More than a month ago, Michael? Schumacher announced his retirement in Monza, and now he finally left F 1.
/kloc-in the past six years, he has left too many unforgettable things. He is a seven-time world champion. He is a superstar known all over the world. He broke almost all the records in F 1 history. He also left an indelible stain in his career and became synonymous with F 1 in this decade. ...
Thought of here, I suddenly had a sense of fear. How can such a world champion be exhausted by a thin three-page paper? Where did it all start? He got on a go-kart for the first time when he was four years old, or he carefully collected 5 marks a month to buy Bolt lubricating oil when he was a child, or he 12 years old got 50 trophies. ...
Special contributor Our reporter Zhou Jie
Let's start with August of 199 1. After all, that was the starting point of his career.
Schumacher? destination
The starting fee is 80 thousand pounds
This is a strange coincidence. It is also the driver who sent Schumacher to F 1 for the first time.
Taxi driver.
That was in the season of 199 1, and the driver of Jordan Team Brandt? When taking a taxi in London, Gasshort clashed with the driver and attacked the driver with irritating gas, and Brandt paid the price because he had to live in the sight of the British police for a period of time.
A driver's position in the Jordan team was vacant, and Weber's interpersonal relationship (Schumacher's agent) played a role at this time. An acquaintance reporter told Weber the news at the first time, and Weber immediately gave it to Eddie? Jordan called. But at this time, no one knows who Schumacher is. As the owner of the Jordan team with financial difficulties at that time, old Jordan was far more interested in money than this name. He offered Schumacher a test drive.
But Weber immediately raised money. To some extent, Schumacher at that time was a "commodity" bundled for sale. Jordan sold the advertising space on the racing car with a driver's seat. The buyers are Mercedes and Dekla. Schumacher was a driver of the Mercedes youth team. Although Mercedes-Benz was conservative when it entered F 1, it was still a good deal to spend 80,000 pounds to send its young drivers to F 1.
As a result, Schumacher got the first F 1 test at Silverstone, but this test "scared" the Jordan team. Only three laps, Trevor? Foster (Jordan's racing director) rushed to Weber in a rage. "Tell him to drive slowly!" He shouted at Weber, "We don't want to lose this car!" For the whole test team in Jordan at that time, their job was not to observe the young man, but to ensure the safety of the car and engine after the test, because they had no spare version in the race in Spa, and the tested car and engine must be able to continue running the race. But Schumacher, who was driving the F 1 car for the first time, drove so fast that even Ford staff rushed to Weber and shouted, "Tell him to slow down! We only have this engine! "
When Schumacher's car stopped, Weber conveyed the team's opinions to his young customers, but Schumacher's green eyes flashed with confusion. He doesn't understand why everyone should be worried. "What's the matter? I didn't break anything. I haven't tried my best to run. " Maybe he was afraid that Schumacher would damage the car. On that day, he was only allowed to run more than 30 laps at Silverstone, but he has already broken the speed record of the Jordan team at Silverstone. A genius was born.
A few weeks later, in Spa, Schumacher represented Jordan in the first race of his career, F 1, but his first appearance was cut short after 600 meters due to racing failure. Even so, Schumacher's performance in the Spa practice match was enough to attract Prost and Senna's attention. On Thursday, Senna looked disdainful: "Who knows the name of the boy who is busy working as a mechanic in green?" But after the first practice session, Senna began to ask Schumacher: "Who is he?" His speed is unbelievable, and he may pose a threat to us in the future. "
Like Senna, others who saw Schumacher's brilliance were Benetton team boss Briatore and F 1 giant Bernie Ecclestone. In Weber, Mercedes-Benz Sports director John? Under the joint "manipulation" of Neil Percy, bernie ecclestone and Benetton boss Briatore, Schumacher suddenly became a Benetton driver after running only one race for Jordan. Many years later, the deal was still called "cheating" by old Jordan and regarded as "scandal" by F 1, but it had nothing to do with Schumacher. At that time, he was just a driver, and he just signed the contract according to Weber's wishes. What is important for Schumacher is that he scored F 1 in Monza, and he finished fifth.
In the early autumn of 199 1, everyone knew who Schumacher was.
