Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher (born 3 January 1969 in Hürth-Hermülheim, Rhein-Erft-Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany) is a German Formula One racing driver who most recently drove for .
He has a record seven world titles (, , , , , , ), wins, fastest laps and podiums. Schumacher had for some time stood head and shoulders above other Formula One drivers during his career and is widely regarded as the greatest F1 driver of all time.
Schumacher made an immediate impact driving at the in at Spa for , and moved to the next race, eventually winning the title in 1994 controversially and the 1995 title with relative ease. He moved to in , and after four years without success (and even getting disqualified from the championship in ), Schumacher won five titles in a row to end Ferrari's 21-year driver's title drought in style, setting many records in the process, including most wins in a season and most points before the points system overhaul. After a difficult and nearly winning the title in , Schumacher retired from F1. After nearly returning in to cover for Felipe Massa, Schumacher returned to F1 in 2010 with Mercedes without much success, taking just one podium on his return at the 2012 European Grand Prix.
He was replaced at Mercedes in by Lewis Hamilton, and subsequently following this announcement, Schumacher opted to enter his second retirement from F1 at the end of the 2012 season.
On 29 December 2013, Schumacher suffered a serious head injury following a fall while skiing in the French Alps. Schumacher was skiing off-piste in the resort of Meribel, France, when he fell and hit his head on a rock. Having been airlifted to hospital in Grenoble, Schumacher was kept in a medically-induced coma until mid-June. He was moved home in September.
Michael Schumacher makes a cameo appearance in the movie Asterix at the Olympic Games, along with Jean Todt.Michael Schumacher, Jean Todt, and Scuderia Ferrari in "Astérix aux Jeux Olympiques" He also makes a guest appearance in the 2006 Disney Pixar film Cars as a Ferrari F430.
__TOC__
==Formula One Career==
===1991===
Michael Schumacher began his career in the relatively uncompetitive debutant Jordan car, replacing jailed Bertrand Gachot at the Belgian Grand Prix. Surprisingly, he qualified 7th, with only the , s, a and a in front. His clutch failed on the way up to Eau Rouge, but his qualifying caught the eye of Benetton, who brought him to their team for the rest of the year, replacing Roberto Moreno. Jordan protested this, but were unsuccessful. With Benetton, he scored four points in the remaining six races, with a best result of fifth at the Italian GP.
===1992===
He continued with Benetton for 1992, in a year dominated by the and their semi-automatic gearboxes and active suspension, but even so, he performed well, getting on the podium thrice and winning the 1992 Belgian Grand Prix. He finished third in the championship, with 53 points.
===1993===
Once again, the s were far ahead of he field, so Schumacher was hard-pressed to find a victory, but new car upgrades for Benetton gave the car some competitiveness. It still had engine problems, but Schumacher finished on the podium 9 times and won the 1993 Portuguese Grand Prix to give him 52 points and fourth in the WDC.
===1994-1995===
Schumacher won his first Drivers' Championship in 1994. The season, however, was marred by the death of Senna—witnessed by Schumacher, who was directly behind Senna—and the passing of Roland Ratzenbergerduring the San Marino Grand Prix, and by allegations that several teams, but most particularly Schumacher's Benetton team, broke the sport's technical regulations.
Schumacher won six of the first seven races and was leading the Spanish Grand Prix, before a gearbox failure left him stuck in fifth gear for most of the race. Schumacher still finished the race in second place. Following the San Marino Grand Prix, the Benetton, Ferrari and McLaren teams were investigated on suspicion of breaking the FIA-imposed ban on electronic aids. Benetton and McLaren initially refused to hand over their source code for investigation. When they did so, the FIA discovered hidden functionality in both teams' software, but no evidence that it had been used in a race. Both teams were fined $100,000 for their initial refusal to cooperate. However, the McLaren software, which was a gearbox program that allowed automatic shifts, was deemed legal. By contrast, the Benetton software was deemed to be a form of "launch control" that would have allowed Schumacher to make perfect starts, which was explicitly outlawed by the regulations. However, there was no evidence to suggest that this software was actually used.
