# Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher (born January 3, 1969) is a German Formula One driver and the most successful driver of all time. He is also the first German to win the drivers' championship.

## Sourced

* First, you have to finish.
** Michael Schumacher (2001) after winning the Monaco Grand Prix in 2001: Cited in: Anthony D. Manning, Tony Manning (2002) Gift of Leadership. p. 37
* I'm Michael Schumacher. I don't need to test my driving ability
** Schumacher (2004) in: "Barrichello on China pole". BBC SPORT News, Saturday, 25 September, 2004, 06:58 GMT 07:58 UK
** Response after as the BBC SPORT News put it "Rubens Barrichello has grabbed pole position for the Chinese Grand Prix after his Ferrari team-mate Michael Schumacher spun on his qualifying lap."
* With the car we had, getting a pole was sort of obvious.
** Schumacher (2006) cited in: "Schumi breaks Senna pole record" BBC SPORT News, Saturday, 22 April 2006, 13:04 GMT 14:04 UK
** The BBC SPORT article comments: "Michael Schumacher grabbed his 66th career pole position at the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola to break the late Ayrton Senna's all-time record."
* Just being a mediocre driver has never been my ambition. That's not my style.
** Schumacher (2006) cited in: "No pressure to quit insists Schumacher" Daily Mail UK, 13 September 2006
* I've always believed that you should never, ever give up and you should always keep fighting even when there's only a slightest chance.
** Schumacher (2007) "Schumacher applauds ‘super-performance’ Reuters : Berlin, october 22, Mon Oct 22 2007
** Intro of this article mentions: "Seven times world champion Michael Schumacher has congratulated Kimi Raikkonen for winning the world championship for Ferrari on Sunday with a stirring fight to the wire."

## About Schumacher

* He is incredibly professional. If you had to go for a heart operation you'd want somebody who was the Schumacher of the heart surgery world to do the job, because you can rely on him.... He laughs as he considers the dominance of his old enemy. Fortunately Michael wasn't like that in 1996! The fact he is still winning makes me feel a lot better. It's not so bad to be beaten by the best driver who's ever lived. Nobody really knew that then. I was first into the arena, the first Christian thrown to the lions
** Damon Hill in The Guardian, 2004
* It's a brave decision to stop doing something he loves.... We sort of know how he'll be remembered but over time his successes will mark an era when his dedication to winning gave the championship colour. I think he'll be doubly motivated to win the championship. He's certainly capable of winning races. I think it's hard to give that up. I think he's doing the right thing for himself.
** Damon Hill, Formula One world champion and ex-rival (2006) In: "Schumacher brave to retire - Hill" on news.bbc.co.uk/sport. Monday, 11 September 2006.
* I always said that the decision to retire would be his alone but now that decision has been taken I feel a sense of sadness. We have lived through some unforgettable times together, some good and some bad, achieving results that will be hard to equal.
** Luca di Montezemolo, Ferrari president, cited in: Planet-F1 (2006) "Todt and Montezemolo hail 'legend' Schumi". on Planet-F1. September 12, 2006 (no longer online)
* Michael has been the author of a unique chapter in the history of Formula 1 and of Ferrari in particular. It has yet to reach its conclusion and what he has achieved extends over and above the results obtained. He is an exceptional man and will become a legend as a driver.
** Jean Todt, Ferrari team boss, cited in: Planet-F1 (2006) "Todt and Montezemolo hail 'legend' Schumi". on Planet-F1. September 12, 2006 (no longer online)
* I'm looking forward to F1 without Michael and hoping that we will see some real competition again between drivers within teams as well as drivers against each other in other teams.
** Damon Hill, Formula One world champion and ex-rival (2006) ""Schumacher not good for F1" - Hill on BBC Sport, 6 October 2006
* I don’t think anyone can take Michael’s place. Michael is Michael and he always will be. To the sport he’s a legend, like other legends, like other great champions – Prost, Senna – you know, he’s in the same league and there’s no way you can replace someone. [...] For sure Michael is the one that everyone is looking up to in Germany and that won’t change for quite a long time. I think the records he has set are quite unique, so even though at the moment he gets a lot of shit, he probably knows what he’s doing. I think if you look at his face, he seems relaxed, so he knows what’s going on and I think that’s also a quality a champion has to have.
** Sebastian Vettel (2010) "FIA post-qualifying press conference" at formula1.com, 24 July 2010

### BBC SPORT: Thoughts on Schumacher (2006)

    BBC SPORT (2006) "": Thoughts on Schumacher". on news.bbc.co.uk, Retrieved Sep. 10, 2006.
* I think we lose and we will miss a great champion on the track. He beat all the records so he has the best numbers in Formula One but I think maybe F1 will focus more on sport after that.
** Fernando Alonso, Formula One world champion and rival
* It is a pity for F1 to lose such a great champion, but the time to stop comes to everyone.
** Gerhard Berger, Former Ferrari Formula One driver
* He will be missed as a friend and colleague and as the ultimate professional. It's the end of Michael's career in Formula One so in that sense, it is the end of an era. When you look at his record, that's going to be difficult to beat.
** Rory Byrne, Ferrari chief designer, who designed all of Schumacher's championship winning cars
* People have said to me that F1 is boring because he wins everything. So presumably when he's not here, people will be happy. But we'll miss him, because he is a superstar.
** Bernie Ecclestone, Formula One boss
* If the best guy in the world retires it is certainly a sad day. You can say whatever you want, he won seven world championships and he might win another one. There is nobody like him in the world, he is unique. It's sad that he retires. But I know you have to retire one day and I respect that.
** Niki Lauda, Three-times Formula One world champion
* I am sure he has thought long and hard about his decision and I respect it. I've enjoyed racing with him and I wish him all the best both for the championship and the future.
** Ralf Schumacher, Formula One driver and brother
* He has everything to lose and nothing to gain, so it's very logical and sensible to retire while he's on top of his game, but knowing Michael, everything he has been able to do, I think he would still have the energy to continue.
** Alex Zanardi, Former Formula One driver and two time Champ Car champion

## External links

* Michael Schumacher News & Fan Site