03 November 2023 , 11:01
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It has been 14 years since Michael Schumacher was jokingly 'unveiled' as The Stig and it's safe to say the seven-time world champion was perfect for the role.
Schumacher is arguably one of the greatest Formula One drivers to step foot in a car, having picked up many accolades on the way. The German holds the record for the most successive titles (five) and most world championships (seven) alongside Lewis Hamilton, while he has also gone the most consecutive seasons with a win (15), showing just how consistent he was over his time as an F1 driver.
However, one of Schumacher's most iconic moments actually came when he appeared on Top Gear in 2009 as The Stig revealed who he really was. Fans had been left guessing about The Stig's identity as the masked racing driver always used to show Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May how to drive.
His actual name had been a mystery for several years as he never decided to raise his helmet to show his face. There had been rumours circling about how it may be, up until Top Gear chose to tease fans as The Stig came out and was interviewed by Clarkson, who started by praising how well the mystery man had driven for Ferrari.
Then, moments later, The Stig lifted up its helmet and there was Schumacher, who stood up to raptures of cheers and applause from the fans in the Top Gear studio. Of course, The Stig wasn't actually him. It had been reported that as many as eight different drivers had shared the role before racing driver and stunt man Ben Collins came out as The Stig in 2010 after seven years of doing it.
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Lewis Hamilton, Heikki Kovalainen and Chris Goodwin were among those linked with being The Stig, while Julian Bailey had been named as a stand-in Stig by the original Black Stig, Perry McCarthy. However, as of today, no one knows who the White Stig actually is. Meanwhile, Top Gear hasn't been filmed since Freddie Flintoff's crash last December and it's not known whether the BBC show will be cancelled for good.
As for Schumacher, he first arrived on the F1 scene back in 1991 when he joined the Jordan team. The Hurth-born driver then signed for Benetton before going on to cement himself as a regular racer on the grid, finishing third in his first season. It took Schumacher until 1994 to win his maiden Drivers Championship, winning eight of 14 races.
Michael Schumacher was unveiled as The Stig on Top Gear in 2009 (BBC)
Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher (Getty Images)He then completed back-to-back world titles with success in the 1995 season, before four years of failing to replicate similar triumph. But Schumacher eventually found his golden touch and won a record-breaking five straight world championships from 2000 to 2004, completely dominating the F1 scene while driving for Ferrari.
Schumacher retired from F1 for the first time in 2006, but spent four years out and returned to sign for Mercedes back in 2010. However, he failed to win one race in three years back on the grid before retiring for the second time in 2012, having finished 13th on just 49 points.
However, in December 2013, Schumacher sadly suffered life-changing injuries from a skiing accident after crashing into a rock. He was put in an induced coma and was transferred back home nine months later. Schumacher has not been public since the incident and privacy surrounding his condition will continue.