THERE have been so many fairytale moments in Michael Schumacher’s extraordinary career in Formula One — and there have been nightmares too — but yesterday, in the sunshine of Ferrari’s home track, he announced his impending retirement amid the adulation of his most loyal fans after a textbook victory in the Italian Grand Prix.

For weeks, the speculation about whether he would call time on a career that now runs to 90 grand-prix wins — 39 more than his nearest rival in the history of the sport — has raged through the paddock, and when it finally came it seemed a tumultuous moment.

There was “Schumy”, as the tifosi love to call him, standing atop one of the best-situated podiums in Formula One and spraying with champagne the thousands of fans roaring his name on the track below. Above him, behind the angled glass of the vast press centre, the pieces of paper that spelt the end were being handed out.

One of the greatest living sportsmen — and most controversial, too — was telling the world that from the end of this season it will be arrivederci for the last time. “Michael Schumacher will retire from race driving at the end of the 2006 World Championship,” the statement started.

There were tears from the great man as he hugged his team-mates, mechanics, Luca di Montezemolo, the Ferrari president, and his mentor and Ferrari managing director, Jean Todt. It was the most uplifting of scenes. Then Schumacher sat down to answer questions and he spoke from the heart about the hardest decision of his life.

He talked of the wise counsel he received from Corinna, his wife, the support of his wider family and fans and the feeling that he might not be able to carry on in future years at the same level of intensity that has driven him to seven world championships over 16 seasons.

His fervent wish was that Felipe Massa, his team-mate,would take up the opportunity made by his leaving to chart his own path to glory.

As he spoke, you could not help but notice the energy running out of him, the sadness and the feeling that a great part of him was shouting silently that he wanted to carry on with a sport in which his God-given talent has brought him so much glory and occasional opprobrium. But, as he said himself, he did not want to talk about regrets, this was not the moment to go into those.

Towards the end of the press conference, it was becoming almost too painful and Schumacher simply did not answer when asked what he thought he would miss most in the long years of retirement that now lie just ahead of him. He ducked away from further explanations of how he had come to make up his mind, which, he revealed, he had managed to do in July after the United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis. “I don’t want to keep getting deeper into it,” he said.

So now we know for sure — there will certainly be no going back on this. Schumacher, who has dominated Formula One for years, the most successful driver in history and the man who is probably disliked by many more people around the world than those who adore him, will compete in three more races this year and then walk away.

The word legend is used in sport too loosely these days, but whatever your feelings about him, Schumacher is one of them. His leaving marks the end of an era in motor racing that he has defined by his mere presence. So many wins, so many pole positions, so many fastest laps, so many defeated opponents, most of whom have long since disappeared into the sunset — and two or three awful moments that let him down in 16 years behind the wheel at the highest level.

His absence will leave a chasm in the heart of the sport, but there are plenty of young, talented drivers who are eager to fill it, one of whom, Robert Kubica, the Polish driver, shared the podium with the German yesterday after driving his BMW Sauber to third place in only his third grand prix. Kubica just might have that combination of raw talent and iron in the soul that Schumacher has exhibited over the years.

Schumacher’s going, and the announcement of it, overshadowed an uneventful race in which the Ferrari driver started from second on the grid and got ahead of Kimi Raïkkönen in the McLaren Mercedes by virtue of a later first pit stop. Raïkkönen, who it was confirmed yesterday will drive alongside Massa for Ferrari next year, finished second, while Kubica did an excellent job to hold third place after a long early battle with Massa.

The big loser of the day was Fernando Alonso, of Renault, who started from tenth place on the grid after being penalised five places for apparently impeding Massa during qualifying, a decision that left him and Flavio Briatore, the team managing director, seething. Alonso drove a typically brave race and had fought his way up to third when his engine blew on lap 44.

Ferrari and Schumacher have all the momentum going their way and, with three races to go, they have cut Alonso’s lead at the weekend from 12 points to two. Schumacher has already won seven drivers’ titles — two more than his nearest rival, Juan Manuel Fangio — and who would bet against him adding an eighth?

