This may cause some controversy with the Michael Schumacher fans.
I have not written this to offend the great man—he was an amazing driver—this is indisputable.
However, I feel he has done great damage to the sport and finally F1 has recovered, and we can see the difference without him.
He has been described as “the greatest driver F1 has ever seen” and this statement is not far from the truth.
MS has, as we all know, won seven world championships in 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004. He has 91 race wins, 68 pole positions; the list goes on and on.
Since his move to Scuderia Ferrari in 1996, he dominated the sport with a third place in the 1996 drivers championship.
He was disqualified in the 1997 season for colliding with Jacques Villeneuve purposefully and therefore affecting the drivers’ championship standings, he would off come second, at worst, if he hadn’t acted like a child.
In 1998 he came second, in 1999 he would possibly have come first if he hadn’t crashed and injured himself at Silverstone. Then it came, the streak of five consecutive drivers championship wins.
This is where the damage was done.
The sport became predictable; in the 2004 season he won 13 of the 18 races—a 72% first place conversion rate.
We could almost predict who would win both the drivers and constructors championships from 2001-2004. When a sport becomes predictable, it becomes boring.
In 2002, he won the championship with six races still remaining in the season, which led to a 20% fall in viewing figures for the remaining races.
This came at a point in which F1 was rapidly losing sponsorship deals and money due to the predictability in the 2001 season, the banning of tobacco advertising and yet, the sport still had another three years of MS domination to survive.
ITV viewing figures peaked at 3.3 million viewers, in comparison to the BBC coverage of the Golf Open, which peaked at almost double.
In 2007, ITV viewing figures peaked at 10.7 million, and the average figures are still growing in the 2008 season.
In 2006, Michael announced his retirement and would not compete in F1 after the 2006 season had ended.
This allowed drivers who had, until recently, been hidden under Michael’s shadow—Raikkonen moved to Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton was promoted to a drivers seat at Mclaren, Robert Kubica’s talents were realized—F1 became exciting again.
We all remember the 2007 season—the shock rookie, from Hertfordshire, who took the F1 world by storm and would end the season just one point off of first place Raikkonen.
Then drew second with Fernando Alonso, his teammate at Mclaren. Formula One hasn’t been this close and exciting since the Senna years.
This wasn’t a one off year either.
2008 has seen BMW win their first Grand Prix.
The drivers’ standings are a three-way stand off, with Lewis Hamilton, Felipe Massa, and Kimi Raikkonen, all on 48 points, and Kubica a further two points off.
With viewing figures climbing, too many sponsorship deals to contemplate, new markets, new tracks, Formula One has finally recovered from the Schumacher days.
Thank God.
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2 months ago
Well, yes, it was incredibly boring, and I did get sick of it, but, I reaslly wish he could come back, even for one race, just so we can see schumacher vs hamilton. it won't happen, but hopefully it will at the race of champions at wembley.
four drivers fighting for the title. amazingly, if the top four all have catastrophic weekends, we could see heikki and heidfeld come back. imagine that, a six way fight for ther title. as we have said, we can never predict what could happen.
what got me was that the viewing figures did not improve that much in 2005. schumy was nowhere, sometimes lucky if he was inside the top 10 in qualifying. weird.
from 2 months ago
yea he had a tough time in 2005, i think it took a while for them to recover, plus we had Alonso dominating for a while.
A 6 horse race would be amazing, would be a real show for the fans. I really hope Heikki can get some good results.
I'd like to see michael come back, but one race would do it for me, no more! Cheers for the comment.
2 months ago
You're right. F1 is more interesting and exciting without Schumacher. Still, I enjoyed 2002 just fine, I never tired of watching Takuma Sato knock that Jordan to pieces!
from 2 months ago
Haha Sato, think he had about 7 crashes in 2002.
2 months ago
I think it's a huge misconception that rating figures went down during Schumi's reign. If you look into rating figures in every other country outside of the UK, it was still extremely on the high, let's say Germany, or even the Asian audiences, none of them have warmed up to Hamilton, at least majority and infact it is still the same amount of people who watched F1 in Schumi's reign when compared to today. Maybe in the UK it is different
Ok, here is another fact you say which I feel is wrong. You say it allowed drivers to move out of the shadow. Ok, both Raikkonen and Alonso were deemed as stars during Michael's period. Even drivers like Villenvue(Of course Villenvue went into auto destruct after 1997) and Haikken all established their names in his period.
