Rogue Profile of Michael Schumacher

“As the car is still new, we have had to work in a different way. We have not got the maximum potential out of it yet. I don’t think the gap between my times and the Williams is a fair reflection of the performance difference between the cars. Maybe in three or four races time, we will be able to judge the car’s true level, excluding the tyre factor. But it was the right decision to bring the new car here, as it was ready. I don’t know where I would have been with the old one,” Schumacher said.

The car did look a handful, in fact in Free Practice Schumacher was off the track as often as he was on. The F2002 looked to have raw speed but it seemed to be lacking in the derivability of the F2001.

“If you win the championship now, what is it worth?”
Schumacher replied “I don’t think this is a very nice question to ask now.”

“I’m not very pleased about it. I don’t think either of us are honestly,” said Schumacher, who brushed off comparisons with last year’s race when Barrichello moved over on the last turn to allow the German to finish second. “Last year I was involved in the decision because I felt the championship was a lot tighter than it was this year. Before the race this year I was asked and I said I don’t believe there’s going to be a team strategy involved – then suddenly they told me he would move over.”

“The gap to the quickest today is pretty small. Last year, we were struggling a bit at this track, but I don’t think that is the case now. I brushed the wall this morning because I was just going too fast and ran wide,” explained Schumacher.

“It was the usual Friday, spent preparing for Sunday’s race. We tried a few changes to the set-up on the car and worked on a comparison program between the two type of tyre,” Michael said. “There is still some work to do in terms of finding the right set-up. Nevertheless, I am pretty optimistic for the rest of the weekend, as we seem to be very competitive on all types of track and there is no reason why that should not be the case here.”

“Despite losing a full hour the car was going quite well,” commented Schumacher.

“I enjoyed this afternoon’s battle for pole. On my first run, I missed the apex at the last chicane, hit the kerb and ran wide, so my time did not count. I thought it was so slow that they would allow it, but it did not matter,” he said. “Then, on my third run, the car stepped out at the fast chicane and I had to go in a straight line. Quite rightly, they took that time away also. Then on my final run, I lost a bit of time in the final sector. The heat was not a problem this afternoon, but at the last corner you are just sliding, not driving. As for tomorrow, I think it will be a much closer race than the last ones, but we don’t really have a full picture of what to expect. Starting on the “dirty” side of the track does not make a big difference at this circuit. Can I win for the sixth time here? That will be up to the guys in front and behind!”

Schumacher had several spins as he got to grips with the new Hockenheimring track
in Friday free practice. Rubens Barrichello, Schumacher’s teammate suffered no
such problems as the pair completed long runs

"The circuit was obviously very slippery, but it was fun to drive and
I believe that there are overtaking possibilities."

Schumacher lead out the final lap of the American race in commanding fashion with
his faithful lieutenant, Rubens Barrichello in tow. Given that that the sport
had been trying hard to break the United Sates market, it had been a great race
for Formula One. Schumacher slowed as he approached the finish line, intending
to set up a great photographic opportunity for the world’s press but a misunderstanding
between the two drivers lead to disaster.

The two Ferraris had raced from the start. Their strategy had been perfect.
One or other of the red cars had led every lap of the race, it should have been
a glorious win but in his efforts to make headlines Schumacher made a mistake.
The German miscalculated where the finishing line was, slowed too soon and that
allowed Barrichello to sneak ahead by a hairsbreadth, when Schumacher himself
had intended to take the flag.

It was the closest finish in Formula One history, (0.011s) but it was a travesty.
The previous record was set by Elio Di Angelis when he edged out Keke Rosberg’s
Williams in the 1982 Austrian Grand Prix in a breathtaking battle. (Di Angelis
took the flag by eight hundredths of a second.) That was a contest between rivals.
This was a misunderstanding between teammates.

In the post race press conference one American journalist asked Schumacher
a sticky question.

“Why shouldn’t fans, paying good money, feel resentful and offended
by such a manipulated result?”

Not for the first time in the 2002 season Schumacher looked uneasy and he stated
that he had gifted the win to Barrichello as recompense for the Brazilian’s efforts
in Austria where he gave his win to Schumacher to aid him to his fifth world title.

“Today he deserved to win,” Schumacher said.

This was confusing in the extreme given that just ten minutes before the press
conference the German had told the world’s press that he had intended to set up
a dead heat between himself and his teammate. Given Schumacher’s body language
when he climbed from his car this clearly was not the case.

Through his actions and words Schumacher had yet again cheapened the sport.
In the age of millisecond timing it would have been virtually impossible to engineer
a dead heat. Schumacher’s attempts to drown his mistake in a sea of lies were
arrogant in the extreme.

Schumacher had not looked at ease all weekend and had suffered a sizeable accident
in Saturday morning practice before falling off the track on two further occasions.
Exiting turn twelve on lap forty, his F2002 the Ferrari picked up understeer and
the German rattled over the kerb of a fast left-hander.

Schumacher’s off road excursion damaged the front part of the car’s underbelly
and in a few laps time the bargeboards (that when in place smoother the airflow
around the car) were being dragged by their tethers.

