Formula 1s greatest drivers. Number 4 Michael Schumacher. Belgian GP Schumacher wins a staggering seventh title by a country mile after finishing second behind Mc. Larens Kimi Raikkonen at Spa Francorchamps. During 2. 01. 2, BBC Sport profiled 2. Greatest F1 Drivers Bbc Persian' title='Greatest F1 Drivers Bbc Persian' />Formula 1 drivers of all time. Chief F1 writer Andrew Benson profiled the drivers here he looks at Michael Schumacher. Michael Schumachers monumental achievements came about through a perfect storm of an exceptionally talented and hard working driver, ground breaking technical achievement, a bottomless pit of money and a ruthless management that exploited every last avenue to its benefit. The result was a redefinition of what was possible in Formula 1 five consecutive world championships 5. Schumachers career. Michael Schumacher facts. Born 3 January 1. First GP win Belgium 1. Nationality German. Last GP win China 2. Championships 7 1. Races started 3. Wins 9. At his disposal in the early 2. Schumacher had a number of advantages from which probably no other driver in history has benefited for so long. On top of those already mentioned was arguably the greatest of all bespoke Bridgestone tyres effectively custom made for Schumacher himself. These factors were all instrumental in Schumacher re writing the record books he holds virtually every landmark statistic in the sport. He found himself in the position to exploit them, though, because he was the greatest driver of his era. That era spanned the gap between the end of the SennaProst years and the dawning of a new age with a depth of talent and opposition far richer than Schumacher had to face. Through the late 1. Mika Hakkinen was in his league the Finn had the speed but not the same discipline and consistency. Then, when Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen arrived in the early 2. Schumacher and Ferrari. Classic F1 Belgian Grand Prix 1. Regardless, Schumacher at his peak would have been a challenge for the best of any era. His combination of blistering pace, metronomic consistency and dubious morality was a potent mix indeed. His particular excellence was his ability to operate at his peak on every lap, of every race, for years at a time. Ferrari and before them Benetton, where he won his first two titles exploited this to leave less fortunate rivals looking flat footed. This is one of two over riding characteristics that defined his first career. The other is controversy. It followed Schumacher from the very beginning, when after a jaw dropping debut with Jordan at the 1. Belgian Grand Prix he was poached by Benetton with a little help from F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone by the next race, despite being under contract. A first win came in his first full season, on the first anniversary of his debut, and in the mixed conditions in which he so often excelled. A second arrived a little over a year later in Portugal, fending off the new world champion Alain Prost with the help of the sort of questionable tactics in defence which were to become all too familiar. The trickle soon turned into a flood both in terms of victories and controversies. Ayrton Senna joined Williams for 1. F1, but the new FW1. Benetton had pulled out all the stops with the B1. Senna, his skill over riding deficiencies in his car, took pole position for the first race in Brazil but he was chased down and beaten by Schumacher, Senna suffering the ignominy of spinning in the closing laps in his desperation to keep up. Michael Schumacher joined Ferrari in 1. Greatest F1 Drivers Bbc RadioEarly life. Download Bluetooth Microsoft Windows Xp Professional Sp3. Hamilton was born on 7 January 1985 in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England. Although widely reported as being named after American sprinter Carl Lewis. BBC Sport is profiling 20 of the greatest Formula 1 drivers of all time. The BBC F1 team were asked to provide their own personal top 20s, which were combined to. Who was the best driver in Formula One. Was Ayrton Senna the Best Driver in Formula 1. F1 drivers who they thought was the greatest of. Lewis Hamilton the greatest F1 driver in history As Hamilton takes his fourth F1 world title, can he now be regarded as the best everTata communications F1 Official web hosting and content delivery network. Provider of Formula1. Formula One also Formula 1 or F1 and officially the FIA Formula One World Championship is the highest class of singleseat auto racing that is sanctioned by the. Kubica emerged in F1 as Saubers test driver in 2006, with Jacques Villeneuve left and Nick Heidfeld the main drivers. By the end of 2015, the money had run out. When he was taken out at the first corner at the second race at Aida in Japan, Senna stood watching Schumachers Benetton canter to victory, and became convinced something was amiss. He felt Schumacher was benefiting from electronic driver aids that had been banned after 1. It was the start of a cataclysmic year. Senna was killed at the next race in Imola and Schumacher dominated the season before things started to unravel at Benetton. A too perfect start in France got tongues wagging, before Schumacher was disqualified from the British Grand Prix for ignoring black flags. At the disciplinary hearing into that offence, Schumacher was given a two race ban and the team were cleared of using illegal driver aids found in the cars electronics on the grounds there was no evidence they had been used. The ban and a second disqualification after winning in Belgium because his under floor plank was too worn meant the title went down to the wire between Schumacher and Williams Damon Hill. Schumacher won it but only after he deliberately drove into Hill, who was trying to pass him after seeing the Benetton go off the track at the previous corner. The collision put both men out of the race. After crushing Williams drivers Hill and David Coulthard in 1. Schumacher joined Ferrari. His first season at Maranello was one of his greatest. He won three races in a car that was miles off the pace, his driving on a separate level from the rest. The best was a stunning victory in torrential rain in Spain, where he routinely lapped as much as five seconds faster than anyone else. When the key people from Benetton technical director Ross Brawn and chief designer Rory Byrne joined Schumacher at Maranello for 1. F1. Working under team boss Jean Todt, they would redefine what an F1 car was capable of not only in terms of performance, but also reliability and consistency of operation, raising standards to a level that it took rivals years to match. Michael Schumacher came out of retirement in 2. Schumacher took the 1. Williams Jacques Villeneuve only to be disqualified from the season but allowed to keep his victories after trying for the second time to win a championship by barging a rival off the track. This time, it failed, and he was found guilty. He came close again in a titanic battle with Hakkinen and Mc. Laren in 1. 99. 8, broke his leg in a crash in the middle of 1. The long awaited title Ferraris first drivers crown for 2. Hakkinen at Suzuka in Japan. That opened the flood gates Schumacher and Ferrari won another four championships in a row. Only in 2. 00. 3 did he face any sustained opposition. The winning streak finally ended in 2. Ferrari in their tracks did exactly that Bridgestone were unable to match rivals Michelin in building tyres that now needed to last an entire race. The rule was quickly reversed for 2. Ferrari were competitive once more. But again Schumacher hit below the belt in his title fight, notoriously parking his car on the track in qualifying at Monaco to stop Alonso taking pole. In the end, Schumacher lost the title battle to Alonso, but his first career ended on a high with a superlative fight back drive at the final race in Brazil. After three years away, struggling to find something to give his life meaning, Schumacher was back, this time with Mercedes, but it was as a pale shadow of what he used to be. Only rarely did he get anywhere close to what he was. His generally underwhelming performances ended with him being forced into retirement by Mercedes decision to sign Lewis Hamilton. And they have ignited a debate within F1 about the advantages Schumacher had at his disposal, and how in that context his career should be judged. But while he undoubtedly had the cards stacked in his favour for long periods, the evidence for him being one of the greatest is overwhelming.