Happy Birthday Michael
Races: 308
Drivers' Titles: 7
Victories: 91
Poles: 68
Podiums: 155
Points: 1566
Fastest Laps: 77
Today is the 50th birthday of Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher. His medical condition has been kept secret since a skiing accident that occurred in December, 2013.
He last raced in 2012 but his impact on F1 is felt even today, as the current dominance of Mercedes is a culmination of the three years (2010, 2011, 2012) that he drove for the silver arrows. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said:
“Michael is one of the founding fathers of the success we have had in the last five years. There is no other driver like him and his vast experience contributed tremendously in the development of our team. He played a crucial role when we rejoined F1 and was one of the people who laid the foundation for our future success. We’re extremely grateful for everything he did for us.”
Schumacher remains the benchmark for all F1 racing drivers. There will always be arguments about who is the greatest. Other sports go through this debate as well. Ultimately, how should we measure greatness? The only real metric is championships. People can argue that Lebron, Kobe, or Shaq were the greatest basketball players of all time, but only Jordan has 6 championships. The same for Formula 1. Senna, Fangio, Hill, Vettel, Hamilton, but only Michael has seven.
The numbers don’t lie (see above) and further, they reveal a career of dominance, precision and unparalleled drive for greatness.
We are unabashed and completely biased Tifosi, so don’t feel obligated to let us know why we’re wrong and you’re right about who the greatest really is. You couldn’t change our minds if you tried.
We just wanted to take this opportunity to wish a HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE GREATEST!!!
Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with Michael and his family.
During the pre-grid at the 2010 Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Schumacher plays a prank on a young Vettel prior to the race. Right after this moment they exchanged greetings and talked for a minute. Vettel would claim his first world title when the race was over. Copyright: Mark Farouk, The Loud Pedal