You talk about Kubica, infact it is ironic that Kubica proved his worth @ the 2006 Italian GP where Schumi announced his retirement. And it is infact even more ironic that in 2007(No Schumi) that Kubica struggled with the BMW and Heidfeld was dominating. Let's look @ Hamilton. Let's be honest, nobody expected Hamilton to perform like he did last year. And infact it was a gamble on McLaren's part to put in Hamilton and I bet if Montoya hadn't gone into auto destruct in 2006 Hamilton wouldn't been there in 2007.
While it is easy for somebody to say he was becoming predictable, I think one of main reasons was that the opposition was poor. I mean in both 2002 and 2004, there wasn't a single machinery in sight which could match Ferrari. While from 2005, McLaren had made a leap in their machinery and also Renault too. Now when you put in these factors, the fact that Schumi won so much was not only because Ferrari and Schumi was awesome, but also because the opposition was awful and shot themselves in the foot.
Do I want Schumi today. No, because he is 38, and it's time for everybody to move on. And his legend and his career is as gold as it gets. And while we do dream of the million permutations on face offs, it's better to look ahead. And Thank you Schumi for all those wonderful memories..
from 2 months ago
Cheers for the comment, really appreciate the feedback Ashwin.
Firstly, I have focused on the UK viewing figures in this article, which is a little short-sighted of myself, i apologise.
Secondly, viewing figures dropped on a worldwide basis in 2002. Official figures: Germany figures dropped from 3 million to 2.7 million, Hungary figures dropped from 3.4 million to 2.9 million, in Belgium they dropped from 3.6 million to 3.0 million, and this is the same case in many countries. The average drop in viewing figures worldwide were 17%, which is almost the same amount figures dropped in the UK. As you can see figures also dropped in Germany.
I am not a Michael Schumacher fan (as you may be able to tell) however I cannot disagree with him being an amazing driver, and I believe he is one of the best.
2 months ago
Bold bold move mate, kudos on strapping on a pair and going for it though, you make valid points.
Let me start of my comment by first of all saying that I have the highest regard for Michael as a driver ... He is amazing, a great driver. His records in my opinions will NEVER be beaten, he will forever be the greatest F1 driver that evert lived (But thats another article altogether, not one that I will be doing anytime soon) But Michael is in a word ... LEGENDARY !
So now with that out of the way by saying ... The sport is now 150% better than it was, would I swap this season for one 10 - 15 years ago ... No thanks ... What about 5 - 10 years ago ? ... Erm no, this season is the greatest yet, it truly is. It has everything that the Schumi days didnt have ... At any one time there was like 1 driver who could challenge him, but only challenge because ultimately MS would have won, no we have a 4 way tie with potentially another 2 maybe 3 fast drivers who can still get in the fight should thet find the pace !
Ryan, I agree with you 100% ... Sorry Bleacher Creatures ... This is my opinion. Dont slate me for it, just post your own ! Thanks.
Great article Matey. 5 Stars and a POTD !
from 2 months ago
I'm with you Ben, this season is definitely along with 07 a lot more fun to watch than back in the Schumacher days or even before that.
One thing about Schumi is that he was head and shoulders above the lot. In this season I can only see two drivers standing out Kimi and Lewis yet both have not dominated the championship to a two horse race we would have expected at the start - far from it
I think it is all the more paradoxical that F1 is more fun to watch with drivers of similar caliber, than having that one special jewel in the crown outshining every other diamond!!!
Schumacher's record can be beaten, add more races to the calendar and wait for a new talent to come to F1 or an existing quantity to bring it to new level : Nico, Timo come on guys we're waiting that goes for you to Mr Vettel
what do you think mate??
from 2 months ago
I dont know because it is so much hard to win in current times due to the amount of competition and thats why I think MS was in the right place at the right time ... This kind of situation I feel wont arise again so it wont be allowed that someone can dominate this sport so much, besides ... Bernie wont let it happen, he knows how damaging it was !
from 2 months ago
Cheers for the comment ben, a POTD, wow I wasn't expecting that. And it being from you, the leading writer makes it all the more special. I knew this would churn out some comments.
