Michael Schumacher

"He has everything to lose and nothing to gain, so it's very logical and sensible to retire while he's on top of his game, but knowing Michael, everything he has been able to do, I think he would still have the energy to continue."

"If the best guy in the world retires it is certainly a sad day. You can say whatever you want, he won seven world championships and he might win another one. There is nobody like him in the world, he is unique. It's sad that he retires. But I know you have to retire one day and I respect that."

"I am sure he has thought long and hard about his decision and I respect it. I've enjoyed racing with him and I wish him all the best both for the championship and the future."

"First, you have to finish."

"I'm Michael Schumacher. I don't need to test my driving ability"

"With the car we had, getting a pole was sort of obvious."

"Just being a mediocre driver has never been my ambition. That's not my style."

"I've always believed that you should never, ever give up and you should always keep fighting even when there's only a slightest chance."

"He is incredibly professional. If you had to go for a heart operation you'd want somebody who was the Schumacher of the heart surgery world to do the job, because you can rely on him.... He laughs as he considers the dominance of his old enemy. Fortunately Michael wasn't like that in 1996! The fact he is still winning makes me feel a lot better. It's not so bad to be beaten by the best driver who's ever lived. Nobody really knew that then. I was first into the arena, the first Christian thrown to the lions"

"It's a brave decision to stop doing something he loves.... We sort of know how he'll be remembered but over time his successes will mark an era when his dedication to winning gave the championship colour. I think he'll be doubly motivated to win the championship. He's certainly capable of winning races. I think it's hard to give that up. I think he's doing the right thing for himself."

"I always said that the decision to retire would be his alone but now that decision has been taken I feel a sense of sadness. We have lived through some unforgettable times together, some good and some bad, achieving results that will be hard to equal."

"Michael has been the author of a unique chapter in the history of Formula 1 and of Ferrari in particular. It has yet to reach its conclusion and what he has achieved extends over and above the results obtained. He is an exceptional man and will become a legend as a driver."

"I'm looking forward to F1 without Michael and hoping that we will see some real competition again between drivers within teams as well as drivers against each other in other teams."

"I don’t think anyone can take Michael’s place. Michael is Michael and he always will be. To the sport he’s a legend, like other legends, like other great champions – Prost, Senna – you know, he’s in the same league and there’s no way you can replace someone. [...] For sure Michael is the one that everyone is looking up to in Germany and that won’t change for quite a long time. I think the records he has set are quite unique, so even though at the moment he gets a lot of shit, he probably knows what he’s doing. I think if you look at his face, he seems relaxed, so he knows what’s going on and I think that’s also a quality a champion has to have."

"I think we lose and we will miss a great champion on the track. He beat all the records so he has the best numbers in Formula One but I think maybe F1 will focus more on sport after that."

"It is a pity for F1 to lose such a great champion, but the time to stop comes to everyone."

"He will be missed as a friend and colleague and as the ultimate professional. It's the end of Michael's career in Formula One so in that sense, it is the end of an era. When you look at his record, that's going to be difficult to beat."

"People have said to me that F1 is boring because he wins everything. So presumably when he's not here, people will be happy. But we'll miss him, because he is a superstar."

"Nicht nur wegen seines fahrerischen Könnens, denn Fangio war auch ein guter Rennfahrer, doch Schumacher ist die treibende Kraft bei Ferrari. Er besitzt ein schlaues Köpfchen, noch mehr als es Fangio besaß. Schumacher hat hart dafür gearbeitet, um Ferrari an die Spitze zu bringen. Fangio war aber nur ein Fahrer."

"Es ist schwer, über Schumachers Rekord zu streiten. […] Er hatte mit Sicherheit das beste Material aller Fahrer, und das über eine lange Zeit, mehrere Saisons, hinweg. […] Er verdient die Anerkennung, die besten Ingenieure von Benetton mit in das Team gebracht zu haben. […] Er hat die Verbesserungen vorangetrieben und die umgebenden Leute gesammelt. Ich denke, dass er ein sehr kompletter Fahrer ist, nicht nur hinter dem Lenkrad, sondern auch hinter den Kulissen."