RESULT FROM MONZA AND HOW THEY STAND

1, M Schumacher (Ger, Ferrari) 1hr 14min 51.975sec; 2, K Räikkönen (Fin, McLaren Mercedes) at 8.046sec behind; 3, R Kubica (Pol, BMW Sauber) 26.414; 4, G Fisichella (It, Renault) 32.045; 5, J Button (GB, Honda) 32.685; 6, R Barrichello (Br, Honda) 42.409; 7, J Trulli (It, Toyota) 44.662; 8, N Heidfeld (Ger, BMW Sauber) 45.309; 9, F Massa (Br, Ferrari) 45.955; 10, M Webber (Aus, Williams-Cosworth) 1min 12.602sec; 11, C Klien (Austria,
RedBull-Ferrari) 1 lap behind; 12, D Coulthard (GB, RedBull-Ferrari) 1 lap; 13, S Speed (US, Toro Rosso-Cosworth) 1 lap; 14, V Liuzzi (It, Toro Rosso-Cosworth) 1 lap; 15, R Schumacher (Ger, Toyota) 1 lap; 16, T Sato (Japan, Super Aguri-Honda) 2 laps; 17, C Albers (Neth, Midland-Toyota) 2 laps.
Retired: T Monteiro (Por, Midland-Toyota) 8 laps behind, F Alonso (Sp Renault) 9 laps, P de la Rosa (Sp, McLaren Mercedes) 31 laps, S Yamamoto (Japan, Super Aguri-Honda) 33 laps, N Rosberg (Ger, Williams-Cosworth) 44 laps.

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QUALIFYING POSITIONS (*five place penalty for impeding Massa): 1, Räikkönen 1min 21.484sec; 2, M Schumacher 1:21.486; 3, Heidfeld 1:21.653; 4, Massa 1:21.704; 5, Button 1:22.011; 6, Kubica 1:22.258; 7, de la Rosa 1:22.280; 8, Barrichello1:22.787; 9, Fisichella 1:23.175; 10, *Alonso 1:21.829; 11, Trulli 1:21.924; 12, Rosberg 1:22.203; 13, R Schumacher 1:22.280; 14, Coulthard 1:22.589; 15, Speed 1:23.165; 16, Klien no time; 17, Liuzzi 1:23.043; 18, Albers 1:23.116; 19, Webber 1:23.341; 20, Monteiro 1:23.920; 21, Sato 1:24.289; 22, Yamamoto 1:26.001.

CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS: Drivers: 1, Alonso 108pts; 2, M Schumacher 106; 3, Massa 62; equal 4, Fisichella and Räikkönen 57; 6, Button 40; 7, J P Montoya (Col, McLaren Mercedes) 26; 8, Barrichello 25; 9, Heidfeld 20; 10, R Schumacher 18; equal 11, de la Rosa and Coulthard 14; 13, Trulli 12; 14, J Villeneuve (Can, BMW Sauber) 7; equal 15, Kubica and Webber 6; 17, Rosberg 4; 18, Klien 2; 19, Liuzzi 1. Constructors: 1, Ferrari 168; 2, Renault 165; 3, McLaren Mercedes 97; 4, Honda 65; 5, BMW Sauber 33; 6, Toyota 30; 7, RedBull-Ferrari 16; 8, Williams-Cosworth 10; 9, Toro Rosso-Cosworth 1.

RACES TO COME: Oct 1: Chinese GP (Shanghai). Oct 8: Japanese GP (Suzuka). Oct 22: Brazilian GP (Interlagos).

SIMPLY THE BEST

Michael Schumacher’s career records make him far and away the most successful driver in Formula One history

Schumacher is the only driver to have finished an entire season on the podium (2002) and holds the record for the most successive races in the points with 24 (2001-2003) and most successive podium finishes with 19(2001-2002)

Schumacher also holds the record for the biggest winning points margin in a season with 67 in 2002, the year in which he became the fastest to win the title when he was crowned with six races to spare

With Rubens Barrichello, Schumacher holds the record for the most one-two finishes of any pairing in Formula One history with 24 between 2000-2005

Edward Gorman

Other records

FASTEST RACE LAPS

Michael Schumacher 75

Alain Prost 41
2nd

HAT-TRICKS
(pole, win, fastest lap)

Michael Schumacher 22

Jim Clark 11
2nd

PODIUM FINISHES

Michael Schumacher 153

Alain Prost 106
2nd

TOTAL CAREER POINTS

Michael Schumacher 1,354

Alain Prost 768.5
2nd

WINS FROM POLE

Michael Schumacher 40

Ayrton Senna 29
2nd

POLE POSITIONS

Michael Schumacher 68

Ayrton Senna 65
2nd

GRAND PRIX WINS

Michael Schumacher 90

Alain Prost 51
2nd

DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIPS

Michael Schumacher 7

Juan Manuel Fangio 5
2nd place

WINS IN A SEASON

Michael Schumacher, 2004 13

2002 11

1995, 2000, 2001 9

Nigel Mansell 9
2nd