Michael Schumacher was the undisputed king of Formula One auto racing throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s. As a teenager, Schumacher raced karts, becoming the German and European Karting champion in 1987. By 1991 he was racing Formula 1 cars, winning his first Grand Prix a year later. Racing for Benetton, Schumacher won his first World Champion title in 1994. After four years with Benetton, he began driving for Ferrari, and in 2000 brought them their first world title in 21 years. His 2004 year is now legendary: he won 13 races in 18 tries, and claimed an unprecedented seventh overall championship. Schumacher remained a dominant force in the sport of Formula 1 racing through 2006, when he retired at the end of the season. Michael Schumacher's final race was the Brazilian Grand Prix on 22 October 2006.

Ferrari years

In 1996, Schumacher signed a contract with Ferrari, which at the time was a highly risky move, given Ferrari's championship drought (the Italian giants had not won a title since 1979).

1996-1999 - In his first year at Ferrari Schumacher finished third in the Drivers' Championship, behind the two Williams drivers. He won races in Spain, Belgium and Italy, the first one in the wet. The worst moment of his season was arguably France, in which he qualified on pole position but suffered an engine failure on the formation lap.

In 1997, he again took the title fight down to the last race, narrowly leading the points for the Drivers' Championship title. Schumacher uncompromisingly crashed into Jacques Villeneuve's Williams Renault after Villeneuve attempted to overtake Schumacher, when the German left the door open under braking into the right-hand 'Dry Sac' hairpin curve at the end of the back-straight of the Jerez circuit. Schumacher ended up on the gravel and out of the race. Villeneuve's badly damaged Williams eventually finished third in the race, thereby winning the Drivers Championship title that year. In a controversial decision by the FIA, Schumacher was disqualified from the World Championship final classification that year, but his results and points were nevertheless kept in the official records.

In 1998, there were tire rule changes in Formula 1 which seemed to favour tyre manufacturer Bridgestone over rival manufacturer Goodyear. Early into the season, it was evident that McLaren, who chose to compete with Bridgestone tyres that year, had the better car. It was then left to Schumacher to challenge the McLaren domination and the fight for the title continued well into the last race. Schumacher had won six races that year, the most memorable of which was in Hungary, where he pitted three times and had to do a whole stint lapping the circuit at qualifying speed, more than a second faster than anyone else to catch up with the McLaren. He also set the record of being the only driver to win a race from the pit lane which he did in the British Grand Prix. Despite the inferiority of the Ferrari, Schumacher pushed hard all the way until the final race in Japan where, after having secured the pole position, he subsequently stalled his Ferrari on the starting grid and had to restart from the back of the grid. He eventually regained lost ground, only to retire some laps later due to a punctured tyre, thereby yielding the title to Mika Häkkinen. Some fans argue that it was not only bad luck that prevented Schumacher from winning the 1998 Drivers' Championship, but also because of Häkkinen's teammate, David Coulthard, whose collision with Schumacher in Belgium, while a lap behind Michael, caused the German to retire and lose vital Championship points. This incident caused a great deal of controversy with Schumacher storming into the McLaren garage after retiring and allegedly accusing Coulthard of trying to kill him. This drew criticism, not least because Schumacher had been involved in several other controversial collisions in previous years.

After several rebuilding years, Schumacher's efforts helped Ferrari win the Constructors title in 1999. However, his hopes for another Drivers' Championship were dashed at that year's British Grand Prix, where he broke his leg. A rear brake failure[6] caused him to exit the track on the first lap of the race while facing the high-speed, right-hand 'Stowe' corner, and he crashed heavily into a tyre barrier. This accident prevented Schumacher from competing in the next six races. After his return, he assumed the role of a second driver, yielding to his teammate, Eddie Irvine, in order to help his team win a Drivers' Championship title. However, they were once again beaten by Mika Häkkinen in the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.

2000 - In 2000 Schumacher won his third World Championship and more significantly, Ferrari's first since Jody Scheckter in 1979, after a hard-fought year-long battle with Mika Häkkinen. A few races into the 2000 season, Schumacher changed his helmet colours from a white base with a blue top and German flag, to a red base with a red top and German flag. The design and pattern remained the same. This was to avoid confusion between himself and his new team-mate, Rubens Barichello, who had a similar white and blue helmet.

