In the first episode of the new Top Gear season on BBC 2 on British television, 7 times Formula 1 champion and racing car driver Michael Schumacher, revealed himself as the show’s famous driver and removed his helmet during an interview with presenter Jeremy Clarkson. Appalling driving by Schumacher at the end of the show has cast doubt on this “revelation”. In the show Jeremy Clarkson told viewers “I don’t think Michael Schumacher is the Stig”.

Earlier Clarkson revealed in his column in the British daily, the Sun, that “The Stig” identity would be a “staggering surprise” to fans and regular viewers of Top Gear. “As a television moment, it’s up there with Neil Armstrong walking on the… corpse of JR Ewing,” Clarkson added. A BBC spokesman said “As Jeremy said, in tonight’s Top Gear Stig will remove his helmet for the first time.” After the episode, a BBC spokeswoman would not confirm whether or not Michael Schumacher was the genuine Stig, or a stunt to mark the first episode of a new series of Top Gear. She said “You have to bear in mind that Top Gear is an entertainment programme. We never reveal who or what The Stig is”. This casts doubt on whether this is the real “Stig” or not. According to other sources there is no one person who is the Stig, but up to six drivers who take it in turns. Reports in January named former racer Ben Collins as the Stig, while Perry McCarthy, a former F1 driver, was the original character. This probably was a publicity stunt since Top Gear has also been a victim of the Global Economic Crisis and has been subject of budget cuts at the BBC.