Seven world championships, 90 wins, 68 pole positions, 75 fastest laps. Those are the (current) headline numbers for Michael Schumacher, statistically the greatest driver Formula One has ever seen.
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Schumacher in German F3 in 1990 © LAT |
Arriving with a comparatively modest CV (1990 German F3 and Macau winner, and two-time World Sportscar race winner), his debut at the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix was when the F1 world truly sat up and took notice.
Seventh on the grid tied the best that the Jordan team had ever managed until that point, and this on a Spa circuit that Michael had never driven on before. Benetton had poached by the next race, and thus began his career with the team for whom he would take his first two world titles.
Starting behind a teammate was not something Michael had to deal with much in the early days. After Adelaide 1991, when he was out-qualified by then teammate Nelson Piquet, it would not be until the 1995 Belgian GP that he would see a Benetton in front of him on the grid - and even then the run of 57 races only ended when his car was damaged in practice and rain fell before he could do a qualifying lap.
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