tenths, that is, he was a beast from the point of view of competitive consistency.”
How a stellar run of Michael Schumacher form helped him break his Ferrari duck
At the back end of the 2000 championship, it looked as though Mika Hakkinen had the best chance of winning the title – a third consecutive one for him and McLaren.
With four rounds to go, he had a six-point lead over Schumacher, who was probably starting to feel a bit of déjà vu at this point.
Brilliantly, he came good in the clutch moments. Each of the last four events were won by the German, who sailed to a third title by 19 points in the end.
A Hakkinen engine failure in Indianapolis helped to turn the tide in Schumacher’s favour, and from there, he never looked back.
Between 2000 and 2004, Ferrari would win 57 of 85 races on offer. That’s a staggering 67%, or two in every three races won by a car in red. Schumacher would win 48 of those 57, and that’s no knock on teammate Rubens Barrichello.
