17 years ago Michael Schumacher took his 91st victory

On October 1, 2006, Michael Schumacher won the Chinese Grand Prix, achieving his 91st and last victory in Formula 1. Of course we have already talked about this race, but today there is a reason to think about it again.

For veteran fans and admirers of the seven-time world champion’s talent, that race is also memorable because Schumacher announced his retirement three weeks earlier, at the Monza stage, and it was a very emotional, if not dramatic, moment in the race. the history of the championship.

That Chinese Grand Prix took place in variable weather conditions, and it seemed that Fernando Alonso, who was leading the individual competition, was without equal on the wet asphalt of the Shanghai circuit. The Spaniard confidently led the race, but made a tactical error together with the team when he decided to change only the front tires of his Renault at the first pit stop – at the time the rules allowed this.

However, when he returned to the track, he was unable to warm up the intermediate tires properly and started to lose pace. Fernando was already catching up with Giancarlo Fisichella, his teammate, and Michael Schumacher, who had moved into third position after starting from sixth, thanks in part to the departure of Kimi Raikkonen. The Finn, then driving for McLaren, finished third for the first twelve laps, after which he overtook Fisichella before retiring with engine problems.

The Italian driver drove faster than his teammate in that situation and it so happened that Alonso did not let him pass for several laps, and Fisichella was already struggling because of the urgent Schumacher.

On the 30th lap, Fernando still lost the lead to Giancarlo, and in theory the victory could still have gone to the Renault team, but the racing gods decided otherwise. Schumacher overtook Alonso on the next lap, and then the Spaniard was unlucky on his second pit stop, when he switched to slicks – there was a hitch due to a seized wheel nut of the right rear wheel, which led to a loss of more than ten seconds.

Schumacher was given a new set of Bridgestone slicks on lap 40, Fisichella switched to slicks (in his case Michelin) a lap later, but remained in the lead. And then he made a mistake, which is not surprising, since the tires were not warmed up enough, the asphalt was not yet completely dry and the pressure was extreme.

This is how Michael reacted to that episode of the race after the finish: “It was clear that it would be difficult to pass the first corner. I personally had a dangerous moment there. Although I took the bend moderately, the speed at the entrance was still a little higher than necessary. That’s why I thought Giancarlo might have problems – and so it happened that he couldn’t keep the car on the track. I took advantage of that, after which I took it a little slower and reached the finish calmly.”

Fernando, returning to the track, drove very quickly, setting some best laps, always increasing the pace, on the 48th lap ahead of Fisichella and eventually finishing second, losing just over three seconds to Schumacher.

But Alonso then lost not only victory to Michael, but also the championship lead. With an equal number of points, Schumacher reached the top step of the podium seven times in the first 16 races of the season, with the Spaniard taking one win less at that point.

However, as we know, such an outcome of the Chinese Grand Prix did not stop Fernando from winning a second title in a row, otherwise Michael’s performance remained his last victory in Formula 1. In the next stage in Japan he was at the pipe. , but retired due to engine failure, and at the season finale, held in Brazil, he only finished fourth after problems in qualifying and a puncture in the early laps of the race.

Fernando won in Suzuka and took 2nd place in Sao Paulo, where Felipe Massa, Schumacher’s Ferrari teammate, took his second victory to the delight of his compatriots.

Then it seemed natural to everyone that Alonso would continue his winning streak, but he still has ‘only’ two titles to his name, although of all the heroes of that season he is the only one who is still competing in Formula 1 and still climbs the stage.

This may sound a bit pretentious, but I would like to end the text about the events of 17 years ago with these words: Fans all over the world are of course very eager to see Michael Schumacher achieve another victory, perhaps the most important in his history. his life…