Schumi ist Weltmeister! x7!

The above means "(Schumi is World Champion! x7!)"

Michael Schumacher's colourful and controversial career came to an end in 2006 as the great German headed into comfortable Swiss retirement with a record seven world titles safely tucked away.


His heroic, season-long bid to secure an eighth Formula One world championship eventually ended in disappointment, but not after an enthralling tussle which witnessed both the best and the worst of the German. It also breathed new life into a sport which was in danger of becoming pedestrian and predictable.

The drama started in March when it looked like a sure-thing for defending champion Fernando Alonso and Renault. It ended seven months later with Schumacher's Ferrari parked-up at Suzuka, his car up in smoke, taking the driver's desire for one last entry in the history books with it. The 37-year-old Schumacher went into retirement admitting that he had some regrets.

"There were things I would do differently, but there is the song 'My Way' and I think that is true right now," said the German.


That the championship was still alive until the final race in Brazil will form part of the Schumacher legacy, an epic that had looked more like a horror story after three races of the season when he laboured 17 points beind Alonso. The season kicked off in Bahrain with Alonso taking victory while teammate Giancarlo Fisichella beat the Spaniard to the line in Malaysia, a race which saw Schumacher struggle home in sixth.

Australia hammered home Alonso's superiority with the Spaniard taking his second win of the season. Schumacher failed to finish after his Ferrari hit the pit wall. Victory at San Marino, however, saw Schumacher get off the mark for 2006 as he clinched the 85th win of his career.

It was his and Ferrari's first win since 2005's controversial United States Grand Prix when all of the Michelin-tyred cars pulled out, but his first against a full field since the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka in 2004, 18 months earlier. Alonso was second. It was the same one-two at the Nurburgring for the European Grand Prix but the positions were reversed at Barcelona a week later when Alonso became the first home winner of the Spanish Grand Prix. Alonso increased his lead to 15 points heading into Monaco where the darker side of Schumacher emerged. The Spaniard won from pole with Schumacher trailing in fifth place after he had been sent to the back of the grid in disgrace.

The German had clocked the fastest time in qualifying but was penalised for deliberately stopping on the circuit to prevent his rivals from improving their times. Schumacher was second again to Alonso at Silverstone as the points deficit stretched to 23. That lead became 25 in Canada when the Renault star again led from lights to flag. Then, in July, Schumacher led team-mate Felipe Massa in a Ferrari one-two at Indianapolis. Alonso was fifth and his championship lead was down to 19 points. Schumacher won the next races in France and Germany as Alonso saw his lead shrink to 11 points.

In Hungary, Britain's Jenson Button, in a Honda, finally broke his long wait with a win in his 113th race. Alonso crashed out while Schumacher picked up one point. In Turkey, Massa took a maiden win with Alonso beating Schumacher to second place by a car's length. At Monza, Schumacher announced he would retire at the end of the season but still took victory, the 90th of his career as Alonso's lead now stood at just two points.

Three races left and Schumacher beat Alonso to the flag in China leaving the two men locked on 116 points each. But in Japan, Schumacher's title ambitions unravelled. Alonso won after Schumacher's Ferrari suffered engine failure for the first time in six years. Alonso had trailed the German for 36 of the 53-lap contest. It left Alonso only requiring a point at the final race in Brazil to take the title — Schumacher conceded the race was over. At Brazil, Schumacher needed to win and hope that Alonso finished out of the points but the Ferrari suffered a puncture.

The German put in a storming recovery to finish fourth but could do nothing about Alonso ensuring the title when he finished second in the race to Massa. Despite his two titles, Alonso, who will drive for McLaren in 2007, insists Schumacher's mark of seven world titles will never be beaten.


"Hopefully, I can fight for the championship, be in the top three or the top four with all the championships I do from now. But it's difficult to repeat what Michael did, to hold the dominant position for so many years," he said.

Sources : AFP


"Auf Wiedersehen Schumi!!!"