At the British Grand Prix, Schumacher was penalised for overtaking Hill on the formation lap. He and Benetton then ignored the penalty and the subsequent black flag, which indicates that the driver must immediately return to the pits, for which he was disqualified and later given a two-race ban. Benetton blamed the incident on a communication error between the stewards and the team.Schumacher was also disqualified after winning the Belgian Grand Prix after his car was found to have illegal wear on its skidblock, a measure used after the accidents at Imola to limit downforce and hence cornering speed.Benetton protested that the skidblock had been damaged when Schumacher spun over a kerb, but the FIA rejected their appeal because of the pattern of wear and damage visible on the block.
These incidents helped Damon Hill close the points gap, and Schumacher led by a single point going into the final race in Australia. On lap 36, Schumacher hit the guardrail on the outside of the track while leading. Hill attempted to pass, but as Schumacher's car returned to the track there was a collision on the corner causing them both to retire. As a result, Schumacher won the Drivers' Championship, the first German to do so—Jochen Rindt was German but raced under the Austrian flag. The race stewards judged it as a racing accident and took no action against either driver but public opinion was divided over the incident and Schumacher was vilified in the British media. At the FIA conference after the race, Schumacher dedicated his title to Senna.
Schumacher driving for Benetton at the 1995 British Grand Prix
In 1995, Schumacher successfully defended his title with Benetton, which now had the same Renault engine as Williams; according to Motor Sportauthor Marcus Simmons, Benetton had the better team, while Williams had the superior car. Schumacher accumulated 33 more points than second-placed Hill. With teammate Johnny Herbert, he took Benetton to its first Constructors' Championship, breaking the dominance of McLaren and Williams, and became the youngest two-time World Champion in Formula One history. The season was marred by several collisions with Hill, in particular an overtaking manoeuvre by Hill took them both out of the British Grand Prix on lap 45, and again on lap 23 of the Italian Grand Prix. Schumacher won 9 of the 17 races, and finished on the podium 11 times. Only once did he qualify worse than fourth; at the Belgian Grand Prix, he qualified 16th, but nevertheless went on to win the race.
===1996===
===1997===
===1998===
===1999===
===2000-2004===
Schumacher won his third World Drivers' Championship in 2000, and his first with Ferrari, after a year-long battle with Häkkinen. Schumacher won the first three races of the season and five of the first eight. Midway through the year, Schumacher's chances suffered with three consecutive non-finishes, allowing Häkkinen to close the gap in the standings. Häkkinen then took another two victories, before Schumacher won at the Italian Grand Prix. At the post-race press conference, after equalling the number of wins (41) won by his idol Senna, Schumacher broke into tears. The championship fight would come down to the penultimate race of the season, the Japanese Grand Prix. Starting from pole position, Schumacher lost the lead to Häkkinen at the start. After his second pit-stop, however, Schumacher came out ahead of Häkkinen and went on to win the race and the Drivers' Championship. Although Schumacher won more than twice as many Grands Prix as Häkkinen, BBC Sport journalist Andrew Benson stated that "the challenge from Mika Hakkinen and McLaren-Mercedes was far stronger than the raw statistics suggest" and that the Adrian Newey-designed McLaren was "the fastest car in F1 for the third straight year". Benson also hailed Schumacher as "unquestionably the greatest driver of his era".
In 2001, Schumacher took his fourth Drivers' title. Four other drivers won races, but none sustained a season-long challenge for the championship. Schumacher scored a record-tying nine wins and clinched the World Championship with four races yet to run. He finished the championship with 123 points, 58 ahead of runner-up Coulthard. Season highlights included the Canadian Grand Prix, where Schumacher finished second to his brother Ralf, thus scoring the first-ever 1–2 finish by brothers in Formula One; and the Belgian Grand Prix, in which Schumacher scored his 52nd career win, breaking Alain Prost's record for most career wins.
