Описание
When Michael Schumacher burst upon the Grand Prix stage with a sensational qualifying performance on his debut for Jordan at Spa, the Grand Prix hype-machine went into overdrive, billing this young 'unknown' as the next Senna. In truth Michael's racing career had been very carefully planned before he ever stepped into a Formula 1 car, and he had the comforting prospect of major manufacturer and commercial backing with which to develop his top-level career. However, he has since proved beyond doubt that he is the supreme driver of the current era, and the target for the others to aim at.
A former karting star with but a single season of Formula Ford 1600 and Formula Konig in 1988 behind him, Schumacher was signed by leading German F3 team OTS to support Heinz-Harald Frentzen in 1989. It was a closely contested season, with the pair both finishing just one point behind series winner Karl Wendlinger. It was then that Mercedes sporting director Jochen Neerpasch stepped in with his junior-driver scheme which placed all three drivers in the Sauber-Mercedes Group C programme for 1990. Under the wise tutelage of Jochen Mass, the trio were schooled in the art of handling big, powerful cars in a very disciplined and professional framework. In parallel to his sports car drives, Michael was back in German F3, and this time won the series comfortably. He also took in two end-of-season races at Fuji and Macau, and confirmed his talent by winning them both.
Most drivers would be wanting to try their hand at F3000 by this time, but Michael was happy to stay within the confines of the Mercedes team. This second season saw a change of emphasis with the young lions Schumacher and Wendlinger paired together and allowed their heads. Both did an excellent job, but the consensus was that Michael had the edge, the pair's reward after a trouble-strewn year being victory in the round at Autopolis. With a Formula 1 drive inevitable sooner (as it would turn out) or later, nothing was left to chance and Neerpasch arranged for Schumacher to race a Formula 3000 car at Sugo, well away from the glare of publicity. He finished second and enjoyed the different experience of racing a powerful single-seater.
A month later came the Jordan drive at Spa which, after his stirring deeds in practice, ended disappointingly when Michael's clutch failed at the start. Suddenly Schumacher was a hot property and after much legal wrangling the somewhat bemused driver was whisked off to join the Benetton team in time for the next race at Monza. Three points-scoring finishes in his first three races were more than enough evidence for Flavio Briatore to plan the team's future around the German star and he was not to disappoint. In his first full Grand Prix season Michael proved to be not only very quick but also remarkably consistent, rarely making costly mistakes and putting in some scintillating performances such as his second place to Mansell in the rain at Barcelona and his climb through the field to third at Monza after being left at the start. Of course, the supreme moment was his fully deserved, if slightly fortunate, win at Spa where he made his own luck - and reaped the rewards.
The 1993 season provided more evidence of Schumacher's increasing maturity. Only Williams' dominance stood between him and the top step of the podium on numerous occasions and he took a superbly thought-out win at Estoril. Much work was done over the winter months, and when the new Benetton B194, mated with the Ford Zetec-R V8 engine, was placed in Schumacher's hands he left Senna and Williams struggling in his wake in the opening two races. It seemed that the balance of power might be about to shift, and tragically it did so at Imola, leaving Michael with the prospect of chasing a World Championship which he felt would be much devalued by the loss of the Brazilian. From then on his season was to be surrounded by controversy. Amid rumblings that the team were running some form of traction control, Schumacher won six of