The first sub-station champion is called "Rain God"
1996 is destined to be another turning point in Schumacher's career, and it may also be the most important turning point. Weber opened another door for Schumacher's career this time. 1996, Schumacher changed into a red suit and officially transferred from Benetton to Ferrari. Yes 1 1 year. During the period of 1 1 year, Schumacher left behind not only a brilliant red legend, but also how difficult it was for Schumacher to walk in the first five years of Ferrari.
If it weren't for Weber's persistence or foresight, Schumacher would never have imagined how he got into the "red cucumber" covered by "disease" in 1996. Weber clearly remembers how much doubt Schumacher gave him when he first walked into the factory in Maranello. Where is the hometown of the legend of prancing horse? It's completely confusing. Even if it is not compared with F 1 Benetton team and Mercedes-Benz youth team, it is worse than Jordan team. The garage is full of lazy styles, racing parts and various mechanical tools are thrown everywhere, mechanics are chatting while working, and there are many wine bottles around. The first day of walking into Maranello brought Schumacher a great shock, but the next day, it was Ferrari's turn to be shocked. There is no doubt that Schumacher took action faster than they expected. Team manager Todd accepted Schumacher's suggestion from the next day, and the factory in Maranello began to ban alcohol. And a few days later, the team began to clarify the discipline of routine special meetings, and it is strictly forbidden to be late.
Schumacher's leadership began to emerge at Ferrari. In addition to being a driver, Schumacher also focused on transforming the sloppy Ferrari into a real king's teacher.
In terms of leadership and influence, F 1 Any driver in history can match Schumacher. Everyone, including his biggest rival, has to admit that what Schumacher has done for Ferrari is incredible, and his influence on Ferrari is far greater than that of Montezemolo or Todd.
196 in Spa, Schumacher won the championship for the first time as a Ferrari driver. The race was played in the rain, and Schumacher was 45 seconds ahead of second place Alessi. Throughout the race, Schumacher circled all the drivers except the runner-up and the third runner-up, thus winning the title of "Rain God". But even if all kinds of magical races are repeated on Schumacher in different ways, whenever Ferrari people talk about Schumacher, they are most moved not by Schumacher's talent or racing ability, but by what he has done as a member of the team. There is a story about "ice cream". Although many people in Ferrari can't remember when and where it happened, this story is regarded as a typical "Schumacher's move" by Ferrari. It was a hot summer, Ferrari was testing on the track, and everyone was sweating. After the test, Schumacher suddenly called a mechanic to the door to see if what he wanted had arrived. The mechanic walked to the door and was immediately shocked by what he saw-Michael actually called an ice cream truck. Then Schumacher greeted all the testers to get on the bus and eat ice cream together, which made Ferrari feel very warm.
Waiting for five world champions in five years.
But even though Schumacher tried his best to win a driver's world championship at Ferrari, he waited for five years. Italians love racing, and the Italian media's accusations against Ferrari are also sharp. In the first five years without winning the driver's championship for Ferrari, Schumacher was criticized and accused. "Can we trust the German? Should we trust him? " Repeated questioning by Italian media brought great pressure to Schumacher. This question suddenly changed in 2000. Schumacher won Ferrari's first driver's championship in 2 1 year, and Schumacher changed from an Italian suspect to a great hero in the eyes of Italians.
Ferrari manager Todd has a deep understanding of what Schumacher has done for the team. "What shocked me was that Michael had never experienced a period of depression for so many years. Even if the game doesn't go well, he can always keep his best. Since 1996, Michael and Ferrari have experienced hardships and victories together. We have faced an extremely serious crisis together and shared great happiness. I will always remember the moment when we lost the world champion in the last game. We went back to Ferrari headquarters in Maranello, quickly got rid of our depression and turned our eyes to the future again. Even in the most difficult situation, Michael never complains. He faced the reality bravely, never vented his dissatisfaction in public, nor lost control or lost his temper with his companions. He is a role model for the whole team. " Todd said after Schumacher won the championship in 2000.
