Ferrari had not won the F1 drivers’ title since Jody Scheckter in 1979 when Michael Schumacher prevailed in the 2000 season
On 8 October 2000, Michael Schumacher won Ferrari’s first Formula 1 drivers’ title in over two decades.
The tifosi had been biding their time since Jody Scheckter’s successful 1979 campaign, with Schumacher coming close to the title for Ferrari in 1997 and 1998 against Jacques Villeneuve and Mika Hakkinen, while team-mate Eddie Irvine led the fight against Hakkinen until the last race in 1999 after the German broke his leg.
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Aged 31, Schumacher got a new team-mate for 2000, Rubens Barrichello. “I am number two driver, but it’s more of a 1B really,” the 28-year-old Brazilian smiled after being announced as Ferrari’s new driver.
“I am definitely number two. I would be snobbish of me to say I want to be number one. I have come to the team much later than Michael. The space is his.
“This is the chance to measure myself against Michael, who is one of the best, if not the best driver in the world – the chance to prove to myself how good I am. That's the challenge.”
As it happened, Schumacher quickly enforced his number-one status, winning the first three races of the season, though he made the most of the McLarens’ mechanical drama in Melbourne and Sao Paulo.
The Ferrari driver never lost the lead, despite three consecutive retirements in the summer – one engine failure followed by two first-lap collisions – which tightened the title race.
Coming into the penultimate round of the season in Japan, Schumacher’s advantage over McLaren’s Hakkinen was eight points, meaning he needed to score two more than the Finn to be crowned in Suzuka.
Michael Schumacher, Ferrari F1-2000
A breathtaking qualifying saw the two title contenders – both double world champions at the time – trading fast laps, with Hakkinen setting a 1m35.834s, which Schumacher bested by less than one-hundredth of a second: 1m35.825s.
“In the last chicane, I obviously wasn’t able to accelerate out of the corner as fast as I wanted to, so obviously I’m very disappointed to be in second position,” the Finn said, with his final attempt timed at 1m36.018s.
At the start, Schumacher aggressively drove across the track to close the door on Hakkinen, but the McLaren driver’s lightning getaway still landed him the lead.
The Ferrari driver shadowed his rival over the first two-thirds of the race, with the gap never exceeding three seconds, until the second round of pitstops. Schumacher then stopped three laps later than Hakkinen and emerged in the lead thanks to the overcut, which was much more powerful when refuelling was allowed due to the contrast in fuel loads.
“All my life, I will never forget that radio signal from [technical director] Ross [Brawn],” Schumacher recalled shortly before suffering serious head injuries in a skiing accident in 2013. “I was driving down the pitlane after my second stop, and he said over the radio: 'It's looking good, it's looking good.'
“I was very tense, and fully expecting him to say 'It was looking good', but suddenly he said: 'It's looking bloody good!'
“I didn't expect that it would work out after the second pitstop. My two last laps before the pitstop were not very good. I had been caught in traffic, and had had to overtake a Benetton that had spun off the track. And then came Ross's radio message – unbelievable.
Michael Schumacher celebrates victory in both the race and the world championship with Ross Brawn, Technical Director, Ferrari, Jean Todt, Team Principal, Ferrari, and the rest of the Ferrari team
“I realised immediately that I had emerged from the pitlane in the lead, that if I made no mistakes and there were no problems with the car, then it was in our grasp, because overtaking is almost impossible at Suzuka.”
Schumacher took the chequered flag with a 1.8s margin on Hakkinen, ending Ferrari’s wait for a drivers’ world title.
“The moment when I crossed the line – crazy!” Schumacher added. “Up to then I hadn't dared feel any joy, because I wanted to be absolutely sure and get that finishing line behind me.
“Later I was repeatedly asked what my predominant feelings were at that moment, and on no single occasion was I able to find the right words. I didn't know what to do with this happiness.
“I suddenly felt trapped in the car, trapped in my Ferrari, as if I was about to burst. I banged so hard on the steering wheel they thought it was broken, and, as a precaution, it had to be taken out of service.
“Looking back, I have to say that this race was something very special for me. Not only because it brought me the title, but also because it was such a high-class race. It really was racing at its top level.
“For over 40 laps Mika and I did almost identical times, like a perpetual qualifying lap. It was certainly one of the best races I have ever driven, if not the best. Mika was fantastic and pushed me to the very limits.”
Mika Hakkinen, Mclaren MP4-15, Michael Schumacher, Ferrari F1 2000, champion
Schumacher duly celebrated his third world championship in the next few days. “I have never suffered so badly after a party,” he confessed. “From Japan we went on holiday to Thailand and it took me two days to get over the after-effects.”
The Ferrari driver went on to achieve a five-year title-winning streak, which remains unequalled to this day.
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Category: General Sports
