Michael Schumacher, He wasn't THAT evil was he?

Question

Come on, Prost and Sennna pushed and shoved each other in all of their showdowns; Schumacher does it twice and is carpeted and derided.
I know he's not perfect, but dare I say this, If Senna hadn't died and if Prost wasn't the first driver to exceed Jim Clark's record for most wins (or was that Stewart?) they would be bollocked by the British press relentlessly.
Here's to Schumacher's retirement, hope he gets fat!

OK I am a Schumi fan, love the guy!
Obviously i know he is not evil, it is the perception he has in certain sections of the media, here and in Germany :-)

Answer 1

Schumi was a total professional and a fantastic driver.

Probably got so much flak because he was German. [sorry but it is still true]

He was never the romantic and popular figure like Ayrton but never the less will go down in history as one of the greatest if not the greatest.

Wish our drivers [British] had his commitment then we may get a world champion again.

Oh for another James Hunt that guy was sheer class.

Answer 2

I've made much the same comment for many years - only you can look to pretty much ANY successful driver and find an aggressive pursuit to win! Schumacher is one of the best drivers F1 has had, and like all of the other greats, a key aspect of what makes a driver great is that desire to win.

Pretty much every champion has had questionable moments. The biggest difference with Michael Schumacher is that his all happened in an era when media coverage now includes cameras at every spot on the track. Imagine if the most notorious of his incidents happened off camera? They would probably be long forgotten (like those of the champions in the '50s and '60s and so on).

I recall many being similarly upset with Senna back when he was Prost's teammate, and in the years there after. Senna seemed to gain a certain calm, and confidence in his ability when he no longer had the fastest car on grid. I often look at his last Mclaren races as some of his most focused drives. The tragedy at Imola probably did clear any bad feelings from the memories of many people, though Senna probably would have cleared a few on his own with what seemed like a greater maturity on his part.

Answer 3

Michael Schumacher was a man with a goal ( like Senna and prost and even Alonso),to win the world championship more than once and for that you need to ruthless and as well as fast and take no prisoners and if you upset anybody on the way that was part of the game.

Answer 4

Michael without a doubt is the greatest F1 driver in the history and he is great guy too because he has donated a lot of money for charity even at the beginning of 2005 season he revealed that Mclaren was ready to pay him even more than Ferrari but he refused.
Ferrari had very bad 2005 but he did not questioned a thing or complaint that's a sign of great Champion last year when Alonso started to loose he made several disgraceful comments on his team.
When Michael drives a car he only see his car and chequered flag that show the determination of a guy on his goal.
He is a amazing character not evil.

Answer 5

I wasn't a Schumacher fan, but I'll say he could really drive the hell outta that car. But riddle me this: how many fans lost all respect for him and Ferrari after the Nurburgring incident? You know which one I'm talking about...

If I was in the second Ferrari and the team told me that as I was coming to the white flag, I would've keyed the radio and said, "If you want him to win, he's gonna have to EARN it." A perennial world champion and a mid-pack driver with superior equipment...figure that out.

Answer 6

Scumacher was only so successful because he had the fastest car. I'll admit he must have done well to get to the top when he was with beneton. But I think that most of the top drivers would do just as well as him if they were driving his Ferrari. A good example is Massa. Before he went to Ferrari he had had less than 4 top-five finishes. As soon as he started driving a Ferrari he started getting podium finishes almost every race even though his car isn't even as good as Schumacher's. Think about it...

Answer 7

Schumacher isn't evil. He's just part biomechanical machine. And has a childish streak which makes him take other people out/block the track so people can't post faster times.

He's not the greatest either. Ross Braun was a superb tactician, without him he would not have been so good. Anyone see Kimi go in Australia? Give him a good car and he is every bit as good as Schumacher. Wish someone would give Button a good car too...

Answer 8

I am going to say it because I believe it-Michael WAS THE BEST EVER. And this was demonstrated throughout his career but last year was just icing on the cake. He kicked Alonso's *** in the second half of the season, plain and simple. Alonso looked like a dumbass because he is 12 years younger than Michael. And then when he blamed his team after China-what a retard. His driving style was to blame for his tyres wearing so quickly. Schumacher was the best ever. And F1 is not as exciting without him.

Answer 9

he was not evil.
he could be a good driver, but was a very poor sportsman.
whatever good he did was overshadowed by the cheating and the unsportsman like behaviour and sometimes dangerous driving.
There is driving on the edge and pushing to the limit, reckless [think montoya] and then their is schumi. he was one on his own.

He is very sporting in private,look at what he does for charity especially childrens charities. he donates money and takes part in sporting matches, ie football.

Answer 10

Schumacher was great. I dont know if he is THE greatest ever, but certainly in the top 3. Everyone hates him because he always won. Jealously, pure and simple. Michael was incredible. Nobody else in F1 had the passion for winning like him. It sucks he retired, I would have liked to see him and raikkonen in equal cars, just to show how much better he is than kimi.