Life lessons from Michael Schumacher
A lot of people think they can name the greatest Formula 1 driver of all time. Some say it’s Lewis Hamilton, some say it’s Ayrton Senna and others look back at Juan Manuel Fangio. Another clear contender for that title is Michael Schumacher. He’s certainly my pick for the greatest of all time.
We’re going to take a close look at what we can learn from Michael Schumacher.
Some would see him as unstoppable, some would see him as unsporting but if you’re like me, you’d see him as someone worth supporting.
If we look at the great champions in Formula 1 history, one thing becomes clear. The road to greatness clearly requires sacrifices, as a ruthless, calculated approach often makes a difference when it comes down to the wire. A driver will need the complete support of those around him, whatever the cost, and losing just isn’t an option. Anything is on the table to make sure that doesn’t happen.
If we look past the incredible natural talent of legends like Senna and Schumacher, we tend to see qualities that would certainly be considered almost psychopathic outside the sport. If you’re still not sure, just think back to how many Formula 1 titles have been decided by deliberate crashes.
This raises interesting questions about how far we really want to go to succeed.
Michael Schumacher clearly isn’t an exception to this rule. His ruthless, clinical and unforgiving approach didn’t go unnoticed, and certainly didn’t make him popular.
You may be wondering why I’ve been a fan of someone like this and why I’ve taken time to write this post. This is clearly not an approach I’d endorse given everything I promote on the site.
The truth is, there’s a lot more to Michael Schumacher. The pure joy he exuded when he won, the artistry of his craft and the immense effort he put in are just some of the positive points we can explore. I’ve also had the opportunity to meet him and get a glimpse of what a great person he was when he was still in the sport.
Here are three easy things we can learn from Michael Schumacher:
Make yourself lucky
I have to admit, I was motivated to write this after hearing the recent suggestions that Lewis Hamilton is the greatest driver of all time. I don't agree with this.
Personally, I think it's really hard to compare drivers of different eras, as the sport has changed so much over time. If you need convincing, just look up some of the videos of Fangio driving on YouTube. It’s sure to scare you, particularly when you see what little protection he has.
There is a huge thing that’s usually overlooked when it comes to Micheal Schumacher though, and it's the fact he changed the game.
When he arrived in Formula 1, drivers were just human. By that, I mean they took runs and lifted a few weights, but team bosses had to factor in roughly a 20% drop-off during a race due to fatigue. This wasn't the case with Schumacher though.
He was supremely fit, working out for hours every day. You only have to see pictures of him on the podium after a gruelling race, where he looks like he just arrived at the track, to see what sort of condition he was in. This was often a stark contrast to the red-faced, sweat-soaked Damon Hill, who usually looked like he'd been through hell.
Michael’s approach not only ensured his race-pace was near 100% throughout, as it was also a striking psychological blow to his opposition.
It also wasn't long before those team bosses cracked the whip, and demanded similar levels of fitness from their high-paid superstars. That 20% drop-off was soon a thing of the past, and it was all down to Micheal.
This is something I've witnessed myself. One of the times I met him was on a hot summer’s day at Silverstone in 2010. I was extremely hot and bothered just standing there in shorts and T-shirt, but he was as fresh as a daisy in jeans, T-shirt and a thick jacket. He then mentioned that he’d just walked the track couple of times. He really was that good.
He refused to rely on his talent. He made sure he was always ready, whether it was inspecting the condition of multiple sets of tyres into the night, endlessly testing his car or just walking around the track noticing things that would make a difference.
This often meant that if he went off the track during a race, he would have identified the slip road to rejoin, or knew exactly what set of tyres to put on to get the best out of the car.
This all added up to create a formidable package. He really did create his own luck.
I think it's clear what a difference his approach made. While there's no doubt he possessed a formidable natural talent, as he frequently demonstrated when he raced in the rain, his continued drive for perfection took this so many steps further than so many others.
Michael Schumacher could have been a very good driver if he had just shown up and raced. That wasn’t enough for him though. He took that extra step to greatness.
This is something we should all take time to think about. Another lesson is how he reacted to the results of all that hard work.
Celebrate success
There’s a very simple reason I started supporting Michael Schumacher. He was happy when he won.
Back in the early 90’s, winning drivers like Mansell, Senna and Prost did not exude excitement when they won. Maybe they just got used to it. Post-race interviews were often reserved for moaning about their opponents, or the things that hadn’t gone right.
Michael was different. When he won, he went nuts and I noticed this. In the early days, he was also the underdog, challenging giants like Senna and showing the world there was a spark of greatness emerging.
