I am a Schumi fan and always have been. I cannot agree with this statement because Schumacher did more than any other world champion has. Senna and Prost had their battles, on and off the track - I still remember Senna decking Irvine...but then the Moron did deserve a bashing. Schumacher was disqualified in 1997 - you don't see him whining about it unlike Senna with his contract bull all the time.
What other driver has stayed with a team for 11 years and turned the team's fortunes around? Let's see Villeneuve with BAR - ummm NO. Or Hill with Arrows...ummmm NO AGAIN!!!
He arranges charity football matches and does alot of work outside F1. He even gave a tonne ($10 Million) of his own money to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. In fact, his donation surpassed that of any other sportsperson, most sports leagues, many worldwide corporations and even some countries. Schumacher is a special ambassador to UNESCO and has donated US$3 million to the organization. He has funded projects for the construction of a school in Senegal, a clinic in Sarajevo and a centre for street children in Peru. He has even taken the rare step of visiting Sarajevo to see how his funding has benefited child victims of war. For his contribution, he was named a UNESCO Champion For Sport by its Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura in 2002.
What has Jacques (the A S S) done for the sport? Was he actually missed during his 'off-year'? Or Hill for that matter - opening a BMW dealership and doing some useless tv crap hardly qualifies as beneficial to the sport? Schumacher actually attends FIA meetings and helps raise safety standards - he has become a committed spokesman for road safety, most recently in support of the Make Roads Safe campaign. Compare this to Alonso - who says he is contracted to Renault and he does his press conferences and media obligations and that is enough...
Michael Schumacher has won the coveted Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award in 2002 and 2004, for his outstanding performance in the 2001 and 2003 seasons respectively. He joins a select group of sports personalities to win the award - golfer Tiger Woods, cyclist Lance Armstrong and tennis player Roger Federer. In its 7-year history, no other sportsman has been nominated more times than Schumacher, who also received nominations for the 2001, 2003 and 2005 awards.
There is more as well but this is not meant to be a thesis on the man.
I do not want to step on anyone's toes or get into an argument, but do your research first please. What more do you want him to do with his other responsibilities?
Very well said.
I am also a Huge fan of Schumacher, and am devastated he is retiring... Real loss to the sport imo. But I think he made the right choice to announce it on a high..