Schumacher won the first 3 races of the season, and 5 of the first 8. Midway through the year, he experienced a run of bad luck, which included being hit from behind at the first corner in two consecutive races. This allowed Häkkinen to overtake Schumacher in the championship standings, but a resounding win at the Italian Grand Prix brought him back on track.

The immense pressure of fighting for the world title showed, when at the post-race press conference at the end of the Italian Grand Prix, Schumacher broke into tears when asked about his feelings on equaling Ayrton Senna's record of 41 race wins.

The championship fight went down to the penultimate race in Japan. Starting from pole position, Schumacher lost his lead to Häkkinen early in the race, but a combination of strong mid-race pace and excellent Ferrari pit-work ensured that he came out ahead of Häkkinen after his second pit-stop and went on to win the race and the Championship.

2001 - Schumacher took his fourth drivers' title in a season that lacked the championship drama that had defined the previous four seasons. David Coulthard, Ralf Schumacher (Michael's younger brother), Mika Hakkinen, and rookie Juan Montoya all won races, but none was able to sustain a season-long challenge for the championship. Schumacher scored a record-tying nine wins and clinched the world championship with four races yet to run.

Season highlights included the Canadian Grand Prix, where Michael finished 2nd to his brother Ralf, thus scoring the first ever 1-2 finish with two brothers, and several on-track battles for the lead with Montoya. At the Belgian Grand Prix Schumacher scored his 52nd career win, thus breaking Alain Prost's record for most career wins.

2002 - In a dominant year, Schumacher took his fifth Drivers' title (equaling the record set by Juan Manuel Fangio). Ferrari won 15 out of 17 races and Schumacher wrapped up the title with six races remaining in the season. Schumacher also broke Nigel Mansell's and his own record of 9 race wins for most victories in a season, scoring 11 and finishing every race on the podium.

Again, just Williams' Ralf Schumacher and McLaren Mercedes's Coulthard could take something from Ferrari. Montoya remained someone to battle with, finishing third behind the two Ferraris and clinching 7 pole positions with a special qualifying car, which was sometimes as fast as the Ferrari. This slowed Schumacher's race for another record he was close to reaching, the 65-pole record from Ayrton Senna.

2003 - Schumacher broke Fangio's record by winning the Drivers' title for the sixth time in a closely contested season.

The biggest threats once again came from the McLaren Mercedes and BMW Williams F1 teams. His brother Ralf became a regular race contender and scored some victories; more so Juan Pablo Montoya, who was a fierce competitor on track and often getting the best of him. In 2003 Montoya became a title contender even stronger than Kimi Räikkönen and scored a couple of victories, but Ferrari reacted from the Italian Grand Prix onwards and gained a slight car advantage allowing the German to win two more decisive races. After Montoya was penalized in the US GP he was out of the title contention; only Kimi Räikkönen was left. Räikkönen, who had scored consistently in an inferior car, benefited from the points system and had a mathematical chance until the final race, although he had just a single victory to his credit compared to Schumacher's six.

Schumacher won a record twelve of the first thirteen races of the season, only failing to finish in Monaco after a controversial accident with Juan Pablo Montoya under the safety car period. He clinched a record seventh drivers title at the Belgian Grand Prix. Bridgestone had been the key as the tyre was superior to Michelin over the season. He would finish this season with a record 148 points, and a new record of 13 race wins in a season, surpassing the previous best of 11, which he had scored in the 2002 Formula One season.

2005 - The 2005 season was a struggle for Schumacher, as the Ferrari package was far from ideal, especially in the use of its Bridgestone tires, which had been dominant in past years but were now of inferior quality. Ferrari and Bridgestone attributed this to the 2005 rule changes, which required tyres to last the distance of the whole race, a change some observers believe was targeted to end the domination of Ferrari and Schumacher. [citation needed]

Less than half-way through the season, the German admitted he didn't have the potential to defend his title. In an interview he said "It's hard to put up a fight when you don't have the same weapons".

Despite this, Schumacher had some moments, most notably his fight with Fernando Alonso in the San Marino GP and a pole in Hungary.

Ultimately and most importantly he finished third in the World Championship standings, barely ahead of McLaren's Juan Pablo Montoya. His points total included the 10 points from his only victory of the season, the United States Grand Prix, which was only contested by 6 cars due to Michelin tire problems.