After the end of the 2003 season, the British "Guardian" reporter Richard was lucky enough to return to the factory in Maranello with Schumacher. Later, he described in the report: "If I didn't see this scene with my own eyes, I couldn't imagine how much Ferrari loved Schumacher. When he walked into the factory, everyone put down their tools and applauded him. "
Ferrari technical director Ross? Brown said: "Ferrari has an extraordinary team and Michael is a key factor." He often comes to the factory, but he never tells people here that you have to do this or that. Every time he comes, he always thanks everyone for their work. He will explain what happened in the racing car. He put himself into his work, which infected everyone else and encouraged them to go forward with him. For the people of Maranello, his gratitude and appreciation are very important. "
Schumacher once expounded his team philosophy like this: "The car and the driver are a whole. I can't pretend to be innocent when something goes wrong and then simply accuse Ferrari of being bad, especially when I am in bad luck. Just like a football team, victory belongs to all of us, and so does failure. But the biggest difference with the team is that in Ferrari, not 1 1 person, but nearly 500 people must be competent for their posts. "
This may explain where Schumacher's most distinctive leadership talent came from. 1999, Schumacher had a car accident and his leg was broken. After that, Todd stayed with Schumacher whenever he had time. Although many people in the industry think that Schumacher's position in Ferrari is too special, Ferrari has not expressed any objection to this. In Ferrari's view, Schumacher is fully entitled to such attention. Schumacher rewarded them with far more than five drivers' world champions.
I don't want to see that face.
Although Schumacher entered the Benetton team at 199 1, to be exact, Schumacher's real Benetton era was from 1992 to 1995. In these four years, Schumacher not only showed amazing speed on the track, but also won two world championships: 1994 and 1995. More importantly, he really integrated into the Benetton team and began to learn how to become the core and leader of the team. Whether in Mercedes-Benz Youth Team or Benetton Team, Schumacher received systematic and professional training, and he started his rookie career.
Today, Schumacher's youth in Benetton era is still one of the most memorable moments for many journalists of F 1. That was Schumacher's sharpest moment. During this period, his domineering on the track shook the whole F 1. Although Renault's technical violations and doubts about Schumacher's driving style have caused waves in F 1 from time to time in the past four years, there is no doubt that Schumacher has gradually become the king of the track. In his Benetton era, he met an opponent that he might never forget-Senna, and Schumacher era gradually kicked off in his fierce competition with Senna.
Ever since Schumacher met Senna, what happened between them is constant conflict. 1992 Brazil station, the first outbreak of opposition. At that time, Schumacher was one lap behind Senna and ranked fourth on the track, but he could not surpass Senna for a long time. Finally, Schumacher ran ahead of him because Senna ran out of the driveway. But Schumacher was very dissatisfied afterwards: "Senna played a dirty little game with us. Especially in corners, he wouldn't let us overtake, so he deliberately slowed down and used the brakes unnecessarily. Obviously, he wanted to provoke me to make a mistake without thinking behind my back. I don't understand why he did it. "
Interestingly, Senna remained silent in front of the media about Schumacher's remarks. But not long after, during the test run at the French Magney circuit, Senna privately told an acquaintance reporter: "If he wants to say something, he has to do it himself. As far as I'm concerned, I don't care what he says at all. He is just a silly boy. " It's a pity that this word somehow reached Schumacher's ears, and he obviously had a strong dislike for Senna. After practice in the evening. Schumacher was signing autographs for his fans when he suddenly found a photo of Senna in an envelope containing his photo. He rudely dropped the envelope on the table and said, "I don't want to see this face."
I will miss that name.
Such collisions keep happening. Schumacher always takes a tough approach to overtake Senna on the track, even though it may bring danger to both sides, and Senna regards Schumacher's overtaking behavior as a provocation to himself. The misunderstanding between them kept accumulating, so that in a German grand prix, when Senna tried to overtake, Schumacher suddenly slammed on the brakes. Afterwards, Senna jumped out of the car in a rage and rushed directly to Schumacher's pit, holding Schumacher angrily. If the mechanics of the two teams don't pull them away in time, they may even fight. But when talking about it later, Schumacher's gesture was humorous: "He may want to massage my neck." In the struggle with Senna, Schumacher gradually gained the upper hand until imola in 1994. Schumacher will never forget that weekend.