This season and the last have been truly fantastic and entertaining, which is the aim of sport!
Schumi was a legend, your not wrong their, but legends aren't always good for sport!
Thanks again ben.
from 2 months ago
Hey mate, its well deserved honestly, its a great article and its bold, you have made a statement for something that you believe and something that I agree with hence the pick of the day for that. Well done !
2 months ago
I will certainly agree with you that Formula became predictable during that five year stretch, and I see where your points come from.
However, I'm not sure I can blame Schumacher and the Ferrari team for that. They were doing what they were supposed to do: build a car capable of winning a championship and then going out and doing it. His competitors (aside from Montoya) seemed too intimidated to mount a challenge to him; aside from 2003, no team or driver really gave him a fight. Finally, in 2005, Renault were able to get in the mix (even though Schumi wasn't part of that title fight) and then in '06 Alonso beat Schumi in a straight fight (I was rejoicing over the fact that someone had finally took the fight to him).
For sure, the sport became more interesting when he left, but I don't blame him for the predictability. I blame the other teams and drivers for not mounting a consistent charge.
from 2 months ago
Thanks for the comment, I knew this would stir up some comments.
I do not blame Ferrari or Schumi, I am simply saying his domination ruined the sport for a period of 4 years. Ferrari built an amazing car, and Schumi was an awesome driver, the perfect combo!!
from 2 months ago
Yeah...it was a perfect storm for them. A shame no one was able to put up a consistent challenge to him. Although Montoya's run-ins with him were pretty fun.
All the same, props to you for putting yourself out there here. Nice job!
2 months ago
Good read! I remember being frustrated with the fact that Schumacher was always overshadowing Raikkonen year after year.
2 months ago
TICK TOCK, TICK TOCK .............The stopwatch is ticking until them Ferrari / Schumi Fans start trampling in here mate .........Your a brave guy But you know what , i totally agree it was boring and unpredictable BUT michael schumacher wasnt boring it was the rest of the field They was not good enough .
from 2 months ago
haha cheers mark, it hasn't happened yet, i'm still waiting for the challenging comments which i have to throw more facts and figures at to prove my point.
But your completely right, the rest of the field was disappointing in the schumi era.
2 months ago
Wow....great article. Its true that F1 got boring and predictable during Ferrari's reign of dominance, but Schumi can hardly be blamed for that. However, Ferrari should have let Barrichello race too. Agreed, MS would have still won, but atleast they should have given Barrichello an equal opportunity.
Ferrari was the best car by far all those years and Barrichello was the only one with the machinery to put up a fight. It could have been a great intra team rivalry on the lines of the legendary Senna-Prost rivalry!!
Alas, MS's insistence on preferential treatment can only make us imagine what could have been.
2 months ago
Shumi was a great driver but more importantly he was great at assembling a Formula One team. No one can touch him in that respect. As far as driving goes, while he was one of the very best, he cannot match Fangio's winning percentage (and Fangio entered F1 at the age of 39!) nor can he match the great Ayrton Senna for poles when one considers that Aryton took roughly half as many races to achieve slightly fewer poles than Schumi. Senna is tops in the modern era in my book. No one could match him in the rain, and he had some very tough competition in Prost, Mansell, and others. Schumi was challenged only by Haikkinen who frequently outqualified him. I believe Hakkinen was easily Shumi's driving equal. Then along came a kid named Kimi Raikkonen just in time for McClaren and Mercedes Benz unreliable years. Kimi was the fastest man on the track for much of Schumi's later reign. McClaren/Mercedes just couldn't get it right and Kimi had to settle for the leavings much of the time, though he never publicly complained. A shame, as he was in his absolute prime during those years--not that he still isn't the quickest when he's on. The guy to match Hamilton in the coming years is--you guessed it--Robert Kubica.
2 months ago
I'm not an F1 fan but certainly have heard of MS. It's interesting to frame this article in the context of what golf is going through with Tiger Woods at the moment. F1's most prominent/popular driver is not racing and the sport's considered to be stronger. The PGA's most dominant player is out for the rest of the year and the world of golf kinda sorta throws it's hands in the air and acknowledges that ratings will be lower and that none of the remaining majors really matter.