There were many on-track problems for the German, including collisions with Mark Webber (Turkish GP), Nick Heidfeld (Australian GP), Takuma Sato (Belgian GP) and Christijan Albers (Chinese GP).

2006 - Schumacher started 2006 well, narrowly edging out new Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa to take pole position at the first grand prix in Bahrain. Doing so, he equaled Ayrton Senna's record of 65 pole positions that had stood for 12 years after Senna's death. He went on to finish second, behind the Renault of reigning drivers' champion Fernando Alonso, making it his first podium finish in seven races, the last being a second place at the 2005 Hungarian Grand Prix.

Ferrari's engine troubles resulted in an engine change for Schumacher before qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix, demoting him to 14th on the starting grid. He finished the race in 6th, just behind team-mate Felipe Massa. He qualified 11th in changing weather conditions at the Australian Grand Prix and retired from 6th place mid-way through the race after crashing into the wall at the final corner while chasing Jenson Button.

At the San Marino Grand Prix, Schumacher took his 66th pole position, breaking Senna's record of 65. He followed this up with a race win, holding off a challenge from Fernando Alonso despite struggling for pace in the middle stages of the race. Barring the 2005 United States Grand Prix, this was his first win since the 2004 Japanese Grand Prix, 18 months earlier. With this win, Schumacher tied his own record with his 7th win at the same track, the other ones being Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal and Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours in Magny-Cours.

Schumacher's strong form continued at the European Grand Prix, where he beat Fernando Alonso in a closely contested battle, putting in a series of blistering laps before his second pit-stop to emerge in front of Alonso. The Spanish Grand Prix, was rather different for Schumacher, as he finished second, some 18 seconds behind eventual home race winner Fernando Alonso. Schumacher has commented that this is a "blip".

In the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix, although Schumacher took pole position with Fernando Alonso 0.064 seconds behind him, there was an uproar in the paddock after the end of qualifying, after he stopped his car on the circuit causing an obstruction for his rivals who were trying to set a faster time. Alonso failed to set a faster laptime than Schumacher's best. After interviewing Schumacher and Ferrari personnel, and reviewing evidence and data provided by the FIA and Ferrari, the race stewards stripped Schumacher of all of his qualifying times.[7] The stewards said Schumacher's actions breached Article 112 of the FIA sporting regulations and that therefore their ruling was final and would not be subject to appeal.[8] Ferrari's director Jean Todt strongly disputed the decision, claiming that "[w]ith no real evidence, the stewards have assumed he is guilty."[9]

Schumacher was widely condemned up and down the pit lane, not only by many of his present-day rivals, but also by several highly-respected figures such as Sir Jackie Stewart and, most bluntly, Keke Rosberg, who said: "he's just a cheap cheat. He should leave F1 to honest people. I thought he had grown up. Does he think we are all fools and idiots?" ([1]) During the race itself, Schumacher battled back from the 22nd spot to finish 5th, although he was aided by four cars retiring from in front of him.

At the British Grand Prix he salvaged second by passing Kimi Raikkonen after the second round of stops. He was trapped behind the Finn for most of the race. The Canadian Grand Prix was much of the same for Schumacher as he was stuck behind Jarno Trulli at the start of the race. He passed Trulli at the final chicane before he made his first stop and snatched second from Kimi Raikkonen when the Finn ran wide at the hairpin with two laps to go. After qualifying on Pole position for the US Grand Prix, Schumacher was passed by team-mate Felipe Massa at the first corner but by lap 30 was back in front, going on to win the race. After his win, he is the only racing driver ever, in any racing class, to win five times on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

After winning the French GP on July 16th, 2006, Michael Schumacher became the only driver in history to win the same Grand Prix eight times.Schumacher then proceeded to win the German GP, a result that gave him a hat-trick of wins following those of France and America. With championship rival Fernando Alonso finishing the race 5th, Schumacher reduced the gap between the two to 11 points with 6 races remaining. At this point, Schumacher can win the Drivers' Championship by winning the final six races, regardless of Alonso's results. Schumacher is now only three wins short of the combined total of wins of Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna.

