Highlights

Schumacher right to quit at the top, Germans say

(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-09-11 09:41

Germans applauded Michael Schumacher's decision to quit motor racing at the top of the sport while wondering if his cool professionalism might deny him a place in posterity at the forefront of their affections.

Ferrari's Formula One driver Michael Schumacher of Germany celebrates on the podium after winning the Italian Grand Prix at the Monza race track in northern Italy September 10, 2006. Schumacher, the most successful Formula One driver of all time, announced on Sunday that he was retiring from the sport at the end of the season. [Reuters]

Schumacher, the most successful Formula One driver of all time, said on Sunday he would retire at the end of the season after his victory at the Italian Grand Prix, a record 90th win.

"It's the right time to retire, at the height of his career," said Berlin student Sebastian Bloching, 22.

Christiane Speckmann, a 51-year-old human resources worker agreed, saying others could learn by his example.

"It's a clever decision to quit at the top," she said. "I think more people -- politicians, actors -- should do the same."

Schumacher's win in Italy took him to within two points of championship leader Fernando Alonso and he said after the race he was determined to end his final season on top.

A generation of Germans has grown up watching Schumacher's glittering Formula One career, which began in 1991, a year after reunification ended the country's painful post-war partition.

But though his record of seven championships has helped make him one of the most famous Germans on the planet, some believe the control he exercised on and off the track has prevented him becoming as popular as less successful sports stars.

"He's like a German car -- the epitome of reliability," said Matthias Hein, 31, a philosophy PhD student from Bonn. "But I'm not sure he'll be as well remembered in Germany in 20 years as say a Boris Becker or a Franz Beckenbauer."

"He seems to lack any rough edges," he added.

Tennis star Becker and former soccer World Cup winner Beckenbauer have embraced their role as celebrities and attracted great media interest in their private lives, whereas Schumacher has tended to guard his wherever possible.

"I think he has an image of not being very charismatic. He always comes across as being very deliberate in what he does," said Jan Pueplichhuisen, a 30-year-old IT worker from Cologne.

Bayern Munich president Beckenbauer hailed Schumacher as the greatest driver of all time in a message on the club's website.

"It's always a pity when such a big personality retires. Not just for German sport, for the whole of motor sport," he said.

Yet although Schumacher's decision to quit had been widely anticipated -- some television channels began showing highlights from his career just minutes after the announcement -- the government was not standing by to remember his achievements.

Germany's Interior Ministry, which is responsible for sport, did not want to comment on his retirement, a spokeswoman said.