Schumacher let down by tyres not talent

Mercedes have leapt to the defence of Michael Schumacher following his difficult Chinese Grand Prix weekend claiming that it was a lack of pace from the car that saw the German lose positions to Lewis Hamilton, Mark Webber, Sebastien Vettel and Felippe Massa.

"We have some issues that we need to understand as the deterioration of his tyres and therefore his pace is a problem that we need to resolve before the next race," said team boss Ross Brawn.

Schumacher no longer rain master

The German press have criticised former 'Regen Meister' Michael Schumacher this week for his disappointing performance at the Chinese Grand Prix.

With British pairing Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton spalshing around for a one-two finish, Schumacher was trundling around in a lowly tenth place, a position made worse for the fact his German team mate Nico Rosberg finished third in the other Mercedes.

Niki Lauda

Niki Lauda is our fifth inductee and another five time world champion.

Lauda's early break in F1 came with the fledgling March team in 1971 where he was generally considered quick in an uncompetitive car. He moved in 1973 to the declining BRM team before his big break came in 1974 when he was snapped up by Ferrari following a recommendation from Clay Regazzoni.

The Ferrari team was going through a resurgance under the guidance of Luca di Montezemolo and were quick but unreliable in Lauda's first year.

After a slow start to the 75 season Lauda managed to gain four victories in five races to put him out in front and his first title was confirmed with victory at the season closing United States Grand Prix.

Lauda dominated the early part of 1976 and it looked certain he would become the first driver to win back to back titles since Jack Brabham sixteen years earlier. However events were to transpire against him when he suffered an horrific crash during the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring. His rear suspension broke sending him crashing off the circuit and trapping him in his burning car. The quick thinking of fellow drivers Arturio Merzario, Guy Edwards and Harald Ertl managed to get him out of the car but he was in a serious way. After lapsing into a coma, a priest had even given him his last rights.

Amazingly Lauda was back to finish fourth at the Italian Grand Prix just six weeks later and still held a slender three point lead going into the final race of the season in Japan. After a torrential downpour Lauda pulled himself out of the race citing that the conditions were unsafe to race in, effectively handing the title to James Hunt.

Lauda cruised to the title in 1977 but his relationship with Ferrari had become strained and he left the team at the end of the season.

Two unsuccesful seasons with Brabham prompted the Austrians retirement but when in 1982 he needed to raise funds for his struggling airline company he returned to the cockpit with McLaren and was again competitive picking up a third title in 1984 pipping Alain Prost by half a point. He retired for good at the end of the 1985 season.

Nelson Piquet

Nelson Piquet becomes the fourth entrant and second Brazilian to our hall of fame.

Nelson is a three time World champion who enjoyed a succesful career with the Brabham team whom he joined in 1978. Under the leadership of Bernie Ecclestone Piquet and Brabham won the Drivers Championship in 1981 and again in 1983 becoming the first car to win the title with a turbo engine.

A move to Williams in 1986 saw a fierce rivalry with teammate Nigel Mansell. Piquet and Mansell took points off each other all season allowing Alain Prost to steal the title away from both the Williams drivers. In 1987, however, Piquet did clinch his third title despite winning less races than teammate Mansell.

As champion he moved to the struggling Lotus team as his form took a nose dive. After two years later a pay-per-points drive was arranged with Benetton that saw Nelson add to his victory tally with his final win coming at the 1991 Canadian Grand Prix.

Ayrton Senna

Our third hall of fame inductee is Ayrton Senna, a three time world champion who was tragically killed during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.

Senna made his formula one debut with Toleman, before moving to Lotus for three years that brought six race victories.

In 1988 following a move to McLaren to join up with Frenchman Alain Prost, Senna won his first World title in a season dominated by the Woking outfit with Prost and Senna securing fifteen wins out of the sixteen races between them.

Senna had a tumultuos relationship with Prost but it was the Brazilian who remained the blue eyed boy of the team and went onto win further world championships for them in 1990 and again in 1991.