In 2002, Schumacher retained his Drivers' Championship. There was some controversy, however, at the Austrian Grand Prix. His teammate, Rubens Barrichello, was leading, but in the final metres of the race, under team orders, slowed down to allow Schumacher to win the race. Although the switching of positions did not break any actual sporting or technical regulation, it angered fans and it was claimed that the team's actions showed a lack of sportsmanship and respect to the spectators. Many argued that Schumacher did not need to be "given" wins in only the sixth race of the season, particularly given that he had already won four of the previous five Grands Prix, and that Barrichello had dominated the race weekend up to that point. At the podium ceremony, Schumacher pushed Barrichello onto the top step, and for this disturbance, the Ferrari team incurred a US$1 million fine. At the United States Grand Prix later that year, Schumacher returned the favour by giving Barrichello the win by the second-closest margin in Formula One history of 0.011 seconds on the finishing line. Schumacher's explanation varied between it being him "returning the favour" for Austria, or trying to engineer a formation finish—a feat derided as near-impossible in a sport where timings are taken to within a thousandth of a second. After the end of the season, the FIA banned "team orders which interfere with the race result", but the ban was lifted for the 2011 season because the ruling was difficult to enforce. In winning the Drivers' Championship he equalled the record set by Juan Manuel Fangio of five World Championships. Ferrari won 15 out of 17 races, and Schumacher won the title with six races remaining in the season, which is still the earliest point in the season for a driver to be crowned World Champion. Schumacher broke his own record, shared with Nigel Mansell, of nine race wins in a season, by winning 11 times and finishing every race on the podium. He finished with 144 points, a record-breaking 67 points ahead of the runner-up, his teammate Barrichello. This pair finished nine of the 17 races in the first two places.
Schumacher at Indianapolis in 2004, where he won the 2004 United States Grand Prix
Schumacher broke Fangio's record of five World Drivers' Championships by winning the drivers' title for the sixth time in 2003, after a closely contested battle with his main rivals. Before the season started, the FIA introduced new regulations and a new points system to make the championship more open. The biggest competition came from the McLaren-Mercedes and Williams-BMW teams. In the first race, Schumacher ran off track, and in the following two, was involved in collisions. He fell 16 points behind McLaren's Kimi Räikkönen. Schumacher won the San Marino Grand Prix—despite the death of his mother Elisabeth just hours before the race—and the next two races, and closed within two points of Räikkönen. Aside from Schumacher's victory in Canada and Barrichello's victory in Britain, the mid-season was dominated by Williams drivers Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya, who each claimed two victories. After the Hungarian Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher led Montoya and Räikkönen by only one and two points, respectively. Ahead of the next race, the FIA announced changes to the way tyre widths were to be measured: this forced Michelin, supplier to Williams and McLaren among others, to rapidly redesign their tyres before the Italian Grand Prix.Schumacher, running on Bridgestone tyres, won the next two races. After Montoya was penalised in the United States Grand Prix, only Schumacher and Räikkönen remained in contention for the title. At the final round, the Japanese Grand Prix, Schumacher needed only one point whilst Räikkönen needed to win. By finishing the race in eighth place, Schumacher took one point and assured his sixth World Drivers' title, ending the season two points ahead of Räikkönen.
In 2004, Schumacher won a record 12 of the first 13 races of the season, only failing to finish in Monaco after an accident with Montoya during a safety car period. Schumacher clinched a record seventh Drivers' title at the Belgian Grand Prix. He finished the season with a record 148 points, 34 points ahead of the runner-up Barrichello, and set a new record of 13 race wins out of a possible 18, surpassing his previous best of 11 wins from the 2002 season.
===2005===
===2006===
===2010-2012===
Schumacher's first points of 2011 were scored in Malaysia where he finished ninth; he later came sixth in Spain and took fourth place at the Canadian Grand Prix, after running as high as second in a wet race. Despite starting last in Belgium, Schumacher finished fifth. The Japanese Grand Prix saw Schumacher lead three laps during the race, marking the first time he had led a race since 2006. In doing so, he became the oldest driver to lead a race since Jack Brabham in 1970. Schumacher finished the season in eighth place in the Drivers' Championship, with 76 points.
Schumacher qualified fastest at the 2012 Monaco Grand Prix.
