Michael Schumacher’s 9 greatest F1 races

After making his debut for Eddie Jordan at Spa in 1991, he was quickly snapped up by Benetton for the remainder of the season and was immediately on the pace of his three-time world champion team-mate Nelson Piquet. By the time he had entered six F1 races, there was no doubt that Schumacher was on his way to becoming the best driver in the sport.

For a man that won 91 grands prix over a career that spanned 21 years, it’s virtually impossible to lay out all the reasons why he will always be remembered as one of the very best racing drivers ever. He was able to extract more from a car than anybody else, and often did so for extended periods that would render the rest of the field powerless to resist. There were many legendary performances in Michael Schumacher’s career, here are the races we think were his best.

1992 Belgian Grand Prix

The great German’s first victory is probably the easiest place to start. Two thirds of the way through his first full season in F1, Michael Schumacher had already scored points in every race he’d finished, including podiums in Mexico, Brazil, Spain, Canada and Germany. Arriving in Belgium he sat fourth in the drivers’ championship behind the two dominant Williams cars, Nigel Mansell had already sealed the title, and Ayrton Senna, with whom Schumacher had been in a constant battle for best of the rest.

Almost exactly one year on from his F1 debut, Schumacher qualified in third place behind Mansell and Senna, but dropped to fourth on lap one as Patrese made the most of his superior Williams performance. Rain had started to fall at the start, and Schumacher was among the first to stop for wet tyres as the weather worsened.

In tricky conditions he was able to keep pace with the Williams duo as they chased the McLaren of Senna who had chosen to remain on slicks. A mistake at mid-way point saw Schumacher off the track before he made the decision to switch back onto slicks as a dry line began to appear. He immediately picked up the pace as he emerged from the pits and began eating into the lead of the two Williams drivers, and took the lead of the race when Mansell made his own second stop.

From there he didn’t look back, and powered on to victory by more than 36.5 seconds from Mansell as he demonstrated his remarkable talents in the wet for the first time. The first victory is always a special one for any driver, but Schumacher won this race in a fashion that we would see time and time again in the years that followed.

1994 Spanish Grand Prix

After a remarkable 1993 season in which he took a podium in every race he finished, Schumacher was well and truly considered a champion in waiting. But that didn’t stem the shock of onlookers as he stormed to victory at the opening two races of the season, as Senna struggled in his new Williams car. Schumacher won again at Imola in harrowing circumstances before taking his fourth win in a row in Monaco.

Arriving in Spain he already held a massive 30-point lead in the drivers’ standings, and took the second pole position of his career by more than half a second to send an ominous sign to the rest of the grid. He led away from the start, and proceeded, as he had done throughout the season so far, to begin opening a gap to Damon Hill. It looked for all the world as though it would be five from five for the German.

But then, as Schumacher was preparing to make his first pit stop on lap 20, he appeared to slow dramatically as Johnny Herbert in the Lotus closed up behind him and eventually unlapped himself as the pair exited the pit lane. Two laps later he was passed for the lead of the race by Mika Häkkinen, and it was clear the Benetton had a problem.

Stuck in fifth gear, Schumacher was having to nurse the car in extraordinary circumstances with more than 40 laps to go around a Catalunya circuit that featured several low-speed corners. It seemed impossible that he would be able to finish the race, and yet he soldiered on, and actually managed to maintain alarmingly consistent pace as he retained second place behind new leader Damon Hill.

After completing a pitstop in fifth gear and somehow keeping the car running as he left the box, Schumacher amazingly managed to hold on to second place in the race, dragging home, at remarkable speed as he often lapped quicker than Hill ahead, a car that was in no state to be finishing at all. Truly one of his greatest races.

1995 Belgian Grand Prix

By 1995, Schumacher was a world champion and considered the best driver on the F1 grid. His performances that season were often dominant, as he took five victories to lead the championship ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa, the circuit where he originally showcased his formidable talents.

