2002

For today, Michael is not only the fastest man on the track; he is also the fastest world champion of all time. By race eleven out of sixteen – and six GP outings before the end of the season – he secures his fifth championship title at Magny Cours and, at the same time, draws level with the legendary Juan Manuel Fangio. But he doesn’t see himself as a living legend. “The team is the legend, not me,” he emphasises. Without his team, without the hard work on the track and in the factory in Maranello, this moment of triumph and the hat trick of titles for Ferrari would never have happened.

A little bit of luck

A little bit of luck does play a role in the outcome, not as to whether or not Michael will win the World Championship but rather how soon. “I can honestly say that I wasn’t thinking about the title because I didn’t have the feeling that it was going to happen here,” he says afterwards. Michael travels to France with a 54-point lead over team-mate Rubens Barrichello but a mistake, crossing the white line of the pit lane exit, sets him back. He claws his way up to the front again but it is only in the fifth from last lap that the title really comes within his grasp.

Kimi Räikkönen, who is in the lead, skids on an oil spill shed by Allan McNish’s Toyota. “It was pure luck,” Michael admits, “I had never expected anything like that.” As he takes the lead, the thought enters Michael’s mind for the first time this weekend that title might be winnable.

“I think they were the worst five laps of my career. They never seemed to end, they went on for ever. Suddenly there was all this weight on my shoulders and the pressure not to make any mistakes or any false moves.”

After 72 laps five-time World Champion

After 72 laps, he crosses the finishing line as five-times Formula One World Champion. “Then suddenly, all the pressure is off; you realise you’ve done it – it’s a fantastic moment, all your feelings come spilling out…I can’t really find the right words to describe it.”

Next comes Hockenheim, a home race for the outgoing and incoming champion, where his fans fete him not so much in words as in jubilant cheering, blaring klaxons and fireworks. With his first home win since 1995, Michael puts the icing on the cake for the Ferrari championship party. But even in this celebratory year for the Reds, there are two races where triumph is clouded by controversy.