Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher (born 3 January 1969 in Hürth, near Cologne) is a former German Formula 1 driver, which means that he used to drive very fast race cars between 1991 and 2012. He is widely considered the greatest Formula 1(very fast cars) driver of all time. He has won seven world championship titles and has the second most Grand Prix victories in the world after Lewis Hamilton. This champion, nicknamed campionissimo by Italian fans of Ferrari, is considered one of the most popular German personalities 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.Michael Schumacher Comeback Review  the seasiders He was replaced by Lewis Hamilton for the 2013 season and retired from Formula One.

 Racing record 
 Career summary 
 Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position 1988 European Formula Ford 1600 Eufra Racing 4 1 1 0 3 50 2nd German Formula Ford 1600 7 3 0 0 5 124 6th Formula König Hoecker Sportwagenservice 10 9 1 1 10 192 1st 1989 German Formula Three WTS Racing 12 2 2 0 7 163 3rd European Formula Three Cup 1 0 0 0 0 N/A NC Macau Grand Prix 1 0 0 0 0 N/A NC 1990 World Sportscar Championship Team Sauber Mercedes 3 1 0 1 3 21 =5th German Formula Three WTS Racing 11 5 6 4 7 148 1st European Formula Three Cup 1 0 1 1 0 N/A NC Macau Grand Prix 1 1 0 0 0 N/A 1st 1991 Formula One Team 7UP Jordan 1 0 0 0 0 0 14th Camel Benetton Ford 5 0 0 0 0 4 World Sportscar Championship Team Sauber Mercedes 8 1 0 2 2 43 =9th Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft Zakspeed Mercedes 4 0 0 0 0 0 NC Japanese Formula 3000 Team Le Mans 1 0 0 0 1 6 12th 1992 Formula One Camel Benetton Ford 16 1 0 2 8 53 3rd 1993 Formula One Camel Benetton Ford 16 1 0 5 9 52 4th 1994 Formula One Mild Seven Benetton Ford 14 8 6 8 10 92 1st 1995 Formula One Mild Seven Benetton Renault 17 9 4 8 11 102 1st 1996 Formula One Scuderia Ferrari S.p.A. 16 3 4 2 8 59 3rd 1997 Formula One Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 17 5 3 3 8 78DSQ 1998 Formula One Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 16 6 3 6 11 86 2nd 1999 Formula One Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 10 2 3 5 6 44 5th 2000 Formula One Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 17 9 9 2 12 108 1st 2001 Formula One Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 17 9 11 3 14 123 1st 2002 Formula One Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 17 11 7 7 17 144 1st 2003 Formula One Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 16 6 5 5 9 93 1st 2004 Formula One Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 18 13 8 10 15 148 1st 2005 Formula One Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 19 1 1 3 5 62 3rd 2006 Formula One Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 18 7 4 7 12 121 2nd 2007 Formula One Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Test Driver 2008 Formula One Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Test Driver 2009 Formula One Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Test Driver 2010 Formula One Mercedes GP Petronas 19 0 0 0 0 72 9th 2011 Formula One Mercedes GP Petronas 11  0   0   0   0   32*     10th*  