Because of Roland? After the death of Heimberger in imola on Sunday morning, Senna called several drivers, including Schumacher, and Senna sought support to enhance the safety of F/KLOC-0. For the first time, Senna and Schumacher kept the same view on the same issue, and it was also the first time that they talked so tacitly and harmoniously. However, a few hours later, Schumacher saw Senna's car hit the Brero bend, but Schumacher obviously didn't expect Senna to leave this world forever. Today, Schumacher's smiling and holding the trophy on the podium in imola is still an unforgivable sin in the eyes of Brazilian fans, but the fact is that Schumacher standing on the podium did not think that Senna might be killed by the impact. A few hours later, the doctor confirmed the death of Senna. Schumacher's mood suddenly collapsed when he got the news from Benetton. "He cried alone in the big truck and didn't know how to face such a disaster." At that time, the Benetton team recalled the past and said, "Afterwards, we constantly comforted him and told him that he was not responsible for it."
This is the first time Schumacher has faced death, and that person is Senna. In the weeks or even months after Senna's death, it has been difficult for people to understand Schumacher's behavior. He refused to fly to Sao Paulo to attend Senna's funeral. His reason is that he wants to have a test, "pious people don't have to go to church." This reaction once caused strong condemnation from F 1, but many years later, people familiar with him explained that he didn't go because his spirit was too chaotic and he was afraid of losing control of his emotions. Schumacher also admitted that in the week after Senna's death, he could only sleep three or four hours a day. "I didn't know he would leave like this. I thought he would wake up." In Monza in 2000, when people once again mentioned to Schumacher at the post-match press conference that they had tied a record of Senna, Schumacher, who had always been calm, could not help crying in front of TV viewers all over the world. In Schumacher's mind, his feelings for Senna will always be a knot. He loves him, hates him, surpasses him and misses him. After 1994 won the first world championship in his career, Schumacher said: "For me, I always knew I couldn't win the championship. The championship should belong to Senna, but he can't participate in the last few games, so I am willing to win this championship. But a monopoly era that truly belongs to Schumacher has begun.
Schumacher? intersection
It is a kind of paranoia for him to be competitive.
Schumacher has won the most world championships, but is Schumacher the best driver? Perhaps no one can draw arbitrary conclusions, because the word "good" is too general. The impression of the real Schumacher is full of contradictions. He is so paranoid and competitive, but he strongly demands a real victory. He is overbearing, autocratic, modest and generous; He is arrogant and indifferent, but gentle and sentimental. ...
Perhaps, Schumacher is the most complicated person in F 1, just like his favorite song My Road sings-now, the end is near/so I have to face the final curtain/my friend, I will make it clear/I will definitely state my experience/I have lived a full life/I have traveled all the highways/but more, more.
Give up racing, and he will return the victory to Barrichello.
The 1997 incident dealt a great blow to Schumacher. Even for a while, he didn't quite understand why he was so severely criticized. "Tell me, what did you see on the track? Do you think I'm really a bad person? Am I really going too far? " Afterwards, Schumacher even asked his friend Helmut, a reporter from the German Bild. In Helmut's memory, he described it like this: "I answered him,' Yes', and he said in frustration,' Even you are like this …', and then he was silent."
In fact, in Schumacher's mind, there are his criteria for judging justice. What happened in Austria and the United States in 2002 proved that he also had a strict pursuit of just victory. In order to ensure that Schumacher can win the annual championship ahead of schedule, Todd ordered Barrichello, who was ahead, to "make way" for Schumacher by broadcasting before crossing the A 1 track, but Schumacher obviously didn't know about it. He still shook his fist proudly when crossing the line, and didn't know what happened until he was booed on the podium. Schumacher immediately put Barrichello on the podium and gave the championship trophy to his teammates. Schumacher was not satisfied with Todd's behavior in this car release incident, although this dissatisfaction has never been publicly expressed since then.
Then, at the American station in the same year, Schumacher asked Todd by radio one lap before crossing the finish line, "Can I let Barrichello go first?" "No." Todd replied. But this time Schumacher didn't "execute" Todd's task well. At the moment of crossing the finish line, Schumacher stepped on the brake and Barrichello won the first place with a slight advantage. After the race, Schumacher told Todd that the explanation was: "I wanted to wait and let two Ferraris cross the line together, but I was not careful …" But most people know that this is not a mistake that Schumacher would make.
In this regard, hakkinen may be Schumacher's true confidant: "I think Michael's career is black and white, and his achievements are incredible, but many other drivers have mixed feelings about his behavior on the track. But most importantly, Michael knows himself. He knows in his heart what he is doing and whether he is doing it right. I think this is the most important thing. "
Collapse, let him win the championship, let him almost be beaten.
