Formula One: Chequered Flag Ready to Fall on Schumacher's Flawed Genius

Michael Schumacher will this afternoon start the final laps of a career that stretches back further at the top level than that of any driver in the sport's history. The fact that his motivation has not been diminished at any stage during 15 seasons gives the biggest clue to why he has, statistically, been the most successful driver ever.

The question about whether he will actually be remembered - and remembered fondly - says even more about how an outstanding career has been stained occasionally by actions that ought to have been rendered unnecessary by such an outrageous talent.

Schumacher's ability was evident from the moment he first sat in a Formula One car in August 1991. A test session with Jordan at Silverstone resulted in Schumacher being hauled into the pits after a handful of laps and told to slow down for his own good. He was bemused. In his view, he had not been pushing unnecessarily. A few days later in Belgium, that same intuitive skill would take him on to the fourth row of the grid at Spa, one of the most difficult tracks on the calendar but one that Schumacher had never driven before despite being brought up near Kerpen, a few miles across the German border. When the Benetton team unceremoniously snatched the 22-year-old away from Jordan for the next race, the scene and the pattern had been set: Schumacher's competence would be accompanied by controversy but, when guilty as charged, his defence would sometimes be breathtaking in its naive simplicity.

Schumacher is an uncomplicated man. Eddie Irvine, his Ferrari team-mate from 1996 to 2000, said he was not particularly bright, a judgment driven in part by the Ulsterman's unspoken frustration at being unable to match Schumacher's speed. None the less Irvine, arguably one of the shrewdest drivers in recent years, earned a reputation for speaking his mind and such a summary explains why Schumacher polluted a glowing reputation with occasional acts of stupidity.

Schumacher's bizarre attempt to wreck Fernando Alonso's last qualifying lap at Monaco in May this year by stalling his Ferrari was bad enough. But when the seven-time champion tried to brazen it out by treating the members of F1 society as a collection of fools, disgust was matched by complete bewilderment over why he should feel the need to engage in such clumsy gamesmanship. Worse than that, the incident prompted the media to drag up two previous episodes - colliding with Damon Hill to win the championship in 1994 and vainly attempting to do the same to Jacques Villeneuve three years later - that had gradually been edged on to the margins of history by Schumacher's consistent brilliance throughout almost 250 grands prix.

The impression created by these lapses was more serious than the charge of arrogance based on the misleading image of Schumacher's unfortunate haughty deportment. You will not find a single complaint or criticism from within Ferrari. F1 mechanics are notoriously difficult to please, but the men in red have nothing but affection for Schumacher.

It is not simply the results that have generated respect. It is Schumacher's willingness to work tirelessly in pursuit of victory and his recognition of the part played by an entire team of which he has purposely, but quietly, become the de facto leader. The last race in Japan provided a perfect example. A mechanical failure not only wrecked his engine but also his championship campaign. Schumacher had every right to feel aggrieved at a catastrophe that was not of his doing, yet he made the effort to shake hands and silently console each one of his distraught colleagues.

The esteem for Schumacher stretches beyond his team. Bridgestone are frequently in awe of their driver's ability to lap faster than anyone else, but without abusing his tyres. In France this year they pushed the boundary of performance by producing a tyre that had speed but, as the first day of practice showed, not the necessary endurance. The soft compound tyre appeared to be a write-off, committing Ferrari to race the slower but more resilient version.

Schumacher consulted the Bridgestone engineers and suggested adjusting not only the set-up of his car but also his driving style in order to look after the tyres. Here was a demonstration of an abundance of talent that could accommodate something as fundamental as a change to the method of driving. He won the race; yet another illustration of the many victories that Ferrari insist could only have been won by a driver with such a sublime gift. He will be missed for that reason. His absence will remove a supreme yardstick, not to mention a fascinating source of debate about greatness that has been mysteriously tainted.

The fast life

The best of Michael Schumacher - his record achievements

Championships


Consecutive championships


Race wins 91 (out of 248 starts)

Consecutive race wins


Race wins with one team 72 (Ferrari)

Podium finishes 154

Consecutive podium finishes 19

Points finishes 189

Laps leading 4,741

Pole positions 68

Front-row starts 108

Fastest laps 75

Championship points 1,364

Race wins in a season 13

Fastest laps in a season 10