Michael Schumacher, the greatest driver ever to grace the formula one scene, ever. If you think this post of mine is to glorify him further, then you're obviously wrong! People living around me are only too aware of my hatred for this androgynous-looking chap. Therefore, today i am opening up an inventory of past Schumi controversies. The top three are what i call the 'Big Three' while the rest are up to you to decide what went wrong.
NUMBER ONE
Where : Adelaide 1994
The last race of a season that was marred by the death of F1 legend and season favourite Ayrton Senna. Schumi went into the race 1 point ahead of arch rival Damon Hill. On lap 36, Schumi ran wide and clipped a wall, damaging his car, in the process. Hill did not see this little accident and when he arrived at the turn, he quickly seized the opportunity to overtake Schumi who was out of the racing line. Schumi turned into Hill's car, taking both of them out of the race. Michael Schumacher won his first world title there and then.
Schumi's explanation : His steering wheel was not working properly and he did not see Hill nipping in from behind, hence caushing him to drive into Hill while getting back into the racing line.
Consequence : Nothing. No punishment whatsoever.
NUMBER TWO
Where : Jerez 1997
A sense of deja vu for all in the paddock as Schumi headed into the final race 1 point ahead of Jacques Villeneuve. Prior to the race, Schumi declared that it will be a straight fight on the track instead of being decided by a collision or in court. Tsk tsk... if he had only known....
On lap 48, at the Dry Sac corner, Villeneuve sliced down on the inside of Schumi's car in a lightning quick move to overtake. In a moment of desperation, Schumi lunged across the track in an attempt to cripple Villeneuve's car in a repeat of Adelaide 1994. In an odd twist of fate, Schumi's car spun into the gravel trap, Villeneuve finished the race to be crowned world champion.
Schumi's explanation : Jacques was attempting to overtake far too late into the corner. If he ( Schumi ) had not been there to block Jacques, he would've spun out of control at the corner. In short, JV used Schumi as a bolster to pull off a successful overtaking manoeuvre. Wow, Schumi made himself sound like a good samaritan.
Consequence : FIA summoned Schumi to appear in their court in Paris. Schumi was stripped of his 2nd place in the championship but allowed to keep points and wins. Gah, i thought the penalty was ridiculously lenient. Hey, not just me, but almost the entire F1 paddock thought so too =)
NUMBER THREE
Where : Monaco 2006
To tell you the truth, this is my all-time favourite! The incident occurred during qualifying at the Rascasse corner and this incident is now affectionately known as Rascasse-gate. Schumi had set the fastest qualifying lap and was on provisional pole. His rival Fernando Alonso was on his way to erasing that result. Schumi who was ahead of Alonso, sort of zig-zagged at the last corner, losing control and parked his car on the circuit. The session was yellow-flagged, forcing Alonso to slow and lose potential pole position. Many observers argued that it was a plot meticulously plotted by a driver in desperation. It was also bizarre that such a basic error could happen to an establised superstar and his car was unscathed.
Schumi's Explanation : He locked up his tyres, misjudged the corner and lose control.
Consequence : A public outcry by the formula 1 community for unsporting behaviour. Quotes from 2 past world champs ; Jackie Stewart " This was too blatant. When you see it in slow motion, turning the wheel one way and then the other, he had plenty of time to do something."
Keke Rosberg " He's a cheap cheat. He should go home and leave the sport to honest people". The race stewards decided that the action was intentional and moved his starting position to the back of the grid. Their statement after the announcement came as " If he'd damaged his car, we'd probably have filed the incident as an error. As it was, to park it like that, you can only do that deliberately. " Hurrah!
BEST OF THE REST ( Other minor controversies)
Australia 2005
Schumi tangled with Nick Heidfeld. Track marshals ignored the stranded Heidfeld but helped push Schumi's car back onto the track. Heidfeld retired from the race. Talk about preferential treatment!
Britain 2004
Schumi spun his car during first qualifying. This was a move to ensure that he could come out for qualifying first in the 2nd session, beating the expected rain. He qualified on the front row (before the rain), while Kimi Raikkonen and Alonso near the back of the grid due to qualifying laps in the rain.
Austria 2002
Rubens Barrichello led for much of the race only to let teammate Schumi through to win on the last lap after receiving orders from the Ferrari team through the radio.
Germany 2001
After a collision at the start with Burti, Schumi drove his damaged car to the middle of the track and stalled there in an attempt to get the race red-flagged for a restart. It worked...
Britain 1998
Became the first ever driver to win a race while parked in the pitlane. He was penalised for a stop-go penalty. Schumi paid his penalty on the last lap, avoiding the slow out-lap that would cost the win. Sly....
