Michael Schumacher Season: The Year 1991
Michael Schumacher's 1991 season was his first in Formula One.
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Schumacher participated in the last six races of the season, scored four points and finished in fourteenth place in the championship.
He drove his first race for Jordan and the remaining five for Benetton.
Jordan Grand Prix were an Irish-registered F1 constructor that competed in 250 races between 1991-2005, taking four wins. Founded by Eddie Jordan, initially as a Formula Three team in the 1980s, the team achieved a moderate amount of success with an average budget.
At the young age of 22, Schumacher made his debut at the Belgian Grand Prix for Jordan, replacing Bertrand Gachot, who had been arrested in Britain.
As it turned out, he had lied to team owner Eddie Jordan about having prior experience of driving the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
During the race weekend, teammate Andrea de Cesaris was meant to show Schumacher the circuit, but was held up with contract negotiations. Schumacher then learned the track on his own, by cycling around the track on a fold-up bike he brought with him.
If there was any frustration, it was soon gone once Schumacher showed what he could do when given the chance.
Qualifying P7, Schumacher had matched Jordan’s best result of the season, and although clutch problems forced him to retire on the first lap of the race he had already caught the attention of the paddock.
A controversial move to Benetton immediately followed. Benetton were looking to replace Roberto Moreno, and Schumacher's evident talent looked to make him the perfect choice for the future, and they signed him on a contract until the end of 1995, away from Jordan who wanted Schumacher to commit to the end of 1992. Moreno signed for Jordan as a replacement for Schumacher, effectively swapping seats with the German.
He made an immediate impact, scoring his first points with a fifth-placed finish in Italy, which was followed by sixth places in Portugal and Spain, the latter from fifth on the grid. He retired from the final two races of the season.
Schumacher rose to fame in the years to come as he collected seven Drivers’ titles across stints with Benetton and Ferrari.