Earlier today, the 7 time Formula 1 World Champion announced that he will retire from the sport for the second time at the end of the season. The German returned to F1 to massive fanfare in 2010 joining the newly formed Mercedes team but his return has proved to be a major disappointment, making the podium only once since his return (this years European Grand Prix where he finished third). While many will remember Schumacher as the greatest Formula 1 driver ever winning 7 World Titles, others will remember him as a driver that pushed the boundaries of fairness and safety to the extremes in an effort to beat his opponents.
Here are just a few of Schumacher's most controversial moments;
1. The Monaco Grand Prix 2006
In the final moments of qualifying for the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix, Schumacher pulled up at the Rascasse corner in the middle of the track to make sure Fernando Alonso (who was running quicker at the time) did not take pole position. Schumacher proclaimed his innocence but was forced to the back of the grid for the race the next afternoon. He ended up finishing in 5th.
[youtube]
2. The Australian Grand Prix 1994
The scene was set for a shootout between Schumacher and Damon Hill going into the last race of the season. The German was the World Championship leader by just the single point so knew all he had to do was beat Hill to win his first World Championship. Early in the race Hill made a move to overtake Schumacher, but the German simply got in Hill's way causing both men to retire from the race. Schumacher became World Champion for the first time.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmKbGW7OmVg[/youtube]
3. The European Grand Prix 1997
In a scenario eerily similar to 1994, Schumacher was leading by a point going into the last race of the season, this time ahead of Canadian Jacques Villeneuve. Villeneuve tried to overtake Schumacher on the inside put the German clearly shunted into the Williams car. Villeneuve somehow continued in the race as Schumacher had to retire. Villeneuve finished the race in third and became World Champion. Schumacher ended the season in second place but has all his results from that season nullified and was disqualified from the 1997 season. Its a black mark on his career that has never gone away.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2cNPdwgyts[/youtube]