The race stewards proved that they had sharper eye site than Michael’s brother,
Ralf and they showed the black and orange flag to instruct Schumacher to pit.
Although Schumacher revealed that he was ignorant of the situation but the tethers
had given their last before he pulled in to his pit-box. Yet again, Lady Luck
was smiling on Schumacher, as he would have to have stopped for fuel regardless.

"The changing weather made for a chaotic race today. We could not
have predicted there would be two Safety Car periods and in this situation it
is just a gamble whether or not it works in your favour at the right time,"
he explained. "At one point I hit the kerbs, damaged the car quite
badly and lost a lot of time because of it. Apparently, on the lap before my last
pit stop, some parts started hanging off the car and that was badly affecting
its handling. It felt as though the car was damaged and I even thought I might
have a puncture. So, all things considered I think we can be happy with fourth
place today. It was an interesting day with plenty of action and these 5 points
will be important later in the year. The F2002 is still very competitive."

Schumacher had not looked at easy all Friday. He had muttered to reporters that
he did not like sweeping the road at the start of the qualifying. The Albert Park
is a difficult track set-up wise and Schumacher’s technical ability in the car
had been often called into question. He was struggling with the front of his car
in Saturday’s free practice session and he repeated a bit of history.

In every season he had won the FIA Championship for Ferrari he crashed in free
practice at the Albert Park track. Given he managed the feat in 2003 Schumacher
scribed the writing on the wall, using his F2002 as his quill.

Schumacher lost the front end of his F2002 as the car back-ended as he entered
turn fifteen. The Ferrari spun across the track, skipped across the gravel trap
before slamming into a the retaining wall. The collision left the car’s front-left
suspension and nose boxed smashed.

Schumacher emulated the great Gilles Villeneuve and nursed the three wheeled
car back to the pit but this time Ferrari were able to effect repairs.

After Schumacher was out-qualified by both Renaults he was determined to make
an aggressive start to the race. His start was not as good a fourth placed Coulthard
and the German had to battle with the Scot through turn one.

In the second corner, Schumacher dived right across the grass at the corner’s
apex in a botched attempt to pass second placed Jarno Trulli. The F2002 ran into
the left-hand side pod of the Result damaging it’s front wing in the process.
Schumacher gingerly rejoined the track behind Barrichello who had to take to the
grass in avoidance. Trulli had been spun round by the impact and had dropped to
last place.

For once Schumacher was punished for his error. He had to pit to have the damaged
nose cone on his F2002 replaced and then after much deliberation the stewards
decided that he had caused an avoidable collision and he was given a drive-through
penalty, which he served on lap nine.

"It was a tough race with an unfortunate start. I made a mistake and
hit Jarno and I have apologised to him," Michael said. "That
was the decisive moment of my race. It came as a big surprise that I was still
able to fight for points after I pitted for the drive-through penalty. So, I am
happy enough in the circumstances. I have no complaints about my car, which worked
very well, thanks to the team. Let’s hope the next race will be better."

In Friday’s wet qualifying session the normally "stereotypically Germanic"
Michael Schumacher was the sixth driver on to risk his all on the soaking track.

Eddie Irvine (ex-Formula One driver and Schumacher’s former teammate) had been
suggesting that the German was cracking under pressure and his recent spat of
"Rookie errors" were symptoms of his demise. Schumacher did his up most
to make more bullets for Irvine’s gun when he spun on his out lap before ending
the session fifth quickest.

‘The rain meant that track conditions were difficult, but not unacceptable,
although it was aquaplaning which caused me to spin on my ‘out’ lap,"
Michael said.

On lap twenty-seven Michael Schumacher became the fourth driver to blot his copybook
at turn three. There had been discussion about the German cracking under pressure
after his first lap antics at the previous Grand Prix and for the second race
in succession, he would make the bullets for his detectors.

Two laps earlier Montoya and Pizzonia had aquaplaned off at the corner after
they had been too heavy handed for the conditions and the Marshals were still
clearing the wreckage under the supposed safety of the waved yellow flags.

Schumacher could not have seen the flags or he could not have cared as he accelerated
out of the corner hard and aquaplaned off nearly collecting a Marshall in the
process. . It was his first DNF since the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim in 2001.

Schumacher avoided punishment for this incident.

Schumacher had a replacement nose on his scheduled stop on lap 13.

Schumachers moves in his defence of his position became the subject of propagand. Hamilton complain over team radio that Schumacher moved a number of times unfairly – in his opinion. Mercedes, in the form of Ross Brawn, reminded Schumacher to enure other drivers have room in the corners in an attempt to avoid a stewards inquiry.

Schumacher was now a passenger as he slid across the track and into the tyre wall. The safety car was brought out to clean up the mess.

Schumacher called Senna and idiot over his team radio for causing the collision. Schumacher argued that Senna changed direction under braking and caused the collision.

The race stewards thought differently and dropped Schumacher 5 grid places at the next event for causing an avoidable collision.