Schumacher - The Loneliness of a Long-Distance Driver

more reason why he's the greatest racing driver ever.

i wish f1 would remove the testing ban so someone like him (vettel eh hem) can pound around the track putting in lap after lap until the car is the fastest out there.

 

Michael Schumacher 1996-2000 - the highest talent peak any F1 driver has ever hit, IMO. His efforts in the 1997/98 Ferraris were particularly amazing.

Nice article, thanks for posting.

 

He seems like he is the epitome of a German machine.

 

I agree. This makes the testing ban seem like even more BS.

 

Great Article!

 

Having the most titles doesn't necessarily equate to the best. Plus you can't really compare drivers from different eras, especially when they had it easier. Vetter with unlimited testing would probably prove 'better' than Schumacher, since he started collecting titles much younger... but can't test. I personally think the best driver ever was Senna; he drove the harders cars to drive by far; a combination of crazy power, manual transmission, bad tires, etc. And a master even in the rain too, where he was miles ahead of his closest competitor. THAT's where you can prove your car control skills. That's why this subject will always be subjective ; can't compare apples to oranges to potatoes.

 

Great article! Get well soon Michael.

 

What made Schumacher so special during these days was the fact that he was a rare example of someone both talented and diligent, the perfect combination for these days of unlimited testing. Very often those with more talent tend to be lazy and the very diligent people try to compensate "limited talent" (certainly all on a very high level in F1).

In most features about him the diligence is put into focus but one just have to watch the rain races in Barcelona or in Spa were he was seconds faster than everyone else to see the talent as it was not only about testing. I think you can just find similar videos in the rain of Senna showing that they were about in the same league and few come close to them.
On the "downside" certainly Michael has something more in common with Senna: a very different self-reflection but I guess that comes with success...

What is interesting in the article is the fact that he had not much private life apart from racing, even more a reason to wish him a fast recovery so that he could enjoy his life outside the race cars with his family soon.

 

And the engine freeze. Which is why F1 isn't just F1 anymore. The team and the drivers are not allowed to practice before each races.

Anyhow, thanks for the article.

 

As I've said before, saddens me to this day that we never really saw them go 'head to head'.

They were both sublime, even 'beautiful' at their best (in the rain?) Watching Ayrton in a Formula Ford was truly something to behold. He was quite simply, visibly, head & shoulders above the rest. Michael I believe worked harder - He didn't quite have that God given, preter-natural talent that Ayrton possessed.

But then nobody else has either.... (Not even Hammy! )

Good find anyway, thanks,
Godspeed Michael & Jules,
Ian

 

Great. I'm going to read this article. But I can say now that the testing ban is clearly ridiculous now that the power plants are smaller full hybrids. How small do they have to get for the sport to get back to testing and real practice? Now is the time to return this, especially since it had such a huge impact on the competition. Think of poor Lotus and how their cars just went to crap. I think the ban was started to appease fuel economy critics.

 

Great article. Thanks for sharing.

 

F1 is a poor reflection of what it was in what may be looked at as it's zenith (in popularity at least) the 1990-2006 period. Since then, the rules have been ever more restrictive and prescriptive, teams have had less autonomy to fight and recover during the season, and the sport has become one of cyclic domination as a result.

People say that Ferrari dominated the early 2000's, and yes they did, but there were some tough battles in there, with only the end results reflecting domination..... Williams, McLaren and Renault all pushed Ferrari very hard during those times, it wasn't a walkover all the time, they had to fight.

Nowadays, we have the best car, and no chance to develop anything to fight it, hence, four red bull titles without much of a fight (go on, tell me anyone else winning was more than wishful thinking, except in 2010), and now it's Mercedes, 2seconds a lap in hand, can start virtually a lap down and still get back to the front of the grid by the end without even changing tyres.

There's the death of F1, red tape preventing the ultimate racing series being just that, ultimate........ Touring cars are more exciting, Le Mans is more exciting, jeez, my trips to the shops are more exciting!

 

I can go with that to an extent, however it is very rare I actually stop watching a F1 race once it had started, but after watching MS lead into the first corner race after race I did...

 

What a great article - and how I remember his determination during 1996 to 2000 when the first Ferrari title was his. I really felt for him when things went wrong esp Spa 98 and Silverstone 99. I couldn't sleep for two nights after spa 98 because everytime I closed my eyes I replayed the view of DC's mclaren and the Ferrari coming through the spray and htting it, hoping that the result would different somehow the millionth time I replayed it!

 

I can't imagine it's much different now then mate, I've waxed lyrical on how my f1 watching these days is basically simply having it on in the background while I do other things, never did that years ago, was totally 110% focused on the race/qualy and consumed every minute I could see of f1. I could care less if I miss a hour or so now.

I remember back in 2003, fell asleep waiting for japan to start, and missed the first 3 laps, it tormented me that I had missed those few minutes. This year, I not only fell asleep prior to the start, but totally missed the first start, the waiting around, and woke up just as they pulled away on the restart, and took me five minutes to realise what had happened, and still didn't really care! No way that happened before like that, I was too excited, my heart used to pound with the anticipation of every race start, regardless of where Ferrari/senna/schumi was starting from

 

I can't imagine it's much different now then mate, I've waxed lyrical on how my f1 watching these days is basically simply having it on in the background while I do other things, never did that years ago, was totally 110% focused on the race/qualy and consumed every minute I could see of f1. I could care less if I miss a hour or so now.

I remember back in 2003, fell asleep waiting for japan to start, and missed the first 3 laps, it tormented me that I had missed those few minutes. This year, I not only fell asleep prior to the start, but totally missed the first start, the waiting around, and woke up just as they pulled away on the restart, and took me five minutes to realise what had happened, and still didn't really care! No way that happened before like that, I was too excited, my heart used to pound with the anticipation of every race start, regardless of where Ferrari/senna/schumi was starting from

 

Find this hard to believe considering that he beat Senna his first full year in F1.

 

Fully agree that the stupid testing ban leads to these boring seasons dominated by one car.

 

So it wasn't boring when your favorite driver was romping off into the distance race after race with the added bonus of Rubens playing shot gun.......

Am only just saying mate.......

 

I disagree.

We are not talking about fruits or vegetables. We are talking about F-1 drivers. You can compare these all day long.

While Schuey is not my favorite driver (it is Mika), I don't think there is even a serious issue that he is the best driver.

Ask yourself this question . . . take each driver in their prime. Put him into a random car. And that driver has one lap to get the most out of that car. Your life depends on it.

Now, who do you pick?

For most people, phrase the question this way . . . there is only one answer: Michael.

 

I agree it would be hard to bet against him.

But, personally, particularly if it was wet, I'd go with Ayrton. There was an aura about him. Don't know what it was. But it was special.

And as everyone here knows, I 'love' Michael. Over his career, simply the best. But for a one lap, 'all things equal' shoot out? I'd take a chance on Ayrton.....

Ian

 

It is a very difficult question if not even impossible to answer, in regards to comparing yesteryears cars across the years to date

What suited one driver may not have suited another amongst the greats that is.

 

Great article!

I'm looking forward for his return.