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WATCH: Michael Schumacher has an Insane Final Battle With Kimi Raikkonen Ahead of Retirement

Published 06/05/2020, 9:50 AM EDT

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The 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix marked the last race for a number of reasons. Firstly, this was the final race of Michael Schumacher before he retired from the sport. Then, it would also be Kimi Raikkonen’s final race for McLaren before replacing Schumacher. In turn, Fernando Alonso headed to McLaren to succeed Raikkonen.

So, at the season finale, Schumacher and Raikkonen decided to put on a show for the fans. The Ferrari and McLaren drivers battled it out on Lap 3 of the race, and it was a close one. Schumacher hunted down the Finn and dove down the inside at the Senna S corner. However, Raikkonen did not make it easy for him and squeezed him up against the apex.

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How did Michael Schumacher pull off the move?

The two rivals were wheel-to-wheel through the corner, before Michael surged ahead. Raikkonen squeezed him as much as he could, but Michael Schumacher found some grip on the apex. Already, the German maestro was not enjoying his race, starting from 10th on the grid.

However, he managed to scythe his way back up to try everything in his power to stop Fernando Alonso. In the end, the Spaniard finished 2nd, behind Felipe Massa and ahead of Jenson Button. Meanwhile, Schumacher ended up 4th fastest ahead of Raikkonen’s McLaren.

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Sadly for Schumacher, it was not enough to stop Alonso from taking a second consecutive title. So, the German legend could not get the swansong that he wanted, but he managed to bow out on a high note. To achieve his hard-fought 4th place, he dropped down to dead last, courtesy a puncture from Giancarlo Fisichella. However, he managed to charge back up the order like a man on a mission.

Michael Schumacher eventually got his revenge on Fisichella. Then came the titanic battle with Raikkonen with three laps left.

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Written by:

Dhruv George

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Dhruv George is a senior Formula One and NASCAR analyst for EssentiallySports, having authored nearly 12000 articles spanning different sports like F1, NASCAR, Tennis, NFL, and eSports. He graduated with a PG Diploma in Journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications. Dhruv has also conducted interviews with F1 driver Pierre Gasly and Moto2 rider Tony Arbolino.
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