I'm not saying either approach is wrong; it's just interesting.
Thanks for a great read. Even a Yankee could keep up with it!
from 2 months ago
Great point Greg. The thing with having a Superstar in any sport is that he/she draws even a casual observer to the event thus improving the ratings. I do not watch much Golf on TV, but was completely drawn towards the US open telecast, mostly due to the hoopla surrounding Tiger.
from 2 months ago
Absolutely Greg, its weird to think that F1 suffered under the reign of a legend, but golf has been hugely boosted with a dominant winner. Golf tournaments however aren't as frequent as F1 races, and the margins Schumacher won by were huge, this is the reason I think the sport suffered.
With Golf, Tiger usually started badly, and slowly pulled it back over the weekend, which was a marvel to watch. I think i'll be watching more whilst the great man is out, hopefully and englishman could fight for the title. (unlikely)
Glad you enjoyed reading it, cheers for the comment.
from 2 months ago
Golf tournaments aren't as frequent as F1 races? Hmmmm....
from 2 months ago
I'm guessing that Ryan was referring to Majors. And Tiger has a rep for not playing every tournament. Just a guess.
from 2 months ago
yea sorry I meant major's!
2 months ago
Great article man!
2 months ago
Well, we wont blame him for his results. He is (accept or not) best driver that F1 ever saw. Not only by results. And i think we all should say danke Michael for not staying in Benetton-Renault in 1996, or even further, and dankeschön for not switching in Williams. In that case i think he would win every single race.
The man was outstanding. He was the one and only driver in F1 history who was one man team. No one ever done that. Do you remember Renault official statment back in 1997, why had they withdrawn from F1? Kyllä ja ei? well let me tell you: It was also cause Michael Schumacher who didn't had anymore Renault powered car. And why is F1 become so much popular again? Cause of drivers from let's say "lower categories", who usualy fighted for second or third place. In some way, i feel sorry that i haven't see him in Formula 1 with German powered engine; Mercedes of course, who entered in Formula 1 with itention to have two German Formula 1 drivers: Michael Schumacher und Heinz Harald Frentzen, but that never happend thanks to Ron Dennis. I have some chances to see Michael and he is very plesant guy, normal, down to earth, and i think he could race one more year in F1, but his thoughts of retirment began imidetly in Bahrein qualifying session when he took his 65th pole in career. I remember that moment and that day very well. He was so quiet, he walked around and that was the first sign......i knew it was his last year in F1.
And no, i don't want to see him back, neither Häkkinen. They done great job, that was great fight, and there's nothing much to say except Danke Rekordweltmeister Michael Schumacher.
2 months ago
good article, but idk if schumacher really hurt F1. he was such an unbelievable player, and i think he helped the sport more than he hurt it.
from 2 months ago
I think he helped the sport in his early career, and even in 2000, but after his 3rd drivers championship, I really believe the sport suffered under his dominance.
Cheers for the comment Alan.
2 months ago
Are you from England? I only ask because I've noticed that the English hate it when individuals are great...makes you wonder why they call it Great Britain. :)
I know that sounds steroetyping, but I've even had British friends to say the same. Even Simon Cowell (from American Idol) said that many English have animosity toward the rich.
In America, we tend to be drawn to greatness, but the downside is we tend to be fair-weather fans.
At any rate, I am indeed a tifosi, but I don't think it's fair to say that Schu hurt F1. It would be more accurate to say that he hurt F1 in England. A lot of peoplel in the world want to see greatness, so Schu actually drew a lot of folks into the sport though you may not see it because of where you live. I am one of those people...
2 months ago
michael schumacher is to formula one as michael jordan is to nba basketball, and in more respects than his incredible and undeniable talent. while television viewership may have suffered in the u.k., schumi became the representative face of a sport in countries where f1 had not yet set its hooks. his outright talent, which sometimes included a knack for wrong-side-of-fair tactics (damon hill in 1996 for example), gave many a face and persona to root for.
whether the last two seasons have been a welcome departure from the schu years... it's different and it's enjoyable, but no more exciting.
