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Michael Schumacher, the 7-time World Champion is widely regarded as the greatest Formula One driver of all-time. The German driver has the most titles (7), most race wins (91), most fastest laps (77), most successive Championship victories (5, from 2000-2004) and most races won in a single season (13). In 2002, he finished on the podium in every race, as he sealed his title with 6 races left to be conducted. He dominated Formula One tracks for over a decade. Schumi, as he is called by his mates, courted many a controversy during his illustrious career. He won plenty of titles comfortably, but early in his career, he had 2 championship battles that were decided in the ultimate race of the season. His competitors were Damon Hill in 1994 and Jacques Villeneuve in 1997. He beat Hill, and fell to Villeneuve, but not before causing a huge stir in the racing fraternity in both seasons.
AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX - 1994
In the 1994 Australian Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher led Damon Hill by 1 point in the race for the Championship. He started the race brilliantly, leading from lap 1 to lap 34. All signs pointed towards a first title for the German, when unexpectedly on lap 35, Schumacher sped off track into the walls and damaged his right side wheels. He returned to track still in the lead, but hampered for speed with Hill closing in on him. As Hill tried to pass the German on the next corner, Schumacher cut inside sharply and collided with Hill, eliminating both drivers from the race. Schumacher won the title, but drew flak from the British media for 'unsportsmanlike' conduct on track. He was accused by a large section of the public of deliberately causing the collision, but the FIA took no action, and tagged it a 'racing accident'.
EUROPEAN GRAND PRIX - 1997
In 1997, Schumacher led Villeneuve by 1 point in the championship heading into the last race of the season in Jerez. On lap 48, as Villeneuve attempted to pass the German on the inside, Schumacher cut inside causing his right front wheel to hit the left sidepod of Villeneuve. The mini-collision forced Schumacher out of the race, but Villenueve finished third in the race to lift the title. Initially, there was no penalty imposed on Schumacher, but 2 weeks after the race, he was disqualified from the 1997 Drivers' Championship. FIA's disciplinary committee found Schumacher's manoeuvre deliberate, but not malicious. Schumacher accepted it was a 'mistake'. It makes him the only driver in the history of the sport (upto 2018) to have been disqualified from the Drivers' Championship. After a similar incident in 1994 with Damon Hill, Schumacher's sportsmanship was called into question once again, this time by world media.
MONACO GRAND PRIX - 2006
In 2006, heading into Monaco, Schumacher was involved in a tight Championship tussle with Fernando Alonso. at Monaco, the driver at pole wins the race more often than not, given he survives the chaotic first lap of the race. The width of the tracks seldom allowed drivers to pass each other like on other tracks. During qualifying, Schumacher 'parked' his car at the penultimate corner of the track, preventing anyone from bettering his lap-time. He guaranteed pole position for himself, only for FIA to penalise him and have him start the race from the back of the grid. Schumacher denied 'parking' his car on purpose to prevent Alonso from taking the lead, as critics jumped at another chance to question his fairness in the sport. Despite the controversy, this is widely regarded as one of Schumacher's best racing performances, as he raced past 11 drivers on a narrow Monaco track where overtaking is considered next to impossible.
TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM - 1994
In 1994, Benetton, Schumacher's Constructor, was embroiled in a huge controversy where they were accused of using illegal traction control software to give their cars an unfair advantage over others. During the Brazilian Grand Prix, Senna made a pitstop while leading the race, with Schumacher just behind him. Benetton made a quick stop sending Schumacher ahead of Senna, and the German won the race eventually as Senna spun out of track. This led to allegations that Benetton used a system that made pitstops quicker than other teams. There was not enough proof to prove Benetton guilty of using traction control software, which was deemed illegal at that time, and the season ended amidst a storm of arguments. FIA asked Ferrari, Mclaren and Benetton to submit their car's racing design for review, following allegations of traction control systems being used. Mclaren and Benetton submitted their design blueprints after FIA's deadline forcing FIA to fine them for $100,000 each. Subsequently, FIA made several rule changes that took into account both driver safety and constructors' ethics.
BELGIAN GRAND PRIX - 2000
In the 2000 Belgian Grand Prix, Hakkinen and Schumacher were battling it out for the Drivers' Championship. Hakkinen had won the title in 1998 and 1999, and had a searing Mclaren that was touted to beat the Ferrari for the third season in a row. Schumacher led the race from lap 13 to 34, but with his tyres degrading, Hakkinen was catching up on his Ferrari. On lap 40, Hakkinen tried to pass Schumacher for the lead on the approach to Les Combes, but the German blocked him to retain the lead. There was contact, and hakkinen received minor damage to his front wing. Hakkinen overtook Schumacher in the following lap to ultimately win the race, but Schumacher's staunch defence on the straight on lap 40 could have caused serious damage to Hakkinen, as his car was forced onto the grass at a speed of 300kph. After the race, Hakkinen approached Schumi to talk about how risky his defence was, and claimed he could have flew off track leading to a dangerous injury. But Schumacher replied, "What did I do wrong?". Hakkinen later recalled the incident, stating he admired Schumacher's passion and technical racing ability, and his career's highlight was his rivalry with the German.
Similar:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/motorsport/formulaone/michael-schumacher/7718722/Michael-Schumachers-top-five-F1-controversies.html
https://www.essentiallysports.com/top-6-michael-schumacher-controversies/
