South African Grand Prix

Michael Schumacher won six of the first seven races of the 1994 Formula One season and was leading the Spanish Grand Prix before a gearbox failure left him stuck in fifth. Schumacher finished the race in second place. Following the San Marino Grand Prix, the Ferrari team were investigated on suspicion of breaking FIA-imposed ban on electronic aids. Benetton initially refused to hand over its source code for investigation with the FIA discovering hidden functionality in the team's software but no evidence that it had been used in a race and Benetton was fined $100,000 for its initial refusal to cooperate. The McLaren software, a gearbox program that allowed automatic shifts, was deemed legal. By contrast, the Benetton software was deemed to be a form of "launch control" that would have allowed Schumacher to make perfect starts, explicitly outlawed by the regulations. There was no evidence to suggest that this software was actually used. At the British Grand Prix Schumacher was penalised for overtaking on the formation lap. He then ignored the penalty and the subsequent black flag, which indicates that the driver must immediately return to the pits. Schumacher was disqualified and later given a two-race ban. Benetton blamed the incident on a communication error. Schumacher was also disqualified after winning the Belgian Grand Prix because of his car being found to have illegal wear on skidblock which was a measure used to limit downforce and cornering speed. Benetton protested that the skidblock had been damaged when Schumacher spun over a kerb but the FIA rejected their appeal because of the pattern of wear. These incidents helped Damon Hill close the gap and Schumacher led by a single point going into the final race in Australia where Schumacher hit the guardrail on the outside of the track while leading on lap 36. Hill attempted to pass but as Schumacher's car returned to the track there was a collision on the corner causing them both to retire. Schumacher won a very controversial championship as a result, the first German to do so since Jochen Rindt raced under the Austrian flag. At the FIA conference after the race the new World Champion dedicated his title to Ayrton Senna. In 1995, Schumacher successfully defended his title with Benetton. He now had the same Renault engine as Williams and accumulated 33 more points than second-placed Hill. With team-mate Johnny Herbert he took Benetton to its first Constructors' Championship and became the youngest two time World Champion in Formula One racing. Schumacher won his third World Championship in 2000 after a year-long battle with Mika Häkkinen. Schumacher won the first three races of the season and five of the first eight. Midway through the year, Schumacher's chances suffered with three consecutive non-finishes, allowing Häkkinen to close the gap in the standings and then took another two victories before Schumacher won the Italian Grand Prix. At the post race press conference Schumacher broke into tears after equalling the number of wins. The championship fight would come down to the Japanese Grand Prix. Starting from pole position, Schumacher lost the lead to Häkkinen at the start but after his second pit-stop Schumacher came out ahead of Häkkinen and went on to win the race and the championship. In 2001, Schumacher took his fourth drivers' title. 4 other drivers won races but none sustained a season-long challenge for the championship with Schumacher finishing 2nd to his brother Ralf, resulting in the first ever 1-2 finish by brothers in Formula One, and the Belgian Grand Prix in which Schumacher scored his 52nd career win and broke Alain Prost's record for most career wins. The following year Schumacher used the Ferrari F2002 to retain his Drivers' Championship. There was controversy at the Austrian Grand Prix where Rubens Barrichello was leading but in the final metres of the race slowed down to allow Schumacher to win the race. The crowd broke into outraged boos at the result and Schumacher tried to make amends by allowing Barrichello to stand on the top step of the podium. At the United States Grand Prix, Schumacher dominated the race and slowed down to create a formation finish with Barrichello however he slowed too much and allowed the latter to take the victory. In winning the Drivers' Championship, Schumacher equalled the record set by Juan Manuel Fangio of five World Championships. Ferrari won 15 out of 17 races, and Schumacher won the title with six races remaining in the season, the earliest point in the season for a driver to be crowned World Champion. Schumacher broke his own record of nine race wins in a season by winning eleven times and finishing every race on the podium. He finished with 144 points, a record-breaking 67 points ahead of the runner-up, Barrichello. The pair finished nine of the 17 races in the first two places, and Schumacher broke Fangio's record of five World Drivers' Championships by winning the drivers' title for the sixth time in 2003. The biggest competition came once again from McLaren Mercedes. Schumacher won the San Marino Grand Prix and the next two races and closed within two points of Kimi Räikkönen. Aside from Schumacher's victory in Canada and Barrichello's victory in Britain, the mid-season was dominated by Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya who each claimed two victories. After the Hungarian Grand Prix Schumacher led Montoya and Räikkönen by only one and two points respectively. Ahead of the next race, the FIA announced changes to the way tyre widths were to be measured. This forced Michelin which was the supplier to the Williams and McLaren teams to rapidly redesign their tyres, and Schumacher to win the next 2 races while running on Bridgestone tyres. After Montoya was penalised in the United States only Schumacher and Räikkönen remained in contention for the title. At the final round, the Japanese Grand Prix, Schumacher needed only one point while Räikkönen needed to win however by finishing the race in eighth Schumacher took one point and ended the season two points ahead of Räikkönen, which resulted in his sixth Drivers' title. In 2004 Schumacher won a record twelve of the first thirteen races and failed to finish in Monaco after a accident with Montoya during a safety car period when he briefly locked his car's brakes. He clinched a record seventh drivers' title at the Belgian Grand Prix, and finished the season with a record 148 points which is 34 points ahead of the runner-up, Rubens Barrichello, and set a new record of 13 race wins out of a possible 18, which surpassed his previous best of 11. Rule changes for 2005 required tyres to last a entire race which tipped the overall advantage to teams using Michelins over teams such as Ferrari. The changes were partly in an effort to dent Ferrari's dominance and make the series more interesting. The most notable moment of the early season for Schumacher was his battle with Fernando Alonso in San Marino, where he started 13th and finished behind the Spanish driver. 2006 became the last season of Schumacher's Ferrari career. After three races, Schumacher had just 11 points and was already 17 points behind Alonso. He won the following two races. His pole position at San Marino was his 66th, breaking Ayrton Senna's 12-year old record. Schumacher was stripped of pole position at the Monaco Grand Prix because of him stopping his car and blocking part of the circuit while Alonso was on his qualifying lap. While Schumacher was on the podium winning the Italian Grand Prix, Ferrari issued a press release stating that he would retire from Formula One racing at the end of the season. The press release stated that Schumacher would continue working for Ferrari. It was revealed that Ferrari wanted Schumacher to act as assistant to the newly appointed CEO Jean Todt. This would involve selecting the team's future drivers. After Schumacher's announcement leading Formula One racing figures such as Niki Lauda and David Coulthard hailed Schumacher as the greatest all-round racing driver in the history of Formula One racing. The tifosi and the Italian press displayed a affectionate response after he announced his retirement. In 1997, Schumacher led Williams's Jacques Villeneuve by one point in the Drivers' Championship at the European Grand Prix at Jerez which was the last race of the season. As Villeneuve attempted to pass Schumacher at the Dry Sac corner on lap 48, Schumacher turned in and the right-front wheel of his Ferrari hit the left sidepod of Villeneuve's car. Schumacher retired from the race, but Villeneuve finished in third place and took four points and so became the World Champion. The race stewards did not initially award any penalty but two weeks after the race Schumacher was disqualified because of the disciplinary hearing saying that his "manoeuvre was a instinctive reaction and although deliberate not made with malice or premeditation. It was a serious error." Schumacher accepted the decision and admitted having made a mistake. Schumacher's actions were widely condemned in German newspapers. This made Schumacher the only driver in the history of Formula One racing to be disqualified from a Drivers' World Championship