2 months ago
I can't agree that champions make a sport boring, even dominant champions like MS. For example, I can guarantee you that the fact Tiger is not playing in the British Open will have a massive negative impact on viewer ratings.
Watching a master at work is always amazing. It doesn't matter if you know what is going to happen, I think it is *how* it happens that is the main thing.
Probably we have become victims of a media and/or school inspired belief that winning is more important than how you play the game, but surely we should appreciate a champion and give them their due?
Valentino Rossi is an excellent example. He wins nearly every time, but he still has plenty of fans, and people still go and watch Moto GP events. The reason is that people find it fascinating to watch "the Doctor" perform his surgical maneuvers. Plus, every now and then somebody will manage to beat him.
Predictable? Yes, most of the time. Boring? Never.
from 2 months ago
I think you'll like this one Brad
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/36406-rebuttal-michael-schumacher-good-riddance-or-ignorance
from 2 months ago
Yes, and thanks. Thinking alike, so if the saying is correct, we must have great minds! Shiver me timbers!
2 months ago
This is about as bad as it gets!. You say that he damaged F1 by winning, I think you have the wrong side of the cup, it is never half empty, it is half full. The damage done to F1 was not by the brilliance of Michael Schumacher, rather the drivers that could only challenge for a title when he was out of the way.
If you think that F1 is better now, then your view of F1 is perverted, you are content to watch second rate drivers, squabble over the title like dogs over a bone. Massa, as much as I like the guy, was nothing more than a second fiddle and was miles behind Michael, in the same car. Kimi, had chance after chance in some really good cars and could not close the deal, motor mouth Hamilton has shown that he is an airhead at best, while Alonso has shown quite clearly that the ONLY reason for his title was that car/tire combination.
This is what you consider good racing, second rate drivers, diminishing the value of the title. For my money, I would rather watch a master ply his craft.
from 2 months ago
oh christ, he has returned.
sad person who is totaly biased. leave. now.
from 2 months ago
Is Paul serious?
If I think F1 is better now than when schumi dominated, my view on F1 is perverted. did he just say that? Read some of the comments above Paul, a lot of people agree, it was predictable, and how can you say second rate drivers? Hamilton, Kimi, Kubica, too name a few, are amazing drivers and can never be described as second rate!
Your view on F1 is perverted my friend.
from 2 months ago
a michael schumacher fan boy. there are certainly worse drivers to root for, i suppose. but please don't take your fanaticism to a level that suggests ignorance. it's entirely unbecoming. you're a fan of schumi yet suggest that he was the bar by which all other drivers should be judged. as a fan that's absolutely despicable in that you should view your heroes as untouchable; on an entirely different level. to suggest that schumi is the "average" is insulting to him and his legacy.
i also couldn't help but notice that you referred to the rest of the f1 grid as "second rate". i would like to point out that in all likelihood the "least experienced" driver on the grid will probably forget more about his craft than you'll ever learn. unless you're, at the very least, competing in a feeder series i suggest you grow up. how many points do you have in the wdc?
2 months ago
Michael had to leave the sport, for Kimi to win the title. Yet at the moment he is the best, he is the standard. My guess, is that you are from UK and one of the mindless hoards now following F1 because of Hamilton. Perverted because your views are not that of an F1 purists, you waste time by talking against the greatest driver of the modern era. Ii is if you are one of those McLaren fans, you know the ones, they hated Michael and Ferrari, love Hamilton and feel that there is a conspiracy against Ron Dennis by the FIA
2 months ago
Paul, as much as i agree that Schuey was a great driver, your view that watching 'second-rate' drivers squabble for a championship is wrong.
I would argue that even in Schumacher's heyday, Raikkonen was a quicker driver, it isn't just me that thinks this, he was widely regarded as the quickest driver in the field for the years of Schumacher dominance. The unreliability of his McLaren was his downfall.
And i notice that you call Hamilton an 'airhead' at best, but don't comment on his driving ability? I think this is because no-one can deny the skill that he posesses, how many other drivers can you think of that had such an amazing first season as he did? His mixed start to the '08 season did draw out the critics; though they were quickly silenced by the masterful display in the wet at Silverstone. You argue that you would rather watch a master ply his craft: is Hamilton's performance not enough?
Aaanyway, that's my 2cents!