 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)
 Year Constructor / Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Pts WDC 1991   Jordan-Ford   Team 7UP Jordan  USA BRA SMR MON CAN MEX FRA GBR GER HUN BELRet 4 14th   Benetton-Ford   Camel Benetton Ford  ITA5 POR6 ESP6 JPNRet AUSRet 1992   Benetton-Ford   Camel Benetton Ford  RSA4 MEX3 BRA3 ESP2 SMRRet MON4 CAN2 FRARet GBR4 GER3 HUNRet BEL1 ITA3 POR7 JPNRet AUS2 53 3rd 1993   Benetton-Ford   Camel Benetton Ford  RSARet BRA3 EURRet SMR2 ESP3 MONRet CAN2 FRA3 GBR2 GER2 HUNRet BEL2 ITARet POR1 JPNRet AUSRet 52 4th 1994   Benetton-Ford   Mild Seven Benetton Ford  BRA1 PAC1 SMR1 MON1 ESP2 CAN1 FRA1 VBRDSQ GERRet HUN1 BELDSQ ITA POR EUR1 JPN2 AUSRet 92 1st 1995   Benetton-Renault   Mild Seven Benetton Renault  BRA1 ARG3 SMRRet ESP1 MON1 CAN5 FRA1 GBRRet GER1 HUNRet BEL1 ITARet POR2 EUR1 PAC1 JPN1 AUSRet 102 1st 1996   Ferrari   Scuderia Ferrari  AUSRet BRA3 ARGRet EUR2 SMR2 MONRet ESP1 CANRet FRADNS GBRRet GER4 HUN9 BEL1 ITA1 POR3 JPN2 59 3rd 1997   Ferrari   Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro  AUS2 BRA5 ARGRet SMR2 MON1 ESP4 CAN1 FRA1 GBRRet GER2 HUN4 BEL1 ITA6 AUT6 LUXRet JPN1 EURRet78*DSQ 1998   Ferrari   Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro  AUSRet BRA3 ARG1 SMR2 ESP3 MON10 CAN1 FRA1 GBR1 AUT3 GER5 HUN1 BELRet ITA1 LUX2 JPNRet 86 2nd 1999   Ferrari   Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro  AUS8 BRA2 SMR1 MON1 ESP3 CANRet FRA5 GBRDNS AUTINJ GERINJ HUNINJ BELINJ ITAINJ EURINJ MAL2 JPN2 44 5th 2000   Ferrari   Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro  AUS1 BRA1 SMR1 GBR3 ESP5 EUR1 MONRet CAN1 FRARet AUTRet GERRet HUN2 BEL2 ITA1 USA1 JPN1 MAL1 108 1st 2001   Ferrari   Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro  AUS1 MAL1 BRA2 SMRRet ESP1 AUT2 MON1 CAN2 EUR1 FRA1 GBR2 GERRet HUN1 BEL1 ITA4 USA2 JPN1 123 1st 2002   Ferrari   Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro  AUS1 MAL3 BRA1 SMR1 ESP1 AUT1 MON2 CAN1 EUR2 GBR1 FRA1 GER1 HUN2 BEL1 ITA2 USA2 JPN1 144 1st 2003   Ferrari   Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro  AUS4 MAL6 BRARet SMR1 ESP1 AUT1 MON3 CAN1 EUR5 FRA3 GBR4 GER7 HUN8 ITA1 USA1 JPN8 93 1st 2004   Ferrari   Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro  AUS1 MAL1 BHR1 SMR1 ESP1 MONRet EUR1 CAN1 USA1 FRA1 GBR1 GER1 HUN1 BEL2 ITA2 CHN12 JPN1 BRA7 148 1st 2005   Ferrari   Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro  AUSRet MAL7 BHRRet SMR2 ESPRet MON7 EUR5 CAN2 USA1 FRA3 GBR6 GER5 HUN2 TURRet ITA10 BELRet BRA4 JPN7 CHNRet 62 3rd 2006   Ferrari   Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro  BHR2 MAL6 AUSRet SMR1 EUR1 ESP2 MON5 GBR2 CAN2 USA1 FRA1 GER1 HUN8 TUR3 ITA1 CHN1 JPNRet BRA4 121 2nd 2010   Mercedes   Mercedes GP Petronas F1 Team  BHR6 AUS10 MALRet CHN10 ESP4 MON12 TUR4 CAN11 EUR15 GBR9 GER9 HUN11 BEL7 ITA9 SIN13 JPN6 KOR4 BRA7 ABURet 72 9th 2011   Mercedes   Mercedes GP Petronas F1 Team  AUSRet MAL9 CHN8 TUR12 ESP6 MONRet CAN4 EUR17 GBR9 GER8 HUNRet BEL5 ITA5 SINRet JPN6 KORRet IND5 ABU7 BRA15 76 8th 2012   Mercedes   Mercedes GP Petronas F1 Team  AUSRet MAL10 CHNRet BHR10 ESPRet MONRet CANRet EUR3 GBR7 GER7 HUNRet BEL7 ITA6 SINRet JPN11 KOR13 IND22 ABU11 USA16 BRA7 49 13th

 Formula One records 
As of the end of the  Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher holds the following Formula One records:
 Record Number Championship titles 7 (, , , , , , ) Consecutive titles 5 (–) Race victories 91 Consecutive wins 7 (, Europe–Hungary) Wins with one team 72 (Ferrari) Wins at same GP 8 (France) Wins at different GPs 22 Longest Time between first and last wins 14 years, 1 month and 2 days Second places 43 Podiums (Top 3) 154 Consecutive podium finishes 19 ( US 2001– Japan 2002) Total races finished in the points 208  Consecutive points finishes 24 ( Hungary 2001– Malaysia 2003) Laps leading 4741 (22,155 km) Total pole positions 68 Front row starts 115 Fastest laps 76 Doubles (Pole and win) 40 Perfect Score (Pole, fastest lap and win) 22 Career Championship points 1,469  Most wins in a season for a runner-up 7 () Wins at Indianapolis (any racing class) 5 Wins at Monza (Formula One) 5 Most wins in a season 13 (72%) () Most fastest laps in a season 10 () Most podium positions in a season 17 (100%) () Championship won with most races left 6 () Largest championship-winning margin 67 () Consecutive years with a win 15 (–) Most races with 1 team 181 (Ferrari) Consecutive days as champion 1813 (from 8 October 2000 until 25 September 2005)
 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 ).All race and championship results (1991–2006) are taken from the Official Formula 1 Website. 1991 Season review onwards. www.formula1.com. Retrieved 23 May 2007

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

 Related pages 
 Formula 1
 Juan Manuel Fangio

 References 

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