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Michael Schumacher is considered by many to be the greatest of all time. The German raced in F1 for close to two decades, scored an unprecedented seven title wins, and held most of the records when he retired from the sport. The German was also responsible for Ferrari's resurgence to the front of the grid after years of producing mediocre results.
At the same time, however, there are far too many detractors who do not agree with his 'GOAT' title. Not everyone holds the German driver on that high a pedestal. While everyone acknowledges what a great talent he was, others point out where the German driver faltered. In this piece, we'll take a look at some of the biggest criticisms of Michael Schumacher's career.
#5 Michael Schumacher's second F1 career
Michael Schumacher retired from F1 in 2006. He, however, made a comeback to the sport in 2010 when Mercedes returned as a constructor. In what was essentially Schumacher's second innings in F1, he drove for the German team for three seasons from 2010 to 2012.
In those three seasons, he had only one pole and one podium to his name. Not only that, Schumacher was outscored by his teammate Nico Rosberg in all three seasons. For some of Schumacher's detractors, his stint at Mercedes is proof that the German was not as good as he was considered by many throughout his career.
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#4 Lack of competitive teammates
Throughout Michael Schumacher's career, he shared the cockpit with teammates that just didn't belong to the top tier of talent on the grid. Drivers like Eddie Irvine, Rubens Barrichello, Martin Brundle, and Jos Verstappen, although capable in their own right, were not what you would call potential title challengers on the grid.
Because of this, more often than not, Schumacher dominated his teammates. Moreover, in the view of his detractors, he was able to help develop a skewed perception of his talents as the drivers driving the same machinery were just not the cream of the crop.
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#3 Lack of strong competition
Schumacher's career had challenges from the likes of Damon Hill, Jacques Villeneuve, David Coulthard, Mika Hakkinen, a young Kimi Raikkonen, and a young Fernando Alonso. If one tries to fit these drivers in the pantheon of greats, then other than Mika Hakkinen or maybe Fernando Alonso, others don't feature as prominently.
Compare that to the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, and Sebastian Vettel, or Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, and Nigel Mansell. Then you have two trios of legends fighting it out amongst each other throughout their careers.
In the eyes of detractors, you're only as good as the competition you fight against. Schumacher's career didn't feature too many standout talents, which made his skills stand out even more.
#2 Abuse of the #1 status within the team
The 2002 F1 Austrian GP is just one of the many races where Michael Schumacher benefitted from having the entire team work for him. During the race, Rubens Barrichello, comfortably leading the race, was ordered to give up his position and let Schumacher win.
Watch the drama of 2002 F1 Austrian GP here:
The dominance within the team was not limited to that as every new part was first introduced to Schumacher's car and then to the other driver. Every race strategy, even the direction of car development, was all in line with what Schumacher wanted. In F1, as is often the case, the team caters to two drivers that are part of the team. During Schumacher's career, both with Benetton and with Ferrari, that was not the case as the team leaned heavily towards the German for everything.
Was it effective? The seven titles tell you that it was. Does the method, however, have its detractors? Plenty of them!
#1 Unsporting actions on track
If one looks back at Schumacher's career, then one thing that sticks out for his critics is the somewhat questionable tactics he has employed throughout his career. Sadly for the German, it is quite a comprehensive list.
The collision with Damon Hill in the 1994 season title decider was questionable. His crash with Jacques Villeneuve in 1997 got him disqualified from the championship.
Watch the 1997 crash in Jerez here:
Him parking the car in the dying moments of qualifying at La Rascasse in Monaco in 2006 or almost running Rubens Barrichello into the wall at the Hungarian GP 2010. Schumacher did not like losing and sometimes he crossed the line without even realizing it.
Michael Schumacher had one of the most successful careers in F1. He surely wasn't without his flaws either. Whether these criticisms are justified, we leave it to you to decide.
