early season for Schumacher was
his battle with Fernando Alonso
in San Marino, where he started
13th and finished only 0.2 seconds behind the Spanish driver.
Schumacher’s sole win in 2005
came at the United States Grand
Prix. Prior to that race, the Michelin tyres were found to have
significant safety issues. When no
compromise between the teams
and the FIA could be reached, all
but the six drivers using Bridgestone tyres dropped out of the
race after the formation lap.
Schumacher retired in six of the
19 races. He finished the season
in third with 62 points, fewer than
half the points of world champion
Alonso.
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.
2007–2009: First retirement
While Schumacher was on
the podium after winning the
2006 Italian Grand Prix, Ferrari
issued a press release stating that
he would retire from racing at the
end of the 2006 season.Schumacher confirmed his retirement.The
press release stated that Schum-
acher would continue working
for Ferrari. It was revealed on 29
October 2006 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 figures
such as Niki Lauda and David
Coulthard hailed Schumacher as
the greatest all-round racing driver in the history of Formula One.
In December 2009 it was announced that Schumacher would
be returning to Formula One in
the 2010 season alongside fellow
German driver Nico Rosberg in
the new Mercedes GP team.The
new Mercedes team was their
first majority involvement in an
F1 team since 1955. Schumacher stated that his preparations
to replace the injured Massa for
Ferrari had initiated a renewed
interest in F1, which, combined
with the opportunity to fulfil a
long-held ambition to drive for
Mercedes and to be working
again with team principal Ross
Brawn, led Schumacher to accept
the offer once he was passed fit.
After a period of intensive
training medical tests, it was
confirmed that the neck injury that had prevented him
driving for Ferrari the year before had fully healed.Schumacher signed a three-year contract, reportedly worth £20m.
Schumacher’s first drive of the
2010 Mercedes car – the Mercedes
MGP W01 – was at an official test
in February 2010 in Valencia. He
finished sixth in the first race of
the season at the Bahrain Grand
Prix. After the Malaysian race
former driver Stirling Moss suggested that Schumacher, who had
finished behind his team-mate in
each of the first four qualifying
sessions and races, might be “past
it.”Many other respected former
Formula One drivers thought
otherwise, including former rival
Damon Hill, who warned “you
should never write Schumacher
off.” GrandPrix.com identified the
inherent understeer of the Mercedes car, exacerbated by the narrower front tyres introduced for
the 2010 season, as contributing
to Schumacher’s difficulties.Jenson Button would later claim that
Mercedes 2010 car was designed
for him, and that their differing
driving styles may have contributed to Schumacher’s difficulties.
Schumacher was again partnered by Rosberg at Mercedes
for the 2012 season. Schumacher
retired from the inaugural race of
the season Australian Grand Prix,
and scored a point in the second
race in Malaysia. In China Schumacher started on the front row
alongside Rosberg on pole, but
retired due to a loose wheel after a
mechanics error during a pit stop.
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