Top 5 supreme Schumacher moments in Formula 1

From his high-profile debut in 1991 to a great performance in Spain five years later: Michael Schumacher is one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time.

RacingNews365 looks back on some high-profile moments from his astonishing career.

An impressive debut

The 1992 F1 season marked the first full-time campaign for Schumacher at Benetton, after being snapped up by team boss Flavio Briatore.

At Spa Francorchamps he managed to qualify in third, but made a mistake during the opening stages of the race in the tricky wet conditions.

After electing to roll the dice and switch from wet to slick tyres, it enabled him to emerge in the lead when race leader Nigel Mansell pitted a few laps later in the Williams.

A misfiring engine ultimately prevented Mansell from being able to catch up to Schumacher, who took his inaugural victory at 23 years-old.

The perfect pole

Although many fans will remember heyday of the German driver at Benetton and Ferrari, the real diehards will certainly also know what happened on 26th May, 2012.

In a Mercedes W03 - which struggled to match the race pace of the Red Bull RB8 and Ferrari F2012 - Schumacher clocked the fastest time during the qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix.

It would have been a sensational pole, but he had to start from sixth place due to a grid penalty he received at the previous race in Spain due to an avoidable collision with Bruno Senna.

His fortunes did not improve in the race, when on Lap 63 Schumacher had to retire due to a fuel pressure problem.

A crushing comeback

Less than a hundred days and six races after he broke his leg at the 1999 British Grand Prix, Schumacher returned to the track.

He made his comeback during the race weekend in Malaysia and was almost a second faster than anyone else - a show of resilience in the Ferrari F399.

Schumacher played the team game in the race by allowing Eddie Irvine to take the lead amid his title battle with Mika Hakkinen, although it ultimately did not materialise.

Ferrari would go on to take the Constructors' Championship title instead, but it was likely a missed opportunity for the German in one of the quickest cars on the grid at the time.

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Superior in Spa

After starting in sixteenth due to a crash during free practice, Schumacher had to work his way through the field during the 1995 Belgian Grand Prix.

After just sixteen laps, Schumacher took the lead and battled with Williams rival Damon Hill for the lead. Hill was on wet tyres and was about six seconds per lap faster than Schumacher on the slicks.

This advantage was short-lived when the track dried up, forcing Hill to pit for slicks. Schumacher eventually won the race by twenty seconds, but it was not without controversy when the stewards deemed his defence was too aggressive and issued him with a one-race suspended ban.

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Regenmeister

Ayrton Senna in Donington (1993), Max Verstappen in Sao Paulo (2016) and Lewis Hamilton in Silverstone (2008)... They are some memorable performances by F1 drivers in the rain.

One moment that definitely belongs in that list is Schumacher's victory in Barcelona, 1996. In an underperforming Ferrari, Schumacher showed his skills in the treacherous conditions and finished first a full 45 seconds ahead of second-placed Jean Alesi.

This drive would ultimately earn him the nickname Regenmeister, a title often handed to German drivers that perform will in the wet.

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Other notable moments

Of course, the five moments mentioned above are just a small part of Schumacher's great career. The German was phenomenal at many more times during his decorated career.

Think of the well-known three-stopper in Hungary or the controversial end to the British GP in 1998.

What is your favourite Schumacher moment? Let us know in the comments!