Schumacher at the 2012 US Grand Prix
He was again partnered by Rosberg at Mercedes for the 2012 season.Schumacher retired from the season's inaugural Australian Grand Prix, and scored a point in the second round in Malaysia. In China, Schumacher started on the front row, but retired due to a loose wheel after a mechanic's error during a pit stop.After causing a collision with Bruno Senna in Spain, Schumacher received a five-place grid penalty for the Monaco Grand Prix. Schumacher was fastest in qualifying in Monaco but started sixth owing to his penalty.He later retired from seventh place in the race. At the European Grand Prix, Schumacher finished third, his only podium finish since his return to Formula One. At 43 years and 173 days, he became the oldest driver to achieve a podium since Jack Brabham's second-place finish at the 1970 British Grand Prix. In Germany, Schumacher set the fastest lap for the 77th time in his career, and in Belgium he became the second driver in history to race in 300 Grands Prix.
Schumacher's indecision over his future plans led to him being replaced by Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes for the 2013 season. In October 2012, Schumacher announced he would retire for a second time, stating: "There were times in the past few months in which I didn't want to deal with Formula One or prepare for the next Grand Prix." He concluded the season with a seventh-place finish at the Brazilian Grand Prix; Schumacher placed 13th in the 2012 Drivers' Championship.
==2013 Ski Accident==
On 29 December 2013, Michael Schumacher was on a ski trip with his family in the French Alps. While skiing on an unsecured off-piste area, he fell and hit his head on a rock. Despite wearing a helmet, Schumacher sustained serious head injuries. He was airlifted to Grenoble University Hospital and put into a medically induced coma. He remained in a coma through January and February. Near the end of January, doctors began to wake Schumacher from his coma. 
It was announced on 16 June that Schumacher had awoken from his coma, and had left hospital. Following this, on 9 September, Schumacher was moved back to his home in Switzerland.
==Formula One Statistical Overview==
===Formula One Record===
Year 	Entrant 	Team 	WDC Pts. 	WDC Pos. 	Report
 	Team 7Up Jordan 	 	4 	14th 	Report
 	Camel Benetton Ford 	 	4 	14th 	Report
 	Camel Benetton Ford 	 	53 	align="center" 	Report
 	Camel Benetton Ford 	 	52 	4th 	Report
 	Mild Seven Benetton Ford 	 	92 	align="center" 	Report
 	Mild Seven Benetton Renault 	 	102 	align="center" 	Report
 	Scuderia Ferrari 	 	59 	align="center" 	Report
 	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 	 	78 	align="center" † 	Report
 	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 	 	86 	align="center" 	Report
 	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 	 	44 	5th 	Report
 	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 	 	108 	align="center" 	Report
 	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 	 	123 	align="center" 	Report
 	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 	 	144 	align="center" 	Report
 	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 	 	93 	align="center" 	Report
 	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 	 	148 	align="center" 	Report
 	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 	 	62 	align="center" 	Report
 	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 	 	121 	align="center" 	Report
2007–2009: Test Driver	2007–2009: Test Driver 	2007–2009: Test Driver	2007–2009: Test Driver	2007–2009: Test Driver	2007–2009: Test Driver
 	Mercedes GP Petronas F1 Team 	 	72 	9th 	Report
 	Mercedes GP Petronas F1 Team 	 	76 	8th 	Report
 	Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team	 	49 	13th 	Report
*† Schumacher was disqualified from the 1997 season's standings after intentionally colliding with Jacques Villeneuve in an attempt to win the championship at the European Grand Prix at the Circuito Permanente de Jerez.
