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Michael Schumacher broke just about every Formula 1 record in the book before deciding to retire with Ferrari in 2006.
In fact, Schumacher came agonisingly close to delivering an eighth drivers’ championship in 2006, only to be denied by an engine failure at the penultimate round of the season in Japan.
Before he and Ferrari managed to forge an unforgettable dynasty, they faced years of hard work and toil to reach the top.
It took the seven-time champion until his fifth season to win a Formula 1 drivers’ title – a season which was filled with plenty of ups and downs during a fight with Mika Hakkinen and McLaren.
Hakkinen was furious with Schumacher after a ‘very nasty’ move in 2000 at Spa, feeling that his defence had crossed a line.
Just two weeks after that, the German went on to break a special record at the Italian Grand Prix, which left him in tears during the post-race press conference.
Michael Schumacher cried after beating Ayrton Senna’s Formula 1 win record
The 2000 Italian Grand Prix was crucial in the context of the championship, with Hakkinen holding a six-point lead over Schumacher heading into the weekend.
A chaotic race saw multiple retirements before the German crossed the line nearly four seconds ahead of his Finnish rival to take a 41st victory in the sport.
READ MORE: 1-time F1 race winner says Michael Schumacher is the only reason he never joined Ferrari
It reduced the championship deficit to just two points at a time where Schumacher was under immense pressure to deliver a world championship.
The emotions of a home win for Ferrari, coupled with matching Ayrton Senna’s tally of Formula 1 victories was too much to deal with and resulted in some tears.
Luciano Burti said Schumacher had a high performance mentality at Ferrari and his attitude and approach to racing proved that. His emotions after winning in Monza proved just how much everything mattered to him.
Michael Schumacher was left furious after ‘stupid’ Juan Pablo Montoya ended his race in Monaco
Schumacher was involved in multiple controversies throughout his career, and sometimes he was on the wrong side of them.
While leading the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix under the safety car, he was taken out of the race by a championship rival.
Schumacher was furious and called Juan Pablo Montoya ‘stupid’ after the incident, which denied him a sixth consecutive victory at the time.
If he hadn’t retired from that race, he would hold the record for consecutive wins today. He won seven more in a row after his Monaco incident, which would have taken his tally to 14 without the crash.
Despite many of his records having been wiped out today, he remains one of the greatest of all time and his legacy will stick forever.
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