Editing Michael Schumacher (section)

===Jordan (1991)===
[[File:Michael Schumacher Bernie Ecclestone September 1991.jpg|thumb|Schumacher (left) in 1991, the year he joined [[Formula One]]]]
Schumacher made his Formula One debut with the Irish [[Jordan Grand Prix|Jordan]]-[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] team at the {{F1 GP|1991|Belgian}}, driving car number 32 as a replacement for the imprisoned [[Bertrand Gachot]].<ref name="Walfisz 2023">{{Cite web|last=Walfisz|first=Jonny|date=13 November 2023|title=Culture Re-View: How Schumacher's first title made him controversial|url=https://www.euronews.com/culture/2023/11/13/culture-re-view-the-controversial-way-schumacher-started-his-winning-f1-legacy|access-date=10 February 2024|website=Euronews|archive-date=7 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207013203/https://www.euronews.com/culture/2023/11/13/culture-re-view-the-controversial-way-schumacher-started-his-winning-f1-legacy|url-status=live}}</ref> Schumacher, still a contracted Mercedes driver, was signed by [[Eddie Jordan]] after Mercedes paid Jordan $150,000 for his debut.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Collings|first=Timothy|title=The Piranha Club|publisher=Virgin Books|year=2004|isbn=978-0-7535-0965-4|page=17}}</ref>

The week before the race, Schumacher impressed Jordan designer [[Gary Anderson (motorsport)|Gary Anderson]] and team manager Trevor Foster during a test drive at the [[Silverstone circuit]]. Schumacher's manager Weber assured Jordan that Schumacher knew the challenging [[Spa-Francorchamps circuit]] well, although in fact he had only seen it as a spectator. 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.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hilton|first=Christopher|title=Michael Schumacher: The whole story|publisher=Haynes|year=2006|isbn=978-1-84425-008-0|pages=62–66|url=https://archive.org/details/michaelschumache0000hilt/page/62/mode/2up|url-access=registration}}</ref>

In his debut, Schumacher impressed the paddock by [[Qualifying (Formula One)|qualifying]] seventh;<ref name="Gibson 2016">{{Cite news |last=Gibson |first=Sean |date=25 August 2016 |title=25 reasons why Michael Schumacher is the greatest F1 driver of all time |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/formula-1/2016/08/25/25-reasons-why-michael-schumacher-is-the-greatest-f1-driver-of-a/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170703231410/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/formula-1/2016/08/25/25-reasons-why-michael-schumacher-is-the-greatest-f1-driver-of-a/ |archive-date=3 July 2017 |access-date=10 February 2024 |work=The Telegraph |issn=0307-1235}}</ref> he did so in a midfield car, the [[Jordan 191]], which he drove half a day of testing and at a track he had never raced at.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Chandhok|first=Karun|date=27 August 2021|title=Driving the F1 icon that launched Schumacher's career|url=https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/driving-the-f1-icon-that-launched-schumachers-career/6652547/|access-date=11 February 2024|website=Autosport|archive-date=25 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925050152/https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/driving-the-f1-icon-that-launched-schumachers-career/6652547/|url-status=live}}</ref> This also matched the team's season-best grid position, and Schumacher outqualified veteran de Cesaris. ''[[Motor Sport (magazine)|Motor Sport]]'' journalist [[Joe Saward]] reported that, after qualifying, "clumps of German journalists were talking about 'the best talent since [[Stefan Bellof]]{{' "}}.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hilton|first=Christopher|title=Michael Schumacher: The whole story|publisher=Haynes|year=2006|isbn=978-1-84425-008-0|pages=67–68|url=https://archive.org/details/michaelschumache0000hilt/page/66/mode/2up|url-access=registration}}</ref> Schumacher retired on the first lap of the race with [[clutch]] problems.<ref>{{Cite web|title=1991 Belgian Grand Prix|url=http://www.formula1.com/results/season/1991/209/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141103035509/http://www.formula1.com/results/season/1991/209/|archive-date=3 November 2014|access-date=24 October 2006 <!--|work=Results Archive-->|publisher=Formula One}}</ref>