The practice sessions of the Hungarian GP brought a lot of controversy. Fernando Alonso was penalised for two incidents in the second free practice, receiving a two second penalty in every qualifying round. Schumacher, who could have used to opportunity to reduce Alonso's lead further, also suffered a two second penalty for overtaking two cars, one of them being Alonso, during a red flag situation. Schumacher qualified in 11th position, while Alonso qualified 15th on the grid. He had an up and down race eventually retiring 2 laps from home after colliding with Nick Heidfeld. He was classified 9th but was soon promoted to 8th following Robert Kubica's disqualification.

At the Turkish Grand Prix Ferrari looked very strong against the opposition and they even set the fastest time through Michael Schumacher in the third practice session in the Saturday morning. For the three 15 minute qualifying sessions Michael was the fastest for the first two sessions under a light fuel load. However at the start of his hot laps in the third session Michael made a mistake by out braking himself down into the first corner. The mistake then made Michael take it a bit easier in the first sector for his remaining hot laps. At the end of the final session Michael qualified second just behind his teammate Felipe Massa for Massa's first pole of the season and, more importantly he qualified in front of Fernando Alonso who qualified third without the controversial mass dampers in his Renault. At the start he nearly made contact with Fernando Alonso but managed to hold off him and was comfortably ahead of him until Liuzzi from Scuderia Toro Rosso had a spin off at the first corner and the safety car had to come out to assist the marshals as the car was on the racing line. This bunched up the pack again and because Felipe Massa was leading Michael had to come into the pits and wait 6 seconds for Felipe to make his stop while Alonso could just pit and leave. These few seconds proved to be the difference as Michael and Alonso traded places during the pit stops. They had a strong contest with Michael being easily stronger under brakes but Alonso was quicker at the right places which proved the difference as Michael could only close in on the Renault but couldn't pass him. Felipe Massa won by 6 seconds with Michael less than a tenth of a second bahind Alonso in second. This now means that with four races left the championship points are 108 - 96, Alonso's way. 12 points separate the two champions, but Schumacher says that he still has a good shot at the title.

Formula One records

holds the following F1 records As of the 2006 Turkish Grand Prix

• Career Records:
  Most race wins: 89 (previous record beaten in 2001)
  Most race wins with one team: 70
  Most podium finishes: 152
  Most second place finishes: 43
  Most points finishes: 187
  Most pole positions: 68
  Most fastest laps: 75
  Most race wins from pole position: 40
  Most "clean-sweeps" (pole position, race win, and fastest lap): 22
  Most championship points: 1,344
• 2006:
  Only racing driver ever, in any racing class, to win 5 times at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
  Only driver in history to win the same Grand Prix 8 times at (French Grand Prix at Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours)
  Only driver to lead over 5,000 laps.(Achieved at 2006 German Grand Prix)
  Most time between first and last race wins: 13 years, 11 months, and 3 days
• 2004:
  Most championship titles: 7 (previous record beaten in 2003)
  Most consecutive championship titles: 5
  Most race wins in a season: 13 (in 18 races) (previous record tied in 1995, 2000, and 2001 and beaten in 2002)
  Most consecutive race wins: 7 (European GP, Canadian GP, United States GP, French GP, British GP, German GP, Hungarian GP)
  Most fastest laps in a season: 10 (in 18 races)
  Most championship points in a season: 148 (out of a maximum of 180)
  Most consecutive race finished without retirement 24 (Alonso broke series of 22 at Hugaroring 2006)
• 2002:
  Most podium finishes in a season: 17 (in 17 races)

Michael Schumacher's Official Website

Ferrari dominated the race weekend in Indianapolis, with Michael Schumacher confidently winning his 87th Formula One victory,

It was an all-red front row for the start of the U.S. Grand Prix. Both drivers, who were delighted with the performance of the Shell V-powered Ferraris, set the fastest times with Michael Schumacher taking his third pole of the season. Felipe Massa comfortably took grid position just behind his team mate. The Renault of Giancarlo Fisichella was third, followed by Rubens Barrichello's Honda and Renault's Fernando Alonso.

Before any spectator had a chance to contemplate who had made the best start to the race, the safety car was summoned due to two large-scale collisions. Montoya, Webber and Heidfeld – whose car dramatically somersaulted across the grass – were just some of the drivers forced to retire. Both episodes significantly reduced the size of the field to contest the remainder of the race. This incident was perhaps an omen of what was to come – by the end of the race only nine cars crossed the finishing line.

