Michael Schumacher

Schumacher in the Paddock at the USGP in 2002

Michael Schumacher (born January 3, 1969) is a German Formula One (F1) driver. He is statistically the most successful F1 driver ever, with the most career victories, and a record seven world driver championships. His nicknames are the "red baron" and "Schumi". As of 2004, he earns an estimated US$80 million annually; this includes all of his endorsement deals. One notable deal is with the German investment firm Deutsche Vermögensberatung, which will pay him US$8 million over three years for him to wear a four-inch ad on his post-race hat.

Schumacher was born in Hürth (close to Cologne). He began racing karts at the age of four in a home-made kart built by his father, Rolf, who managed the local karting track. He obtained his first license, and began racing competitively, by age twelve. Between 1984 and 1987, Michael won numerous German and European kart championships. 1988 saw Schumacher race in the Formula Ford series, while the next two years he competed in the German Formula 3 series, winning the title in 1990. In 1991, he continued up the racing ladder, racing in the Formula 3000 championship in Japan. He also dabbled in the German Touring Car championship in the early 1990s before making his notable entry into F1.

He made his F1 debut in 1991 as a replacement driver for the imprisoned Bertrand Gachot (incarcerated for spraying CS gas into a London taxicab-driver's face). Eddie Jordan signed Michael for his Jordan team at the Belgian Grand Prix, where Michael astonished everyone by qualifying seventh, in his first competition in an F1 vehicle. He was quickly signed on by Benetton-Ford for his next race, and immediately showed great potential. The following year, 1992, he won his first F1 race (again at the Belgian Grand Prix), and he placed third that year in the driver championship. After another moderately successful season in 1993, Schumacher demonstrated his full potential by winning back-to-back driver championships in 1994 and 1995 while with Benetton.

In 1996, Michael signed a contract with Ferrari, which at the time was a highly risky move, given Ferrari's championship drought (the Italian-based giants had not won a title in well over a decade). After several rebuilding years, Schumacher helped Ferrari win the constructors title in 1999; however, his hope for another driver championship were dashed at that year's British Grand Prix, where he crashed heavily and broke his leg, causing him to miss six races. But Michael would re-claim personal glory once again in 2000, winning his third drivers title (and Ferrari's first since Jody Scheckter in 1979). During the next year (2001), while en route to his fourth drivers title, he broke Alain Prost's record for most grand prix wins. In a dominant 2002, he easily took his fifth drivers title (equalling the record set by Juan Manuel Fangio) due to his driving talent and the sheer dominance of his Ferrari machinery, which won 15 of the 17 races that season. In 2003, he broke Fangio's record by winning the drivers title for the sixth time in a closely-contested season (afterward making front-page headlines in the tabloid The Sun by trashing a hotel suite and madly piloting a forklift around the paddock). Schumacher started off the 2004 championship with typical domination, winning a record twelve of the first thirteen races of the season; he clinched the seventh drivers title of his unequalled F1 career where it all began for him: at the Belgian Grand Prix. He would finish the season with a record 148 points.

Schumacher at Indianapolis in 2004

Since the 1994 death of Ayrton Senna, Schumacher has been widely regarded as the fastest driver in F1 and the most dominant driver of his era. However, Schumacher's driving tactics have been called into question by some observers who note that, in his early racing years, Schumacher had a tendency to crash into his rivals in championship-deciding races. Some (but by no means all) observers considered his crashes to be deliberate attempts on Michael's behalf to take rivals out of a race, which (if true) would be not only bad sportsmanship but also incredibly dangerous, given the fragile, super-fast open-wheel race cars. The two most-cited examples are the 1994 Australian Grand Prix (where a crash with Damon Hill in the last race of the year ensured Schumacher's first drivers championship), and the 1997 European Grand Prix (where a collision with eventual champion Jacques Villeneuve led to Schumacher's disqualification for dangerous driving). Schumacher's car was also disqualified at some races due to technical infringements of race rules. In more recent years, however, his success with Ferrari, moderation of his on-track tactics, and a more relaxed public persona have rehabilitated Schumacher's image for most fans.

Schumacher married Corinna (nee Betsch) in August 1995; they have two children together, daughter Gina-Maria (b. 1997) and son Mick (b. 1999), and they currently reside in Vufflens-le-Château, Switzerland. Michael's younger brother Ralf, six years his junior, is also an F1 driver. Michael's off-track interests include playing football (soccer), playing tennis, swimming, and skiing.

Schumacher celebrates his win at the 2004 USGP

F1 career statistics

• World Champion: 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
• Grand prix starts: 213
• Pole positions: 63
• Fastest laps: 66
• Wins: 83
• Podiums: 137
• Points: 1,186
• First GP: Belgium 1991
• First podium: Mexican Grand Prix 1992
• First win: Belgium 1992
• First pole: Monaco 1994
• Car number: 1

F1 records

• Most championship titles: 7
• Most fastest laps: 66
• Most wins: 83
• Most wins in a season: 13
• Most podiums: 137
• Most podiums in a season: 17
• Most second places: 36
• Most championship points: 1,186
• Most points in a season: 148
• Most time between first and last wins (12 years, 1 month, 10 days)

Record to beat: Ayrton Senna's 65 pole positions (Schumacher currently has 63 poles).

Season by season results

• 1991 - 0 wins, 4 points, finished 13th
• 1992 - 1 win, 53 points, finished 3rd
• 1993 - 1 win, 42 points, finished 4th
• 1994 - 8 wins, 92 points, World Champion
• 1995 - 9 wins, 102 points, World Champion
• 1996 - 3 wins, 59 points, finished 3rd
• 1997 - 5 wins, 78 points, finished 2nd (disqualified)
• 1998 - 6 wins, 86 points, finished 2nd
• 1999 - 2 wins, 44 points, finished 5th
• 2000 - 9 wins, 108 points, World Champion
• 2001 - 9 wins, 123 points, World Champion
• 2002 - 11 wins, 144 points, World Champion
• 2003 - 6 wins, 93 points, World Champion
• 2004 - 13 wins, 148 points, World Champion

External link

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations by or about Michael Schumacher.

• Official Site (http://www.mschumacher.com/)

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