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Michael Schumacher is one of the most legendary drivers in motorsports history. His Formula 1 stint accounted for 91 race wins, 68 pole positions, and seven world championships, all of which were record-breaking for the time. He won five world championships in a dominant stint with Ferrari, the final of which came on this day in 2004.
The 2004 season of Formula 1 was by no doubt dominated by Ferrari. It was the last spell of 'domination' that the Italian outfit had. They have won only one world championship since then (2007, Kimi Raikkonen).
It was August 29, 2004, at the Belgian Grand Prix, where Michael Schumacher started the race P2 and finished in the same position as his teammate, Rubens Barrichello, in the other Ferrari finishing behind him.
The latter would go on to finish as the runners-up of the 2004 World Championship. While the race was won by the rising star, Kimi Raikkonen, a P2 finish from Schumacher was enough to seal his seventh world championship win.
This was a record-breaking win for both Schumacher and Ferrari, as he had won the most consecutive world titles (5), and the team had won the most consecutive constructors' titles (6, for the time). The team and the driver combination was truly a juggernaut for the rest of the grid to challenge.
What F1 world records did Michael Schumacher and Ferrari break in 2004?
As mentioned ahead, both the driver and the team set a new record for winning the most number of consecutive titles. Schumacher still holds the record with five, however, Ferrari's record was broken by Mercedes as they took a whopping eight championship wins in a row.
Schumacher also won 13 races in the season, which was the record for the time. He broke his own record of 11 race wins to establish this new record.
Even though it seemed almost impossible to defeat Michael Schumacher and Ferrari, 2004 was the last time he would ever win a world championship. The 2005 season had new regulations restricting drivers to stick to a single set of tires during the qualifying and the race.
This was intended so that teams choose harder tire compounds, providing less grip, and so, low cornering speeds to make Formula 1 safer.
However, Ferrari's tire supplier Bridgestone failed to provide a tire that was good enough. Meanwhile, Renault with the Michelin tires saw Fernando Alonso go on to win two consecutive F1 world titles in 2005 and 2006. At the end of the latter season, Michael Schumacher announced his retirement from the sport.
However, Schumacher couldn't keep away from Formula 1 for long. In December of 2009, Mercedes announced their return to the F1 grid along with Michael Schumacher as their permanent driver.
However, with a non-competitive team, Schumacher's second stint in the sport didn't go so well. He took his final pole position during the Monaco GP of 2012 and retired from the sport at the end of that season.
