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Michael Schumacher's career has been adorned with numerous records. Not many would have thought that the German's name would also feature on the list of closest finishes in F1 history.
In this piece, we go back 20 years when the F1 world was quite different. In 2002, Ferrari was a championship-winning juggernaut, Mercedes was just an engine supplier, and Williams was still a force in the sport.
The season, however, was ruthless in nature as Ferrari and Schumacher dominated the sport. In this piece, we take you to the 2002 F1 US GP where we had one of the closest-ever finishes in the history of the sport.
What happened at the 2002 F1 US GP?
Ferrari, being at their dominant best, secured a front-row lockout on Saturday. Michael Schumacher was on pole while his teammate Rubens Barrichello was second. It was a race typical of that F1 season, with Schumacher streaking away from pole position with Barrichello in pursuit.
The two Ferraris stretched a comfortable lead from the chasing pack with no threat from behind. On the last lap of the race. Michael Schumacher looked destined to win his 11th race of the season.
On the main straight before the finish line, Schumacher slowed down and allowed Rubens Barrichello to close in. As they neared the finish line, the two drivers would cross the line only 0.011 seconds apart in what was the second closest finish in F1 history.
So, what happened to the Ferraris near the finish line? Well, Schumacher apparently wanted to stage a 'dead heat' where both the drivers crossed the finish line together.
Speaking to the media after the race, Barrichello said he had no idea that this was going to happen. He said:
"To win, it was very, very, very good... I got to the last corner, I didn't know what to do and nothing has been said. Michael was just very kind to, you know, let us finish equally. I guess I pointed a little bit in front, but, you know, what can we say?"
Michael Schumacher revealed that this was not planned and expressed happiness at Barrichello's win. The German said:
"The end of the race was not planned... We tried to cross the line together but failed by a tiny bit and in fact, we did not know who had won until we got out of the cars. I just felt Rubens deserved to win this race."
Why did Michael Schumacher 'stage' the finish?
This finish was speculatively reasoned by the events of the 2002 F1 Austrian GP, where Rubens Barrichello was forced to concede a win to his teammate.
Going into the race, Michael Schumacher was a comfortable leader in the championship and the favorite to win the title at that point in the season. Ferrari, however, in its typically ruthless manner, wanted to maximize every point for Schumacher. Consequently, Jean Todt ordered Rubens Barrichello to concede the position to the German.
What followed was outrage from the fans as they accused the team of stage managing the race. Schumacher was not happy either as he admitted he did not want to win the race this way.
In the eyes of many, what happened at the 2002 F1 US GP was the German repaying his teammate for a win that was gifted to him in Austria.
