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David Coulthard has explained why Michael Schumacher was ‘untouchable’ during his pomp with Ferrari.
Schumacher joined Ferrari in 1996 and won his first title with the team in 2000, sparking a run of five in a row. That remains the longest championship streak in F1 history.
At the start of that era, Coulthard’s McLaren team were Ferrari’s closest challengers. The Scotsman even finished as the runner-up in the 2001 championship, though he barely accrued half of Schumacher’s points.
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David Coulthard says Michael Schumacher was considered a ‘god’ during Ferrari days
Schumacher’s notoriously ruthless style of racing and Ferrari’s occasional team orders split opinion in F1, but nobody could argue with the results.
The title streak finally came to an end in 2005 when Fernando Alonso and Renault dethroned Schumacher. A year later, the German driver was effectively ousted by Kimi Raikkonen.
Schumacher announced his retirement at the end of 2006 but returned in 2010 as a statement signing for Mercedes, who had just acquired Brawn-GP. Unfortunately, he only managed one podium in three seasons and was outperformed by Nico Rosberg.
Coulthard thinks the unsuccessful comeback ‘damaged’ F1, but has sympathy for his old rival because Mercedes were still at the start of their journey to becoming frontrunners.
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“Michael and Ferrari were a phenomenon,” he recalled in an interview with Sport Bild. “No one would have dared to criticise them. Michael was untouchable, a god.
“After he returned from retirement for Mercedes, expectations were unbroken, but he didn’t even have the chance to fulfil them. The car was too slow and the racing team was only on its way to becoming a top team.
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“Nevertheless, voices were immediately raised against him. That damaged Formula 1. The mood was negative.”
Martin Brundle was unhappy with Mercedes’ treatment of Schumacher, who was ‘hoofed out’ when they signed Lewis Hamilton from McLaren. But within two years, Hamilton would become a world champion with the Silver Arrows, and he later surpassed Die Regenmeister as F1’s most successful driver.
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