the end of an era... thanks michael! you will be missed!

[otispunkmeyer]

thats it ! its over

schumachers career as an F1 driver has come to an end.... and what an end

filipe massa, the local hero, won the race in dominating style. alonso did what he needed to do which was score points to become world champ for the 2nd time in a row.

but despite those performances, schumacher simply outclassed them both

he started 10th after his car gave up the ghost in final qualifying on saturday, then on lap 10 he picked up a puncture from the debris left by nico rosbergs huge accident earlier.

he then went from dead last.... to 4th position, executing some awesome overtakes along the way. he was untouchable for speed, posting fastest lap after fastest lap.

the end of the schumacher era is now

its been a stellar career, he's been at the top of the game for pretty much his entire 15 year life in F1, and is still, in my view THE BEST driver (of his generation) ever to hold the steering wheel of a F1 car.

i wish him all the best for his new life outside of F1 (though i expect he will be involved in someway or another in the future)and love him or loathe him his insane talent, genius and seemingly unbreakable mind will be missed thats for sure

thank you michael!

[Funkstar]

Never really liked him as a driver, but i agree, you can't ever argue about his shear tallent at the wheel. Who are people going to pick on now? There is after all one less badly dressed boring german to take the mick out of

[midzt]

he will be missed, shame he's retiring really, but i guess he wanted to retire at the top of his game.

can't beilieve he had so much bad luck this race. he would easily have won his las ever race.

altho i never really like him and have always supported mclaren, his talent and achievements are undeniable, just a shame about his few controversial moments that he has had durng his career.

great race to watch, great career, great driver.

[BigFatCat]

I saw his first win in the drizzle of Spa in 1992 and also his disqualification two years later on the same track, when he was in a different league to everyone else but his plank was overly worn.

Goodbye and thankyou, Herr Schumacher.


You should have stayed with Jordan, you sneaky git.

[Gordy]

Great race, great to see he wasn't just driving around but ragging the heck out of his! ferrari. (He gets to keep it after the race)

[robbo]

i am glad he has gone.

the big cheat

robbo

[otispunkmeyer]

i am glad he has gone.

the big cheat

robbo

each to his own

his controversial moments do slightly dampen his parade, but you cant deny his motives. every single turn of his wheel has been with aim to win. its truely unreal how his thirst for victory simply hasnt shown any signs of dimming since his first ever kart race.

every driver has the desire to win, but michaels desire eclipses them all.

[villarule]

Bah, take away all the aids, pit him with Senna, Gilles, Prost and Mansell and see how good he is.

Probably the best driver in recent times, just been lucky to be in a seemingly bullet proof car for the past 10 years in a team built around him.

Far too many dodgy moments for me to really miss him, always seen him as a sore loser and dirty git.

Will be intersting to see how Kimi does in the car, then you can really compare him.

[Taz]

Yes, farewell Schumi. The best of the best, IMO.

[otispunkmeyer]

Bah, take away all the aids, pit him with Senna, Gilles, Prost and Mansell and see how good he is.

Probably the best driver in recent times, just been lucky to be in a seemingly bullet proof car for the past 10 years in a team built around him.

Far too many dodgy moments for me to really miss him, always seen him as a sore loser and dirty git.

Will be intersting to see how Kimi does in the car, then you can really compare him.

well its almost always been the driver with the best car, and conversly the best drivers get the best cars and thats part of michaels genius, he knows what he needs to win, he knows he needs the team to built around him and not the other way around, joining the ailing ferrari in 96 helped him do this

thumbsup for mansell though, what a guy, he was pure balls out all the time, i love to watch some of his overtaking moves. theyre down right scary and i dont think theres anyone, except maybe sato, who would pull off stuff like that.

prost was a good driver, but i think he was even more boring that watching schumacher at times. theyre both so clinical with the car, mm perfect all the time. its great to see that level of skill, but sometimes its not exciting.

the driver aides honestly arent the drivers fault, but ill agree that most of the new guys probably couldnt drive with out them. thats where f1 is a victim of its own technological advancements... the engineers come up with all sorts of stuff to make the cars faster, and its often at the expense of human input. i dont think it'll be long (and if they took the reigns of F1 developement) before a un manned F1 car goes round a track faster than any of todays drivers

f1's great times are mostly in the past, but you still cant ignore schumachers achievements

[Gordy]

Also got to chuckle at Kimi's quote hehe

[Nick F]

I thought Michael was great today, he pulled it back so well.

oh and Kimi's quote was fantastic, nothing has made he laugh so much all week. He does seem a boring guy though.

[villarule]

the driver aides honestly arent the drivers fault, but ill agree that most of the new guys probably couldnt drive with out them. thats where f1 is a victim of its own technological advancements... the engineers come up with all sorts of stuff to make the cars faster, and its often at the expense of human input. i dont think it'll be long (and if they took the reigns of F1 developement) before a un manned F1 car goes round a track faster than any of todays drivers

f1's great times are mostly in the past, but you still cant ignore schumachers achievements

Im not saying the driver aids are his fault, what Im saying is that people are ranting about what an amazing driver he is, when he isnt driving as such like the former greats were. His achievements are amazing, no doubt (Though he lost one today to Alonso ), and full credit to him for taking advantage of a car that was supirior to the rest of the grid.

Was an awesome drive today though, cant deny it, he got the best out of the car no doubt.

[McClane]

Bah, take away all the aids, pit him with Senna, Gilles, Prost and Mansell and see how good he is.

Probably the best driver in recent times, just been lucky to be in a seemingly bullet proof car for the past 10 years in a team built around him.

Far too many dodgy moments for me to really miss him, always seen him as a sore loser and dirty git.

Will be intersting to see how Kimi does in the car, then you can really compare him.

I couldn't disagree with you more. Unlike greats, such as Senna and Prost, Schumacher didn't go to the best team with the best car. He went to Ferrari and made them what they are today. He was loyal and showed respect to all the people in the team. He has also worked harder than any other driver in F1 and as a result he has been rewarded with a lot of success.

I think today we saw what a idiot Alonso really is. When the going got tough he was slagging off his team and saying F1 isn't a sport and today he was telling his team how great they have been all season simply because he had won the championship. That's a bad sportsman if you ask me. I really don't think he deserved this second title.

If you look at Schumacher after his engine blew in Suzuka he said nothing bad about the team and went round showing everyone that there was no hard feelings. The rest of Ferrari seemed more upset than he was! I will admit he has had a few bad moments but he is human and it just goes to show how badly he wanted to win. It is really up to opinion whether you believe he was cheating or not. Let's not forget he's not the only world champion that has taken someone out of a race in order to win.

Just rofl about the driver aids. Are you not talking about Alonso?

Back to the real topic. Today was a great race despite the set backs. It was classic Schumacher with some stunning lap times and overtaking. I absolutely loved how he never gave up. I will miss him so much and can't imagine what next season will be like without him.

[villarule]

Firstly, please tell me where I said Alonso is better? His style is, set the car to understeer, go full lock into the corner and wait for the electronics to take him round...

And schumacher going to Ferrari had nothing at all to do with the money either did it?

[niksta]

Is it just me or did any one else think that Fisichella cliped Schumi acidently on purpose???

He did well to bring it back tho

He will be truely missed, 1 of the greatest