You simply had to root for the one who was clearly enjoying what he did.
The most important thing for me is that this didn’t change as he became more successful. He always celebrated those frequent trips to the top step of the podium.
I’ll always remember his last trip there, finishing in a relatively low third place at Valencia in 2012. He just shone, and he shot up the steps like he’d just arrived at the track. Kimi Raikkonen in second place however just looked bored, it was quite a contrast.
Michael always said that Formula 1 was hard work and that you had to enjoy success when it arrived, as there would be so many tough times and hardships. This is something that’s always inspired me.
No matter who you are, no matter what you do, success usually comes at a cost. We need to put things in to get things out and we can’t take it for granted. Make sure you enjoy the good times.
Going a little deeper, I think it’s easy for us to lose our way and fix our attention on the wrong things. We can be so consumed with achieving perfection that we set the bar far beyond a point where we can ever be satisfied.
In life, we’re often looking at what’s going wrong and failing to notice what’s going right.
This is another important lesson we can learn from Michael Schumacher. For the next one, we need to look at the more negative aspects I touched on at the start.
Keep yourself in check
I think it’s safe to say that Michael Schumacher devoted his entire life to Formula 1 in the first part of his career. Aside from family, it appeared to be his sole focus.
From my perspective, it was evident that the relentless drive for perfection and endless pushing of boundaries came at a high price.
You can see for yourself that he often found himself on the wrong side of the line, often entangling with an opponent’s car in the process. The championship deciding race in Jerez in 1997 is a good example of this, when he took himself out maneuvering into his rival, Jaques Villeneuve.
This moment of red mist would really damage his reputation.
I also remember David Coulthard telling the story of when he tried to clear the air after their famous clash at Spa in 1998. This is the one where Schumacher ran into the back of him in the wet and proceeded to angrily confront him when he got back to the pits.
I think most people, even me, would conclude that Coulthard wasn’t the one to blame here.
They tried to talk it throught afterwards, but it didn’t go well. When Schumacher was unable to back down or compromise, Coulthard calmly asked a seemingly straightforward question. He simply said, Michael, surely there are times when you are wrong?
His response was a clear and resolute “not that I remember”. Coulthard believed him, and I think this says a lot about his mindset at that time. Michael Schumacher simply couldn’t be wrong.
I think it’s worth pausing now and considering how many people he would have had around him agreeing with him.
In life, I think we’re in trouble if we surround ourselves with people who are just going to agree with us. Surely there are times when all of us need to be challenged.
I think Michael Schumacher’s mindset in the first part of his career was something we should all look at closely. While his incredible determination and self-belief took him to incredible achievements, it also tarnished them when he felt challenged and let his emotions take over.
There were clearly times on the race track where a more mindful, unemotional reaction would have kept him in the race. His talent would have then ensured he had a great chance of succeeding.
Instead, the ‘red mist’ that emerged ensured the race was over and he usually had to face awkward questions and angry opponents afterwards. The second part of his career is a different story.
For a number of reasons, his return to Formula 1 with Mercedes wasn’t successful, certainly by his standards. He simply couldn’t get to grips with the car and was usually trailing behind his younger teammate, Nico Rosberg.
This was a very different Michael Schumacher though, as a lot had changed in those years away. He was able to focus on things that weren’t Formula 1 and the life of a driver had got a lot easier.
Before he retired, a driver was expected to endlessly test the car throughout the year and Michael would often be the first one to arrive and the last to leave. It was an endless cycle of development and hard work, that he seemed to just soak up.
In the ‘new’ Formula 1 in 2010 though, testing had all but disappeared due to budget cuts. He even joked that it was like working part-time, just turning up on the actual race weekends.
More significantly, with Mercedes he seemed to be at ease and could now enjoy simply ‘being Michael Schumacher’.
While he failed to achieve anything like he had before, he certainly seemed happier and it was clear that he loved just being there. This really taught me a lot about life, but I couldn’t help wondering where you need to draw the line.
Could he have relaxed like this without those years of going to extreme lengths?
I think it’s down to us to work out what success is really worth. Maybe the lesson here is to find balance before you have to save yourself. It’s also worth taking a moment to consider if anyone is likely to step in if you head in the wrong direction. Do you have the right people around you?
So, those are just a few life lessons from Michael Schumacher. As I’ve said, he is genuinely one of my heroes and I’ll always treasure the times I got to meet him. I hope this post gets you thinking about what’s really important. I hope it also helps you reflect on the path you’re on, and the effect it could have on you.