In addition to the championship and glory, Schumacher's career has also left a stain. 1Adelaide in 1994 was the last stop of that season, and Schumacher was only one point ahead of Hill with 92 points and 9 1 point in the drivers' championship. In that race, Schumacher skidded off the track on lap 36 and hit the tire wall, but unexpectedly, Schumacher dragged the damaged Benetton directly to Hill. Hill's car collided with Schumacher and withdrew from the race. The championship was held by Schumacher, because both sides failed to score points in the last race.
1997, a similar scene was staged again at Jerez circuit. The collision between Schumacher and jacques villeneuv had the opposite result. In order to prevent jacques villeneuv from overtaking, Schumacher forcibly closed the door. As a result, Schumacher was trapped in the gravel, but jacques villeneuv's car reached the finish line intact. But Schumacher paid more than just losing a championship. The FIA severely punished Schumacher's behavior, not only canceling his runner-up title of the year, but also canceling his competition points for the whole year.
These two things still plague Hill and jacques villeneuv, and many people even say that Schumacher lacks basic morality and sentiment. But if we look at the story that happened before Schumacher entered F 1 and imagine Schumacher's time, maybe we can understand why he did that.
199 1 year, Schumacher took part in the World Sports Prototype Championship (WSPC) as a driver of Mercedes-Benz Youth Team, and Jaguar was a competitor of Mercedes-Benz. Schumacher met Jaguar driver Wallvik in newberg.
"I knew Michael was chasing the circle, and I saw him catch up from behind. He almost drove the whole car to the shoulder. " Wallvik recalled, "I gave up some tracks little by little to let him know that I wanted him to pass. But even so, it will delay him for a while. " What happened next was extraordinary. Wallvik said, "He went straight up and hit the front nose of my car." Both cars had to go back to the pit, and the furious Wallvik jumped off the Jaguar and rushed to the Mercedes pit to catch Schumacher. "I remember dragging him to a billboard, and people from their motorcade came over and tried to separate us, but people from our motorcade shouted,' Hit him, Derek, hit him!' "
In fact, a few years before Schumacher entered F 1, Schumacher was used to this kind of outrageous competition. Perhaps many people don't understand why a driver with impressive speed does this, but they may not understand how strong Schumacher's pursuit of victory is, and even say that he is paranoid about winning. Schumacher's desire for victory has been obvious since he was a child driving a racing car in his hometown of Copan. "If he loses the game, or because of malicious obstruction, he will be very sad and even run to his mother's arms and cry." Father Rove once recalled Schumacher like this.
In addition, it must be mentioned that Schumacher's family was poor when he was a child, but he often monopolized the competition and won the championship, which annoyed many rich children. Therefore, in some competitions, some children often unite to stop Schumacher, and the organizers even deliberately ask Schumacher to lose in order to attract those rich children to participate in driving practice. In Schumacher's growing years, malicious bans were common. Even after Schumacher entered F 1, he witnessed the collision between Senna and Prost. Perhaps because of this, these unreasonable ways of competition have naturally become a reasonable part of the competition in Schumacher's system. So in that paranoid desire to win, Schumacher occasionally makes a wrong judgment in that thousandth or ten thousandth of a second. But in any case, it is too harsh to say that Schumacher lacks moral literacy because of the mistakes he made under extreme pressure.
"Non-violence and non-cooperation" and the media, he built a wall with indifference.
It is extremely difficult to interview Schumacher, and his attitude towards the media is almost "non-violent and uncooperative". No other driver will be as difficult as Schumacher. He will not give this special treatment to any media except the exclusive interview forced by RTL and FIA. The team will arrange a group interview for him for no longer than any other driver, and he is also the only driver who insists on being interviewed in the pit lane (that is to say, there are not many reporters who can interview him because the number of pit lane cards issued by the FIA is very small).
In addition, you must be very careful when interviewing him, because he will strike back suddenly at any time, but even if he looks into your eyes, there will be no emotion in it. Other drivers in the paddock often greet their familiar reporters, or at least nod their heads, but unlike Schumacher, even if you are lucky enough to be known by him, the chances of letting him take the initiative to greet you will not exceed the chances of winning the lottery.