In the meantime Felipe Massa had passed Michael Schumacher before the first corner. He stormed ahead once free of the safety car, leading for the next 30 laps of the race.

Michael Schumacher soon caught up with his team mate once the Ferrari pit stops began. After an excellent out lap from his pit stop, Schumacher gained first place, which he then never relinquished. Having set the fastest time of the race, Michael Schumacher crossed the line followed by Massa, both ending a weekend in which the 248 F1 had been on top form.

For us at Shell it's been the best result of the season so far! This track is notoriously hard on the engines, the temperature out here is incredibly hot, plus this is the second race weekend for both Ferrari engines - bearing all this in mind, the Shell fuel and lubes have behaved faultlessly,' said Mike Copson, Shell Technical Manager.

Alonso had a frustrating 73 laps, earning five points in fifth place. Fisichella was the more successful Renault at this race; the Italian took third place.

Ferrari maintains second spot in the FIA Formula One Constructors' Championship with 105 points to Renault's 131.

The gap between Alonso and Schumacher in the Drivers Championship has narrowed significantly. Alonso now leads Schumacher by 19 points.

Teams now return to Europe for the French Grand Prix, on 16 July.

Michael Schumacher Last Race - Brazilian GP 2006

Brazilian GP 10/22/2006 Rio de Janeiro Felipe Massa scored a brilliant home victory in front of an adoring 65,000 strong crowd in the thrilling Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos on the outskirts of Sao Paulo on Sunday. But his victory and Michael Schumacher's great drive from last to fourth were not enough to give either Michael victory in the Drivers' series or Ferrari in the Constructors'. Fernando Alonso's well-measured second place, backed up by Giancarlo Fisichella's less exciting sixth place gave second successive titles to Alonso and Renault.

Conditions were perfect as the cars formed up on the grid with poleman Massa immediately taking the lead from fellow front row man Kimi Raikkonen while Jarno Trulli slotted into third place ahead of Fernando Alonso, Rubens Barrichello and then Giancarlo Fisichella. Michael Schumacher picked up three places to hold seventh, demoting brother Ralf and both BMW Saubers.

However, behind them, the Williamses of Nico Rosberg and Mark Webber tangled, causing Webber to head to the pits for retirement and Nico Rosberg to crash heavily. This brought out the safety car while the debris was cleared, although not before Barrichello lost places to Fisichella and Michael Schumacher.

When the safety car went in on lap six, Massa immediately pulled away from Raikkonen at a remarkable rate. Trulli wasn't far behind the McLaren driver, and Alonso was close by too. Fisichella was not far behind, pushed hard by the charging Michael Schumacher, but when he edged past Fisichella on lap eight, it seems the pair touched and Michael picked up a puncture. He had to pit after a slower lap, while both Toyotas retired with a rear suspension problem.

That left Massa with a 6.3s lead on lap ten from Raikkonen, who was now over three seconds ahead of Alonso. Fisichella was dropping away from his teammate in fourth, and then came the two Hondas, Button catching Barrichello. Kubica was next from de la Rosa just ahead of Heidfeld. Michael was 19th!

In the next ten laps, before the first round of stops, Massa would build up his lead to ten seconds over Raikkonen, but Alonso still wasn't far behind the first McLaren, although Fisichella was over three seconds behind his teammate. The Hondas were within two seconds, Barrichello just ahead of Button, but the gap to seventh placed Kubica was building. De la Rosa was still leading Heidfeld.

Raikkonen was the first to pit on lap 21 as did Fisichella and Barrichello. Massa pitted on lap 24, Button a lap after that, and then Alonso, Kubica and Heidfeld on successive laps. De la Rosa, on a one-stop, was now in second place, but he had Alonso, Button - who had made up two places - then Raikkonen close behind him until he pitted at half distance.

Massa was suddenly left with a 24s lead, while Alonso was pushed hard by Button who was doing a great job. Fisichella was being pushed by Barrichello for sixth place before Kubica and then Speed who pitted on half distance. That let Schumacher into tenth place at half distance.

All eyes were now on either the Alonso-Button battle for second, or Michael's climb through the field. He overtook Heidfeld on lap 36 for eighth place, Kubica for seventh on lap 41 after running wide at the previous attempt.