The scene of his post-race disqualification after crossing the line first a year earlier, Schumacher’s return to Spa looked set for more disappointment as he could only manage 16^th in qualifying. It didn’t take long for him to start putting that right though, as he carved his way up into the top ten by the end of the second lap.

He had climbed up to fifth place by lap six, although struggling to get the better of Eddie Irvine’s Jordan. By the time he made it past on lap 11 he was a full 20 seconds behind race leader David Coulthard. When the Williams ground to a halt with a gearbox issue Schumacher was elevated to third place, and he soon took the lead on the road as Hill and Berger ahead made their first pitstops.

Then the rain started to fall, and Der Regenmeister had an opportunity to show his wet weather prowess once again. While Hill made a second pitstop for wet tyres, Schumacher chose to stay out on slicks and it looked for all the world as though he’d made a big mistake as Hill scythed up to his gearbox in treacherous conditions. The German refused to let his adversary by, however, and pulled off a series of audacious defensive moves, most notably at Les Combes, to retain the lead. By the time he did relinquish to Hill, the rain was already beginning to ease, and it wouldn’t be long until the Williams man would have to stop again to return to slicks.

The rain returned to cause more chaos with 17 laps to go, and this time the safety car was deployed, which gave Schumacher the chance to make a cheap pitstop for wet tyres and take the de facto lead of the grand prix. His speed at the restart was astonishing as he pulled out a two second gap within the first half a lap, and from there his victory was never in doubt. A ten-second stop-go penalty for Hill sealed the deal as Schumacher came home to win by almost 20 seconds.

1996 Spanish Grand Prix

After taking back-to-back world championships with Benetton, Schumacher made the surprising decision to move to Ferrari for 1996, a team that hadn’t won a drivers’ championship since 1979. His Ferrari career got off to a mixed start as he registered three podiums and three retirements from the first six races, topped off with a first-lap crash from pole position at a rainy Monaco Grand Prix.

The weather was even worse a couple of weeks later for the Spanish Grand Prix, and Schumacher was enduring what was comfortably his longest winless run since 1993. With Williams looking dominant, it was going to take something special for him to break his duck in 1996, but when the rain was falling you could never count out Schumacher.

Even as he struggled to get away from the line at the start, Schumacher was still able to quickly recover back up to fifth on lap one, and then make further progress as Hill fell off the track. Through much of the early stages he was comfortably the fastest driver on the track, and quickly joined onto the back of Jean Alesi in second place, within sight of leader Jacques Villeneuve.

With the conditions seemingly worsening, Schumacher made his pressure tell as he sent a brilliant move up the inside of Alesi, just barely avoiding contact and setting off immediately after Villeneuve, pulling off a carbon copy of that manoeuvre a lap later to take the lead of the race.

His speed in this race is even more impressive as virtually everyone else in the field struggled to keep their cars on the tarmac. Championship leader Hill had three spins, eventually succumbing to damage on lap ten, and so Schumacher stretched out a 37-second lead by the end of lap 23 at a rate of some two seconds per lap. After his first pit stop his lap times were quicker still, as he consistently circulated four seconds quicker than Villeneuve and Alesi behind.

With ten laps to he had extended that lead to almost a minute, and even as he slowed dramatically to bring the car home safely, took his first victory for Ferrari with one of the very greatest performances of his career.

1997 Monaco Grand Prix

There’s a theme appearing here isn’t there. The 1997 Monaco Grand Prix was also held in incredibly difficult conditions as the track fluctuated between wet and dry. Schumacher started third on wet tyres, alongside the two Williams drivers, Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Villeneuve, who had opted to start on slicks.

Schumacher’s decision was proven correct almost immediately as he darted into the lead before he’d even reached turn one. The Williams pair were swallowed up by several other wet-tyre runners, and Schumacher streaked clear. After banishing his demons from one year ago, the German stormed into an alarming 6.6-second advantage on the opening lap as the rest of the field tip-toed around behind.

