Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher (born 3 January 1969 in Hürth, near Cologne) is a German Formula 1 driver. He is widely considered the greatest Formula 1 driver of all time. He has won seven world championship titles and has the most Grand Prix victories in the world. This champion, nicknamed campionissimo by Italian fans of Ferrari, is considered the most popular German personality in the world. Michael's younger brother Ralf is also a Formula 1 driver. When he was small, his father gave him a little kart. It had a small motor bike engine in it. He started getting interest from that time.

Pre-F1 career 
In 1984 Michael won the German Kart Championship and went on to win many more. In 1987 he won the German and European Kart Championship. Schumacher signed up with Will Weber's Formula 3 race team and won the 1990 championship.

F1 career

Jordan (1991)

Debut 
He made his debut in the Belgian Grand Prix on 25 August. He impressed many fans as he qualified 7th on a track where he had never previously(before) driven with an inferior car. At the start he burnt the clutch and retired.

Benetton (1991-1995) 
He was quickly snapped up by Benetton and finished in 5th place at the Italian Grand Prix.
He followed it up with 6th in both Portugal and at the then new Circuit de Catalunya in Spain. He then crashed out in Japan and spun in the torrential rain at the season finale in Australia. In the 6 races he entered, he scored 4 points and 14th in the championship.

1992  
He started the season off well with 4th in South Africa followed by his maiden podium finish in 3rd at the Mexican Grand Prix. He followed it up with another 3rd place in Brazil and 2nd in Spain. In San Marino he crashed out, then came 4th in Monaco and 2nd in Canada. He spun off in the rain at the French Grand Prix and finished 4th in Britain and 3rd in Germany. He retired again in Hungary but at Spa Francorchamps, where he made his debut, he won a rain-affected race. He came 3rd in Italy, 7th in Portugal, retired in Japan and came 2nd in Australia. He finished the season in 3rd place overall (in front of Senna) with a total of 53 points.

1993 
Williams dominated the season with its active suspension, and Benetton quickly made a similar one to match Williams. Schumacher won the Portuguese Grand Prix, and finished 9 times on the podium. However, with 7 retirements, he failed to finish 3rd in the championship.

Comeback 2010-2012
In 2010 Schumacher returned to F1 with the Mercedes team. In total he spent 3 years with the team in which he scored 1 pole in Monaco (but he was stripped of it due to a penalty), 1 fastest lap, and 1 podium. He was replaced by Lewis Hamilton for the 2013 season and retired from Formula One.

Racing record

Career summary 

 Season in progress.
 Source: Hilton, Christopher (2006). Michael Schumacher: The Whole Story. Haynes. .

Complete Formula One results 
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Formula One records 
As of the end of the  Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher holds the following Formula One records:

 Record shared with Alberto Ascari ( Belgian Grand Prix– Argentine Grand Prix). Some sources credit Ascari with nine consecutive wins, disregarding the  Indianapolis 500 race, in which Ascari did not compete. The American race formed part of the world championship, but was not run to the same regulations as the other races and was very rarely attended by world championship drivers.

 Record shared with Alain Prost ( and ) and Kimi Räikkönen ().

 Record shared with Kimi Räikkönen ( and ).

2013 skiing accident
In December 2013, Schumacher sustained a head injury after a skiing accident in France.

References

Other websites 

1969 births
Living people
German Formula One drivers
Formula One current
Sportspeople from North Rhine-Westphalia