Michael Schumacher Biography

BIRTH: January 3, 1969, Germany

Michael Schumacher Biography : Formula 1 driver, The Famous People

Michael Schumacher is a famous retired German Formula One racer. Schumacher holds the record for the most Formula One (F1) Grand Prix race victories and Fi series championships.

Michael Schumacher was born on January 3, 1969, near Cologne, Germany to Rolf and Elisabeth Schumacher. Michael started to take an interest in racing at a very young age. When he was four, Michael’s father gave him a kart powered by an old lawn-mower engine. His interest in go-karting piqued, encouraged by his father who was a part of the management team of a go-kart track. Michael soon won his first kart championship.

Michael started his career at the age of twelve. He won his first German Junior Karting Championship in 1984. By the end of 1987, Michael had gained both European and German Karting Competition titles.

In 1988, the teen racer left karting and started driving Formula Three (F3) cars instead. His car racing career started when he won the Formula Koenig. In 1990, Michael graduated to the German Formula 3 league. He was placed in the Mercedes junior racing program and competed in the World Sports Prototype Championship as a part of this group. Under the guidance of Jochen Neerspasch and Jochen Mass, Michael learned much of what would later be known as his trademark smooth style.

Schumacher started his Formula One career in 1991. He made his debut at the Belgium Grand Prix with the Jordan team, finishing the race in the seventh position. After one race and a legal battle, Schumacher left Jordan for the Benetton team. With Benetton, Schumacher won his first race in Belgium and finished third overall in his very first year in F1. In 1993, he won the Portuguese Grand Prix and finished fourth overall in the championships.

In 1994, at the age of 25, Schumacher won the World Championship by only one point. After a controversial collision with Damon Hill in the final race, Schumacher was accused of cheating for the title.

In 1995, he won the Formula One championship legitimately. Just like the previous season, he won nine races. In 1996, Michael decided to join the Italian Ferrari team, which had not produced a champion in two decades. In his first season with Ferrari, Schumacher participated the 1996 World Championship.

In 2000, Schumacher became Ferrari’s first champion in 21 years. Schumacher dominated the Formula 1 scene by winning the title five years in a row. In 2001 he won nine races, and in 2002 eleven races. He broke Juan Fangio’s record for the most Fi titles held with a grand total of seven Fı titles to his name.

The year 2005 came with a major change in the world of racing. It was declared that during the races the drivers had to use the same set of tires for the entire race. Ferrari used Bridgestone tires that needed to be replaced often, but were safer. The teams who used Michelin tires won most of the races, since they didn’t require frequent replacements. Schumacher only won one competition that season, the United States Grand Prix, coming in third overall. He retired for four years after completing his 2006 Formula One season. Following his retirement, he worked with Ferrari as an assistant to the CEO and as an advisor to the team. At that point he had already broken the record for the most races won, bringing his total to 91 (the earlier record being 51, held by Alain Prost).

Schumacher made a comeback in F1 in 2010, only with the Mercedes team this time. His retirement had made him somewhat rusty, and during his three seasons with Mercedes he didn’t win a single race, never finishing on a rank higher than eighth in the overall Fi standings.

In 2012 Michael Schumacher announced his retirement once again. The first year into his retirement, Schumacher fell while skiing in France and sustained severe head injuries. He was in a coma for several months following the accident. Schumacher is still recovering from memory loss and paralysis.

Schumacher also worked for many charitable causes. He donated 1.5 million euros to UNESCO and funded the construction of Palace for the Poor in Peru supporting education and medical treatment for homeless children and development programs to decrease poverty.

Schumacher got married to Corinna Betsch in August 1995. The couple have a daughter and a son.