He extended that to 11 seconds a lap later, and was once again peerless in an F1 grand prix as he found speed that no-one else could. With spectacular car control and relentless determination, Schumacher delivered a performance reminiscent of Ayrton Senna’s brilliance around the streets of Monaco, further cementing his reputation as a genius in the rain.

He very nearly repeated Senna’s mistake of 1988, as with an enormous lead he narrowly avoided disaster taking to the escape road at St. Devote. He was fortunate that with a lead in excess of a minute he was never in danger of losing it, and eventually came home to take his first Monaco Grand Prix win by 53 seconds.

1998 Hungarian Grand Prix

After being disqualified from the 1997 drivers’ championship, it looked as though Schumacher would have to wait again for his first title with Ferrari in 1998 as McLaren became the dominant team in the sport. The German was once again forced to overcome a performance deficit in his battle with Mika Häkkinen, but still managed to win six races that season, including one very special performance at the 1998 Hungarian Grand Prix.

Schumacher took up his regular third place on the grid behind the two McLarens of Häkkinen and David Coulthard, and did what he could through the opening stint to keep himself within striking distance. He stopped first on lap 24, and then again on lap 43 for what was an unconventional strategy that forced McLaren to react with Coulthard.

It was already too late though, because Schumacher’s Ferrari had suddenly come alive. He undercut Coulthard before it was cool, and embarked on one of the great stints of F1 history as he reeled off qualifying lap after qualifying lap in pursuit of Häkkinen. His pace was such that as Häkkinen emerged from his own second stop, Schumacher had done enough to take the lead of the race.

Even a mistake at the final corner couldn’t upset his rhythm, and he continued to push on and on, never once letting up even as Häkkinen fell back with suspension issues. By the time it came to his third and final stop, Schumacher had built a 27-second lead over Coulthard, which was enough to ensure he rejoined in first place.

This may well be the best race of Schumacher’s long career. If you have the chance, it is well worth taking the time to watch back that remarkable third stint that was lauded by the likes of Ross Brawn as the best they had ever seen. It was a reminder, for anyone who needed it, why Schumacher was a two-time world champion, and a precursor for the dominance that was soon to come.

2004 French Grand Prix

By 2004, Michael Schumacher was a six-time F1 world champion, and by that season’s French Grand Prix, he was well on his way to adding another. A perfect start to the season was blighted only by a single retirement in Monaco, but he had taken eight wins from the first nine races during what would become his most successful season in the sport.

It was his newest rival, Fernando Alonso, who took pole at Magny-Cours, and the Spaniard led comfortably in the early going as Schumacher just barely kept himself in touch. This was one of the first times we would see these two go head-to-head in direct combat, a sign of what was to come over the next two seasons. Ferrari had yet to be challenged in 2004, so Alonso’s pace would have been concerning for Schumacher, but the German looked comfortable between one and two seconds behind.

Schumacher stopped first, but couldn’t do enough to complete the undercut on this occasion, and Alonso managed to extend his lead slightly as he emerged from his own stop. The two continued line astern for the next 15 laps until Schumacher came in for a second time.

When he rejoined the track, he unleashed some frightening pace that saw him break the lap record on his next time around. Now lapping 1.5 seconds quicker than Alonso, Schumacher flashed into the lead when the Renault did eventually stop for a second time.

For much of the past four five seasons, Schumacher had made the most of superior machinery to pummel his opposition into submission, but that weekend at the French Grand Prix it was he who made the difference when it mattered. He pulled out a series of blistering laps at the perfect time to secure himself another victory and reaffirm his place as the best driver in the world.

2006 Chinese Grand Prix

After finally being dethroned by Alonso in 2005, Schumacher sought to regain his crown in 2006, and commenced one of the great championship battles that lasted the entire season as he and Alonso shared victory after victory.

