5 most memorable races of Michael Schumacher in Mercedes

Michael Schumacher's second innings that began with the 2010 season wasn't even comparable to the illustrious first innings that he had. A lot of factors were responsible for that with the two defining ones being his age and the lack of competitiveness of his car. It is rightly said that Father time waits for no one, and the same thing was on display when Schumacher, in his 40s made a return to the big stage.

Despite that, there were still some moments where he showed why he was considered "The greatest of all time" by everyone. After some analyzing and going through the races yet again we narrowed down our list to 5 races which we could title as his top 5 during his Mercedes stint.

#1 Monaco GP 2012

This one's slightly tricky. If anyone searches for the Monaco GP 2012 "race" he would find Michael Schumacher getting smashed by Romain Grosjean and ultimately ending up in the wall in the very first lap. But if we look at it as a whole this weekend constituted of one of the most shining hours in Schumacher's comeback.

It was the third part of the qualifying session and with no clear favourite, there were multiple drivers in with a chance of nailing that lap on one of the toughest circuits on the calendar. Everyone was putting in some great laps but eventually in the dying moments of qualifying, out of nowhere Michael Schumacher pulled out of his hat pretty much the lap of the weekend.

He dethroned Mark Webber in the dying moments and almost to the shock of everyone captured what would be the last pole of his career. Although he had to start P6 because of the shenanigans of the previous race, he laid down the marker and showed that the old wick was still able to light a fire.

#2 European GP(Valencia) 2012

The only podium for the great one on his not so successful return

The only podium during his second stint in F1. The car under him was not a grid beater by any means and neither was it a front runner. In a race of attrition where Red Bull and Lotus both lost their drivers in the lead and Hamilton entangled with Maldonado, Schumacher was able to keep his head in the game, put on a set of new tyres and pass a bunch of drivers in the later moments to snap up a podium that didn't really seem possible for the most part.

Although the race is remembered more for the heroics of Fernando Alonso and his victory, it was also the last time Michael Schumacher stepped on the podium in his Formula One career. No one probably knew at that time the significance of it all.

#3 Canadian GP 2011

Schumacher drove a terrific race in torrential conditions

If there ever was a race which made the old school F1 fan sit back and reminisce the good old days when Schumacher ruled then it was this one. In a race affected severely by rain and primarily remembered for Jenson Button's chaotic race win, Schumacher throughout the race put on a masterclass displaying great skill in atrocious conditions and consistently staying in the hunt.

It wasn't until the end of the race where he paid the penalty of being on a dry track in an uncompetitive Mercedes. He had to defend against a rampaging Mark Webber and the race-winning Jenson Button in much faster cars. In the end, Schumacher finished fourth, just shy of the podium. Considering how up and down the race was, it was a great result that showed that the old man had still got it.

#4 Italian GP 2011

Lewis and Schumacher were involved in an epic battle

You talk about the greatest driver of all time and you talk about Michael Schumacher. You talk about the greatest driver of this generation and you talk about Lewis Hamilton. Monza 2011 was one of the rare occasions when both of them came to blows.

Both had the same engine(Mercedes) but Schumacher had a setup which helped him have a very good top speed but vulnerable in the corners. This meant that even though Lewis had the better car in the corners and even the aid of DRS on the long straights of Monza, it was going to be a huge task for him to nail the overtake.

And so it happened, as everyone witnessed the star of the past, in the twilight of his career, teaching the new pretender a lesson in defensive driving when positioning the car at the right spot at the right time with regularity.

In a car much more superior to Schumacher's, Lewis struggled like anything to pass the great one. It is still remembered as one of the great battles of the modern era where extenuating circumstances led to some great wheel to wheel action between two legends in the unlikeliest of the scenarios.

#5 Belgian GP 2011

Schumacher Scythed his way through the field and beat Rosberg on his way to a great result

Poise, calm, collected and relentless are the words that come to mind when you think of this race that Schumacher was able to put together. Starting from the far end at the start of the race, Schumacher picked up the cars one by one throughout the race using the DRS to great effect and rising up the order.

At that point of time it was almost impossible for Mercedes to think of beating the challengers from McLaren or Red Bull or Ferrari but the icing on the cake was Schumacher coming from the back and by the end of the race he ended up ahead of his teammate Nico Rosberg who started some distance ahead of him on the grid. This was surely one of the best races for Schumacher in his second stint.