The second round of pit stops began on lap 46 with Barrichello coming in, Michael then pitted, followed on lap 49 by Fisichella and Kubica as Michael fought with old teammate Barrichello. Button pitted on lap 50, then Raikkonen on lap 51, Massa on lap 51 and Alonso on lap 54.

Michael overtook Barrichello for sixth on lap 51 and overtook Fisichella more successfully on lap 63. He was rapidly on Raikkonen's tail and brilliantly squeezed down the inside into the first corner on lap 69 to claim fourth. Button had remained close behind Alonso, but never quite in a position to overtake, so they shared the podium with popular winner Massa who hadn't made a mistake all day.

Felipe Massa: "Today is another dream, the dream of my life has become a reality. The car was perfect, the Bridgestone tyres were perfect, I drove an impeccable race and all of this at my home grand prix! I always had the situation under control, slowing just a bit when Michael was in front of me, after his puncture, as I did not want to pass him. I want to dedicate this race to my family , to my friends, to all those who helped me in my career and to the Brazilian people who, today, made me feel their warmth through all the fans in the grandstand. Michael now stops driving for the team, but already I know I will miss him. I have always felt his support and his friendship and I know that it will be a big responsibility to replace him. Over the last few laps, I was trying to maintain concentration, but I could not stop myself from watching all the fans celebrating in the grandstands!"

Michael Schumacher: "I am very happy for Felipe who drove an amazing race. It is great for him to be the first Brazilian to win at Interlagos since Ayrton Senna. It would have been nice if I could at least have made it to the podium alongside him. I would also like to congratulate Fernando. Today, my race was compromised after the puncture I picked up on lap nine, when I had just passed Fisichella. I was unaware of it until the team told me about it on the radio. I had a good climb back up the order, thanks partly to an amazing car and exceptional Bridgestone tyres. Today my racing career comes to an end. Obviously, it is a special moment for me and I am proud to have lived my career with some fantastic people, namely everyone who is part of the Ferrari family. There is so much I could say about them, but it is difficult to find the right words…"

Ross Brawn: "Everything was extraordinary today: the car, the drivers, the Bridgestone tyres and the team work. It was really frustrating that we were unable to see Michael bring his career to a close with a win. His race was compromised by a puncture caused by the collision with Fisichella, whom he had just overtaken. It's been a very tough season. The car was competitive right from the beginning but we did not get off to a great start. Then, we staged a great comeback thanks to the work of the team and our technical partners, especially Bridgestone and Shell, to the extent that we had the best package as well as the best drivers. Today, I am very happy for Felipe, who represents the future of Ferrari. He drove an exceptional race and it was a great way to finish the season."

Jean Todt: "Despite an extraordinary victory from Felipe and a race which for so many reasons was an historic one for Michael, in the heat of the moment I feel very disappointed. We would have liked Michael's career to end differently, but destiny had other plans. We must look at the positive aspects of this season: our team has taken the most race wins – nine in total, seven with Michael and two with Felipe – and despite getting off to a poor start, we were in the hunt for both titles right up to the final race. However, the championship is made up of eighteen Grands Prix and so we accept this result and our compliments go to our rivals. Now we have to look to the future and start a new chapter, taking into account the lessons we have learnt this year. We go into 2007 with new rules, a new driver, just one tyre supplier, but these are things we can discuss later. Today, I want to thank everyone in the Gestione Sportiva, Michael and Felipe for the great job they have done, with the support of our technical partners, especially Bridgestone and Shell and the commercial ones, first and foremost Philip Morris. Whatever the outcome, the Ferrari family has lived through a memorable season."

The Track

Interlagos is a track that takes its toll of tyres and transmission. The surface is notoriously bumpy, in fact, despite repeated resurfacing and puts cars and drivers alike under considerable stress. Add in a number of really tight corners that task the drivers' neck muscles, and Interlagos proves to be a Grand Prix that is very tiring.

With two straights where the cars exceed 300 km/h, the track is considered a medium- to high-speed circuit where grip is at a premium due to the undulations. For maximum acceleration out of the slower corners the teams adopt fairly short lower ratios, with longer gearing in the high ratios for a good top speed. All the teams go for soft suspension settings and a relatively high ground clearance to avoid excessive wear of the skid, the high-density plastic panel underneath the cars applied by the FIA to control ride height.