44 GP RACING MARCH 2020
By the Singapore Grand Prix, Lewis was almost
completely convinced. He had a final meeting
with Lauda, who made the pitch one more time.
Then, when Hamilton wasdominating the
race, his gearbox failed (the latest in a series
of reliability issues for McLaren that year) and
handed victory to – you guessed it – Vettel.
After the race, Hamilton flewto Thailand to
clear his head, and itwas there he made the
decision that would change his life. “To stay
and do the easier thing didn’t really suit me,”
he said. “I wanted somethingdifferent and the
challenge to make a car that isn’t competitive
into a winner. That is just part of growing up.
It’s my last step of independence, I guess. It
wasn’t about Ross. It wasn’t about Niki. It was
about Mercedes, a team which has not been that
successful over thepast couple of years.
“I know some of the greats have gone from
a great car to not such a great car and have
helpedto develop awinn ing team. Michael, for
instance, went from being a worldchampion to
Ferrari. We haven’t reallygot anyother driver in
Formula 1 who is known for that. I hope that one
day someone can say that about me.”And so it has come to pass. A decision partly
based on the experience of Schumacher has
indeed led Hamiltonto the verge of matching
and potentially surpassing his achievements.
But their paths were quitedifferent. By
the time he left Benetton at theend of 1995,
Schumacher was a two-timechamp ion. The first
came in circumstances as controversial as any
title has ever been won in F1.
Benetton escaped punishment despite illegal
driver aids being found in the car’s software,
and again for tampering with a refuelling rig
and causing a pit fire. Schumacher was banned
for two racesfor ignoring the black flag at
Silverstone, and was disqualified from victory
in Belgium because his car’s underfloor plank
was foundto be too thin.
At the season climax in Adelaide, Schumacher
was a point ahead of Williams driver Damon
Hill. Schumacher led, but ran wide and clouted
a wall, and as Hill tried topass him at the next
corner, Schumacher turned in on him. Both were
out, and the titlewas Schumacher’s.
He won hi s second title in a more convincing
fashion, following Benetton’s switch from Fordto the same Renault engines as Williams. But the
traumas of 1994 had given him an out – he used
the claim that Benetton’s behaviour in 1994 had
damagedhis reputation as a reason to leave, and
he signed for Ferrari for 1996.
At the time, Ferrari was seeking an end to a
long and painful drought – its last drivers’ title
was in 1979, its last constructors’ in 1982.
Luca di Montezemolo, sporting director during
Niki Lauda’s first championship year in 1975, was
installed as president in 1991. Jean Todt arrived
in 1993 as team boss.Getting the best driver was
next on the list, and the final two building blocks
were Schumacher bringing histechnicalchiefs
from Benetton with him –technical director
Brawn and chief designer Rory Byrne.
Together, Schumacher, Todt, Brawn and
Byrne set about transforming Maranello. After
two near misses, including the controversy of
1997, when Schumacher again tried to take out
a rival in a championship decider (andthis time
failed), and a broken leg in 1999, the drought
finally ended in 2000.
That championship opened the floodgates,
as the biggest budget, the best driver, unlimited2003
JAPANESE GP
Takes sixth drivers’ title, breaking
Juan ManuelFangio’s record of five2001
HUNGARIAN GP
Claimsfourth title withfour races
tospare, a record eventual winning
margin of 58 points
2002
FRENCH GP
Wins fifth championship in shortest
time ever with six races left, and with
a new record 67-point margin44 GP RACING MARCH 2020
By the Singapore Grand Prix, Lewis was almost
completely convinced. He had a final meeting
with Lauda, who made the pitch one more time.
Then, when Hamilton wasdominating the
race, his gearbox failed (the latest in a series
of reliability issues for McLaren that year) and
handed victory to – you guessed it – Vettel.
After the race, Hamilton flewto Thailand to
clear his head, and itwas there he made the
decision that would change his life. “To stay
and do the easier thing didn’t really suit me,”
he said. “I wanted somethingdifferent and the
challenge to make a car that isn’t competitive
into a winner. That is just part of growing up.
It’s my last step of independence, I guess. It
wasn’t about Ross. It wasn’t about Niki. It was
about Mercedes, a team which has not been that
successful over thepast couple of years.
“I know some of the greats have gone from
a great car to not such a great car and have
helpedto develop awinn ing team. Michael, for
instance, went from being a worldchampion to
Ferrari. We haven’t reallygot anyother driver in
Formula 1 who is known for that. I hope that one
day someone can say that about me.”And so it has come to pass. A decision partly
based on the experience of Schumacher has
indeed led Hamiltonto the verge of matching
and potentially surpassing his achievements.
But their paths were quitedifferent. By
the time he left Benetton at theend of 1995,
Schumacher was a two-timechamp ion. The first
came in circumstances as controversial as any
title has ever been won in F1.
Benetton escaped punishment despite illegal
driver aids being found in the car’s software,
and again for tampering with a refuelling rig
and causing a pit fire. Schumacher was banned
for two racesfor ignoring the black flag at
Silverstone, and was disqualified from victory
in Belgium because his car’s underfloor plank
was foundto be too thin.
At the season climax in Adelaide, Schumacher
was a point ahead of Williams driver Damon
Hill. Schumacher led, but ran wide and clouted
a wall, and as Hill tried topass him at the next
corner, Schumacher turned in on him. Both were
out, and the titlewas Schumacher’s.
He won hi s second title in a more convincing
fashion, following Benetton’s switch from Fordto the same Renault engines as Williams. But the
traumas of 1994 had given him an out – he used
the claim that Benetton’s behaviour in 1994 had
damagedhis reputation as a reason to leave, and
he signed for Ferrari for 1996.
At the time, Ferrari was seeking an end to a
long and painful drought – its last drivers’ title
was in 1979, its last constructors’ in 1982.
Luca di Montezemolo, sporting director during
Niki Lauda’s first championship year in 1975, was
installed as president in 1991. Jean Todt arrived
in 1993 as team boss.Getting the best driver was
next on the list, and the final two building blocks
were Schumacher bringing histechnicalchiefs
from Benetton with him –technical director
Brawn and chief designer Rory Byrne.
Together, Schumacher, Todt, Brawn and
Byrne set about transforming Maranello. After
two near misses, including the controversy of
1997, when Schumacher again tried to take out
a rival in a championship decider (andthis time
failed), and a broken leg in 1999, the drought
finally ended in 2000.
That championship opened the floodgates,
as the biggest budget, the best driver, unlimited2003
JAPANESE GP
Takes sixth drivers’ title, breaking
Juan ManuelFangio’s record of five
2001
HUNGARIAN GP
Claimsfourth title withfour races
tospare, a record eventual winning
margin of 58 points
2002
FRENCH GP
Wins fifth championship in shortest
time ever with six races left, and with
a new record 67-point margin