Michael Schumacher will head into retirement at the end of this season as the most successful Grand Prix driver of all time, but whether he will be regarded as the greatest is another matter altogether.
On pure talent and accomplishments alone, Schumacher belongs in the same bracket as the very best in the history of the sport - the likes of Juan Manuel Fangio, Stirling Moss, Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart, Gilles Villeneuve, Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna.
But greatness is about more than ability and trophies. It is also about character and integrity, and that is where Schumacher's claim falls down.
Many of Schumacher's greatest races - breathtaking against-the-odds performances such as his victories at Barcelona 1996, Belgium 1997, Hungary 1998 and Canada 2003 - will go down in the annals of the sport.