After finishing an impressive runner up to Alain Prost's dominant Williams in 1993 he joined the team in 1994 but he would be killed at the San Marino Grand Prix of that year.

Senna was voted the greatest driver of all time in a 2009 poll amongst current and former drivers, he has won the Monaco Grand Prix a record six times and is third overall in the list of race winners. He will arguably however be remembered for his tumultuos relationship with Prost and more notably two championship deciding collisions at the 1989 and 1990 Japanese Grand Prix.

Alain Prost

The second entrant into our hall of fame is Alain Prost. A four time formula one champion Prost won more titles than anyone bar Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher. From 1987 until 2001 Prost held the record for most Grand Prix victories. Schumacher surpassed this record at the 2001 Belgian Grand Prix.

Prost began karting at the age of 14 whilst on a family holiday. He quickly progressed through the motorsport ranks winning both the French and European Formula 3 Series, before joining the Mclaren formula 1 team. He finished in the points on his F1 debut before taking a maiden victory in the following years French Grand Prix driving for Renault.

Throughout the eighties and early nineties Prost formed a fierce rivalry with Nelson Piquet, Nigel Mansell and famously Ayrton Senna. In 1986 he took the title on the final race of the season pipping Piquet and Mansell for the honour.

In 1988 Prost was teamed up with Senna at Mclaren and the pair had a number of controversial run ins. Most notably a collision at the 1989 Japanese Grand Prix that handed Prost the title. A year later a crash on the first corner of the same Grand Prix saw Senna take the title in the most controversial of fashions.

After a disappointing 1991 season Prost was fired for disparaging remarks he made regarding his Ferrari team and due to this he had a year out of the sport in 1992, returning at Williams in 1993. This move forced current world champion Nigel Mansell out of the team and he took up a drive in the American CART series.

1993 saw Prost seal his fourth drivers' title but he retired at the end of the campaign as he did not wish to be partnered with Senna again who was moving to the team in 1994.

Four years later Prost took over the ailing Ligier team and rebranded them Prost Grand Prix. In 2001 the team fell into financial difficulties and were eventually made bankrupt.

Michael Schumacher

Our first entry into the hall of fame is Michael Schumacher. The seven-time Formula One world drivers' champion, and current advisor for Ferrari. According to the official Formula One website, he is "statistically the greatest driver the sport has ever seen". He is the only German to win the Formula One World championship and is credited with popularizing Formula One in Germany. In a 2006 FIA survey, Michael Schumacher was voted the most popular driver of the season among Formula One fans.

After winning two championships with Benetton, Michael Schumacher moved to Ferrari in 1996 and won five consecutive drivers' titles with them from 2000–2004. Schumacher holds many records in Formula One, including most drivers' championships, race victories, fastest laps, pole positions, points scored and most races won in a single season. Schumacher is the only Formula One driver to have an entire season of podium finishes, a feat he accomplished in 2002. His driving sometimes created controversy: he was twice involved in collisions that determined the outcome of the world championship, most notably his disqualification from the 1997 championship for causing a collision with Jacques Villeneuve. After the 2006 Formula One season Schumacher retired from race driving.

Schumacher planned to return to F1 racing for the 2009 European Grand Prix as a replacement for injured Ferrari driver Felipe Massa. However, it then became apparent that he was not fit enough to race due to a neck injury he sustained during a German Superbike test earlier in the year. In November 2009, BBC pundit Eddie Jordan said he believes Schumacher will return to racing with the Mercedes Grand Prix team in 2010, a move being widely reported as likely to happen in the press.

Off the track, Schumacher is an ambassador for UNESCO and a spokesman for driver safety. He has been involved in numerous humanitarian efforts throughout his life and donated tens of millions of dollars to charity. He is the elder brother of former F1 driver Ralf Scumacher, who currently races in the DTM. They stand as the only brothers in F1 history to have both won races and they scored the first sibling 1-2 finish in Formula One.