"That cold and arrogant German is always arrogant," a British journalist once said with resentment. Not only the reporter, but also other drivers and others in the paddock can hardly get close to him. "Everyone wants to be loved, including me. But the only thing that interests me is racing. I have never been able to get along with other drivers. I don't know why. Schumacher said that his words sounded so cold.
But in the eyes of people around Schumacher, his indifference and arrogance are just weapons he used to protect himself. "He is very shy at heart and is not good at expressing his feelings." Schumacher's spokesman Kom said this.
But even if he pretends to be so cold and arrogant, the reporter has to admit that sometimes he is very touching. In fact, he often shows his gentle and delicate side inadvertently. Maybe it's because there are too few opportunities to interview him. Every time Schumacher went to the pit lane, the scene there was spectacular, and reporters had to push each other to put the microphone in front of him. Although seemingly arrogant, every time a reporter falls down, it is often that he suddenly reaches out to help others and whispers "Be careful".
According to Ferrari team manager Todd, Schumacher insisted on wearing a cold mask for himself because he was particularly sensitive. "He really cares about what others say. For many years, he has been the focus of public opinion and is under great pressure. When facing the media, Michael is actually a little scared. He is far less confident in the press conference than in the court. " Todd said.
Perhaps as Todd said, Schumacher is not good at expressing himself in front of the media. Long before Schumacher entered F 1, he was eliminated in the first round of a Marlboro draft, and Marlboro gave the reason that the young man did not have qualified public relations ability. After entering the early stage of F 1, especially before 2000, Schumacher may have been hurt by the doubts and criticisms he received from the media, so that he was used to building high walls with indifference to protect himself.
Pushing the security guard to sign autographs for fans in the rain made "Little Bear" want to cry.
Hard-core Shumi fans in Shanghai will never forget the story that happened when Schumacher left Shanghai on the morning of June 54381October 2 this year. At the entrance of Four Seasons Hotel, more than 40 fans waited for Schumacher all night. A 15-year-old girl whose net name is "Shumixiong" is waiting to meet Schumacher at the gate of Four Seasons Hotel every night from Thursday to Sunday. 10 1 that night, Schumacher returned to the hotel and signed autographs for the fans at the door, but unfortunately, because of the onlookers, Schumacher, who had found the "Little Bear" notebook, finally had time to return the pen plug to "Little Bear".
Just after 10 the next morning, Schumacher finally left. It is raining. Schumacher pointed to the sky before stepping into his Maserati, put his hand on the fans at the door, blew a kiss and got into his Maserati. Bear was very excited at that time. "This may be the last time I saw Shumi. I was desperate to rush up, "Bell said afterwards. However, the foreseeable result is that the "Bear" was pulled back by the security guard before it ran five meters in front of Maserati. But then, something unexpected happened to all the fans. Schumacher sat in the car and knocked on the door, but the Ferrari staff at the entrance of Maserati did not take any action. Then, Schumacher directly pushed the door and came out. This sudden move immediately alerted the security guards who tried to stop Schumacher. Ferrari's bearded bodyguard also rushed to Schumacher and advised him not to do so, but Schumacher ignored anyone. He pushed away the security guards and bearded fans and went straight to the door. Although it was raining, he pulled up the "bear" to sign her name. The fans kept shouting "Michael, you are the best", and Schumacher continued to sign quickly in the rain until he was surrounded by security guards and left.
"I want to cry every time I think about it." Up to now, Little Bear is still moved by what happened that morning. Mr. Schumacher, who is so gentle and sentimental, is completely different from him on the field.
Public comments-his style is overbearing and his teammates' opinions-he never hides anything.
When Schumacher retired, bernie ecclestone expressed his disappointment. He doesn't understand why Schumacher can't play for Ferrari with Raikkonen. As a former teammate of Schumacher, ITV commentator brendel also said that Schumacher never had a strong teammate in his career.
Public opinion has never doubted this. Some people say that Schumacher is overbearing not only on the track, but also at Ferrari because he never allows a strong driver to be his teammate.
This statement is not necessarily unreasonable. Bullying is not only an indispensable part of Schumacher's nature, but also a unique way for him to lead a team to success. Schumacher and Senna competed with each other during that time.