===Statistics===
===Wins===
No.	Race 	No.	Race 	No.	Race
1 	1992 Belgian Grand Prix 	32 	1998 Hungarian Grand Prix 	62 	2002 German Grand Prix
2 	1993 Portuguese Grand Prix	33 	1998 Italian Grand Prix 	63 	2002 Belgian Grand Prix
3 	1994 Brazilian Grand Prix 	34 	1999 San Marino Grand Prix 	64 	2002 Japanese Grand Prix
4 	1994 Pacific Grand Prix 	35 	1999 Monaco Grand Prix 	65 	2003 San Marino Grand Prix
5 	1994 San Marino Grand Prix	36 	2000 Australian Grand Prix 	66 	2003 Spanish Grand Prix
6 	1994 Monaco Grand Prix 	37 	2000 Brazilian Grand Prix 	67 	2003 Austrian Grand Prix
7 	1994 Canadian Grand Prix 	38 	2000 San Marino Grand Prix 	68 	2003 Canadian Grand Prix
8 	1994 French Grand Prix 	39 	2000 European Grand Prix 	69 	2003 Italian Grand Prix
9 	1994 Hungarian Grand Prix 	40 	2000 Canadian Grand Prix 	70 	2003 United States Grand Prix
10 	1994 European Grand Prix 	41 	2000 Italian Grand Prix 	71 	2004 Australian Grand Prix
11 	1995 Brazilian Grand Prix 	42 	2000 United States Grand Prix	72 	2004 Malaysian Grand Prix
12 	1995 Spanish Grand Prix 	43 	2000 Japanese Grand Prix 	73 	2004 Bahrain Grand Prix
13 	1995 Monaco Grand Prix 	44 	2000 Malaysian Grand Prix 	74 	2004 San Marino Grand Prix
14 	1995 French Grand Prix 	45 	2001 Australian Grand Prix 	75 	2004 Spanish Grand Prix
15 	1995 German Grand Prix 	46 	2001 Malaysian Grand Prix 	76 	2004 European Grand Prix
16 	1995 Belgian Grand Prix 	47 	2001 Spanish Grand Prix 	77 	2004 Canadian Grand Prix
17 	1995 European Grand Prix 	48 	2001 Monaco Grand Prix 	78 	2004 United States Grand Prix
18 	1995 Pacific Grand Prix 	49 	2001 European Grand Prix 	79 	2004 French Grand Prix
19 	1995 Japanese Grand Prix 	50 	2001 French Grand Prix 	80 	2004 British Grand Prix
20 	1996 Spanish Grand Prix 	51 	2001 Hungarian Grand Prix 	81 	2004 German Grand Prix
21 	1996 Belgian Grand Prix 	52 	2001 Belgian Grand Prix 	82 	2004 Hungarian Grand Prix
22 	1996 Italian Grand Prix 	53 	2001 Japanese Grand Prix 	83 	2004 Japanese Grand Prix
23 	1997 Monaco Grand Prix 	54 	2002 Australian Grand Prix 	84 	2005 United States Grand Prix
24 	1997 Canadian Grand Prix 	55 	2002 Brazilian Grand Prix 	85 	2006 San Marino Grand Prix
25 	1997 French Grand Prix 	56 	2002 San Marino Grand Prix 	86 	2006 European Grand Prix
26 	1997 Belgian Grand Prix 	57 	2002 Spanish Grand Prix 	87 	2006 United States Grand Prix
27 	1997 Japanese Grand Prix 	58 	2002 Austrian Grand Prix 	88 	2006 French Grand Prix
28 	1998 Argentine Grand Prix 	59 	2002 Canadian Grand Prix 	89 	2006 German Grand Prix
29 	1998 Canadian Grand Prix 	60 	2002 British Grand Prix 	90 	2006 Italian Grand Prix
30 	1998 French Grand Prix 	61 	2002 French Grand Prix 	91 	2006 Chinese Grand Prix
31 	1998 British Grand Prix 	 	 	 	
===Career Results===
|- style="background-color:Bisque"
!rowspan="2"|1997
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|rowspan="2"|78
|rowspan="2" style="background-color:black; color:white"|DSQ†
|- style="background-color:Bisque"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
! colspan=23| –: retired
* Did not finish, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race-winners' distance.
† Disqualified from second place in the championship after causing an avoidable collision at the .
==Notes==
==External links==
Sporting Positions 	Sporting Positions 	Sporting Positions
Formula One World Drivers' Champion	Formula One World Drivers' Champion	Formula One World Drivers' Champion
Preceded byAlain ProstMika Häkkinen	Michael Schumacher–, , , , 	Succeeded byDamon HillFernando Alonso
es:Michael Schumacher
Category:German Drivers
Category:1991 Début Drivers
Category:World Championship Winning Drivers
Category:Jordan Drivers
Category:Benetton Drivers
Category:Ferrari Drivers
Category:Mercedes Drivers
 
Category:1969 births
Category:Living people
Category:GPDA Chairmen
Category:GPDA Directors
Category:Retired Drivers