Great article Ryan, i agree 100%, now here's hoping that Kovalainen can re-mount a challenge, we've all seen that he's definitely a talent, look at his qualifying performance in the dry at Silverstone.
from 2 months ago
Cheers for the comment Ryan.
Yea im hoping Heikki can perform well at Hockenheim, he's had such good results in Qualy, and some good drives, but he's just been so unfortunate. Its a real shame. It'd be nice to see him work his way back into the championship battle.
from 2 months ago
Hamilton, lost the title, when the only way that could happen was if he threw it away. As for his talent,not sure that it is at best, equal to Massa and Kimi, he sure make more bonehead moves, not to mention that he runs off at the mouth like a fool. This however, is about the issue that you think that the guys leading F1 today are quality drivers. For my money, there is not one quality driver in the field that has that special spark!
2 months ago
Oh the Red TIT Has Cum out again now there is an article challenging his beloved ferrari. your one of those people paul that are all too easy to work out , a more Apt Name Is a Glory Hunter .
I Mean where are you from ? you still havent wrote an article you crank .
Hamilton is up there on a Par with Raikkonen and his career is only one and alf seasons old , imagine what he will be like after 7 years like kimi has had . he will surpass kimi by a long chalk . hamilton didnt lose the title I think You will Find CIRCUMSTANCES Cots Him The Title .
Think Before you speak Heffernan .
from 2 months ago
It is better to have never have written an article, than present the stuff that you have passed off as an article. It would not surprise me to find out, that you have a "thing" for Hamilton!
2 months ago
yeah course it is paul , thatswhy ive had countless stars and Pick Of he Days For My Articles , Your in a Minority Of 3 Up to Now , Ive Had Many People Comment On My articles In a Positive Manner .
I Know you havent Wrote an article because you are a Bottler , no guts inside that stomach of yours .
i would rather be known for writing articles and know i am trying rather than be known as someone who is bottling it .
By the way i do have a thing for hamilton yes , That Thing Is Called AWE ,He is Awe Inspiring . 22 years old and hes as skillful as he is . plus he is british so im Supporting a countryman in his Quest To Be The Best And He Will . Ive Supported DC too Unfortunatly ive never seen him Win The Title .
again you slate an article without wrting anything yourself . typical tosser-ish behaviour for you tho eh .
2 months ago
Well, I am not about to judge those that support you. However, it must be said, after taking he time to read your articles, a writer you are not!
2 months ago
Well I Never Proclaimed to be a writer .
DO YOU TAKE TIME TO READ PROFILES AS WELL ???????????????
Obviously not as you will see on my Profile that i clearly State i had never done anything Writing wise before this , so You can now rethink your ludacrous answer .
AND dont you think you need to show everyone on bleacher report That you indeed can write articles yourself before saying someone else doesnt have the ability ??????? because i do . i would love to see an article of yours , But i know that will never happen . your too scared of the backlash because of your treatment of other peoples work .
Either that or your really shit at articles, there has to be some reason .
no matter what you say to me paul you will not bother me in that way , you can say what you want about my work because ill just give you the V sign and say do i really give a shit what a tosspot like you thinks ??????? NOT ON YOUR NELLY .
from 2 months ago
marky boy, calm down mate!
2 months ago
Your language is atrocious!
2 months ago
Without someone dominating, you can never appreciate non-dominance.
And let me say, when MS joined Ferrari in 1996, he made f1 so much more exciting-by trying to win with ferrari, some of the drives he did fighting with the Williams/Mclarens are worth more then championships in my books, they were masterclass drives in rain, and or strategy raw speed. It's a honor to see a man work his talent with pride to win, it's something special to see that on that scale. While the championship may seem more open, the actual GPs haven't seen the steller drives of Schumacher's best, works of genuises are admired by true f1 fans.
Schumacher never did any damage to f1, he made people talk about it, or him, the sport continues, but it would surely be better with Schumacher doing some of his great drives against the odds, his career wasn't just about his Ferrari domination years, and even in those years, he produced stella drives, anyone remember Schumacher driving on shot tyres at Imola 2006, and pulling out laps that Pat Symonds described as fantastic! I thought Alonso had it, on that track, that's about as exciting things can get, it's all about those inlaps on tracks like that.
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