In the immediate aftermath of his sixth win of 2006 at the Italian Grand Prix, Schumacher announced that he would be retiring from the sport at the end of that year, meaning that he had only three races left of his illustrious career. The first of those was in China, and Schumacher arrived there trailing Alonso in the standings by two points. The battle lines were drawn.

At that time, the tyre war between Michelin and Bridgestone was in full swing, and in wet conditions it was the Michelin-shod cars that held the advantage. As a result, Schumacher could only manage sixth in qualifying as the only Bridgestone runner in the top ten. Quite amazingly, Mark Webber’s Williams was the next quickest car on Bridgestones down in 14^th place.

The wet weather continued on to race day, and Schumacher was again expected to struggle. Alonso was on pole, and looked set to take a resounding lead in the championship. The race got underway in soggy conditions, and by lap ten the Ferrari was up to fifth, but some 20 seconds behind the leader.

Gradually, though, the track began to dry, and Schumacher’s pace was showing signs of improvement as he eased up to the back of Giancarlo Fisichella’s second-placed Renault. Schumacher was the first of the front three to pit, and was still a long way behind Alonso after the Spaniard made his stop. But the sway in pace continued as Alonso started to struggle after he opted to swap his front tyres in the pits, and Schumacher quickly closed the gap to the Renault pair.

As Fisichella tried desperately to protect his team-mate, Schumacher was relentless in his hunt, and it wasn’t long until both drivers left Alonso reeling. The pair continued to duel until their second and final round of pit stops, and it was Schumacher who blinked first with the intention of making the most of fresh tyres. Fisichella looked to have done enough as he retained his lead at the pit exit, but as Schumacher arrived into turn one with warmer tyres he was able to scythe his way up the inside and into the lead with 15 laps to go.

What we didn’t know then was that this would be Schumacher’s final F1 victory, and it’s fitting that it was a race that showcased his incredible fighting spirit as he saw off the challenge of both Renault cars to triumph in difficult conditions.

2006 Brazilian Grand Prix

Talking of fighting spirit, we simply couldn’t skip what could quite possibly be Schumacher’s most astonishing performance. In what we thought then was to be the great German’s final F1 grand prix, he knew he had to win the race with hope that Alonso failed to score in order to claim his eighth world championship, and in many ways this was the perfect conclusion to a record-breaking career.

It didn’t begin well, as Schumacher failed to set a time in the final round of qualifying, which meant he lined up tenth on the grid. He was on full attack on the charge to turn one as he looked to the inside of three other cars, and was aggressive again on the run down to turn four. He was up to seventh at the end of lap one, and continued to make progress until the safety car was deployed on lap two.

You could tell by the body language of his car that Schumacher was on a mission as he swarmed all over the back of Fisichella in the hunt for fifth place. Then, disaster struck on lap eight as he made a bold move around the outside of turn one, and Fisichella’s front wing just barely touched Schumacher’s rear left tyre, enough to cause a puncture that saw the German drop to the very back of the field. The championship was surely out of reach, but clearly no one told Schumacher that.

Now down in 18^th place, the Ferrari was immediately the fastest car on the circuit, as once again, with the bit between his teeth, he embarked on a thrilling recovery drive. It had been a while since we'd seen Schumacher at his scintillating best, but here it was like we had gone back to 1998, when he was setting the timing sheets alight lap after lap. Fastest lap after fastest lap saw him climb back into the top ten, but he wasn’t finished there.

He was simply refusing to give up, even as Alonso was cruising to the championship in second place. This was a driver showing us just one more time exactly why he would go down in history as one of the best of all time. He eventually fought his way up to fourth place, finishing his career with a final spectacular move on Kimi Räikkönen with three laps to go.

There was no title, there was no victory, but in many ways this would have been the perfect end to Michael Schumacher’s career. He had achieved more than any other driver, but to go out on a high such as this, with his racing heart well and truly on his sleeve, was poetic justice at its finest.

Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.