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Michael Schumacher

Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	German
Active years	1991 – 2006
Teams	Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari
Entries	250
Championships	7 (1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004)
Wins	91
Podiums	154
Pole positions	68
Fastest laps	76
First entry	1991 Belgian Grand Prix
First win	1992 Belgian Grand Prix
Last win	2006 Chinese Grand Prix
Last entry	2006 Brazilian Grand Prix

Michael Schumacher (pronounced /] (help·info)/, born January 3, 1969, in Hürth Hermülheim, near Cologne, Germany), nicknamed "Schumi" and "Schu", is a former Formula One driver, and seven-time world champion. According to the official Formula One web site, he is statistically the greatest driver the sport has ever seen,. He is the first German to win the F1 World championship and the world's first billionaire athlete, with an annual salary reported to be around $80 million in 2004.

Schumacher currently holds nearly every record in Formula One, including most drivers' championships, race victories, fastest laps, pole positions, and most races won in a single season. Schumacher was the senior driver of Formula One in 2006, and he was for many years the president of the Grand Prix Drivers Association. He has also become a spokesman for road safety in support of the Make Roads Safe campaign.

Schumacher is credited with popularising Formula One in Germany, where it had little following and was generally considered a fringe sport. The year Schumacher retired from Formula One, three of the top ten drivers were German, more than any other nationality and more than has ever been present in Formula One history. Younger German drivers, such as Sebastian Vettel, feel Schumacher was key in opening doors for them in Formula One. In a 2006 FIA survey Michael Schumacher was voted the most popular driver with F1 fans.

On September 10 2006, after winning the Italian Grand Prix, Schumacher announced his retirement as a driver. At the end of 2006, Ferrari will define Schumacher's new position within the reorganised Ferrari team.

Early years

Schumacher is the son of Rolf, a bricklayer who ran the local kart track in Kerpen for a second job. His mother worked in the canteen. He began kart racing at the age of four and a half, using a homemade kart built by his father. It was nothing more than a pedal-kart that had been fitted with a motorcycle engine. He quickly mastered the vehicle, winning his first kart championship at the age of six. Schumacher's prodigious talents were noted by his parents, but they did not have the financial means to support them. Instead, they had to rely upon the generosity and sponsorship of a few affluent people who also saw the potential of their son.

From 1984 Schumacher won numerous German and European kart championships, including the Formula Konig Series. By 1987 he was the German and European kart champion, at which point he withdrew from school and began working as a mechanic. In 1988 Schumacher raced in the Formula Ford series and competed in the German Formula 3 series for the next two years, winning the title in 1990. Towards the end of 1990 he joined the Mercedes junior racing programme in the World Sports-Prototype Championship, gaining a victory at the season finale at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in a Sauber-Mercedes C11 and finishing fifth in the drivers championship. He continued with the team into the 1991 season, winning again at the season finale, this time at Autopolis in Japan with a Sauber-Mercedes C291, finishing ninth in the drivers championship. He also briefly competed in the Japanese Formula 3000 Championship and the German Touring Car Championship in the early 1990s.

Formula One career

Schumacher has been noted throughout his career for his ability to produce fast laps at crucial moments in a race, his ability to push his car to the very limit, and for his driving abilities in wet conditions. Wet conditions are often thought of as the great equalizer in Formula One racing, where driver skills trump all else. Some of Schumacher's best performances occurred in such conditions, earning him the title "Regenkönig" (rain king) or "Regenmeister" (rain master). He is also referred to as the Red Baron, both because of his red Ferrari, and also in reference to the great German fighter pilot Manfred von Richthofen, the most successful flying ace of World War One.

Schumacher made his Formula One debut with the Jordan-Ford team at the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix as a replacement driver for the imprisoned Bertrand Gachot. Schumacher was signed by Eddie Jordan after the young German performed impressively at a Silverstone test the week before the race, and his manager Willie Weber assured Jordan that he had vast experience at the challenging Spa circuit, despite the fact that he had only been around the track once on a bicycle. Schumacher impressed the paddock by qualifying seventh in his first competition in an F1 car, matching the team's season-best grid position, and out-qualifying his team mate, Andrea de Cesaris, an 11-year veteran. He retired on the first lap of the race with clutch problems.

Benetton years

1991 − 1993

After his debut, he was signed by Benetton-Ford for the following race, and immediately showed great potential. This move angered Jordan who believed Benetton had "stolen" his driver from a binding contract.

Schumacher became known as an up-and-coming driver in F1 as he claimed his maiden victory in the 1992 Belgian Grand Prix at the challenging Spa-Francorchamps circuit, which would become his favourite track.. He finished third in 1992.

Benetton was not fully competitive in 1993, with the more advanced and powerful Williams of Hill and Prost or the advanced "TAG" electronic package found in the McLaren of Senna. In the early part of the season the team lacked the traction control used by other top teams. Schumacher won one race, the Portuguese Grand Prix, but was not able to challenge for the title.

1994 − 1995

Schumacher won in 1994 while driving for Benetton, in a controversial season marred by allegations of cheating and the deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger at the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola.

Schumacher started the season strongly, winning six of the first seven races. Some rival teams claimed Benetton had found a way to violate the FIA-imposed ban on electronic aids, including Traction Control and Launch Control. On investigation, the FIA discovered "start sequence" (launch control) software in the Benetton cars, and a variety of illegal software in rival teams' cars as well. FIA had no evidence the software was ever used, so teams found with the software received little to no punishment. No traction control software was found to be in the Benetton cars.

At the British Grand Prix, Schumacher was penalised for overtaking on the formation lap. He then ignored the penalty and the subsequent black flag during the race, for which he was disqualified and later given a two-race ban. Benetton blamed the fiasco 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. Benetton protested that the skidblock had been damaged when Schumacher spun over a kerb, but the FIA rejected their appeal. The missed races and disqualifications helped Schumacher's title rival Hill to close the points gap. Leading by a single point going into the final race in Australia, Schumacher clinched his his first World Championship after colliding with Hill in a controversial incident, taking out both drivers.

In 1995, Schumacher stayed with Benetton, which had switched to Renault engines. He successfully defended his title, accumulating 33 more points than second-placed Damon Hill, despite Hill having the superior vehicle. With team-mate Johnny Herbert, he took Benetton to its first Constructors' Championship. He became the youngest double world champion in Formula One history, until Fernando Alonso beat the record in 2006.

During these two championship seasons, the Benetton was not the best car in the field; Nonetheless Schumacher won 17 out of the 31 races and finished on the podium 21 times. Only once did he qualify worse than fourth, which was at the 1995 Belgian Grand Prix, where he qualified 16th, but went on to win the race. After Schumacher left, Benetton would only win one more race before it was bought by Renault in 2000.

Ferrari years

In 1996, Schumacher signed with Ferrari, at the time considered technologically and organisationally inferior to the front running teams. Ferrari had not won the drivers championship since 1979. Various Ferraris of the early 1990s had been labelled "a truck", "a pig", and "an accident waiting to happen" by their drivers. Even the poor performance of the Ferrari pit crews was considered a running joke. Schumacher is often credited along with Ross Brawn, Rory Byrne and Jean Todt with turning this once struggling team into the most successful team in Formula One history.

1996 − 1999

In his first year at Ferrari Schumacher finished third in the Drivers' Championship, behind the two Williams drivers, Jacques Villeneuve and Damon Hill. He won three races, more than the team's total tally for the period from 1991 to 1995. The team's reliability troubles continued - in France Schumacher qualified on pole position but suffered an engine failure on the formation lap.

In 1997, Schumacher again took the title fight down to the last race of the season. Schumacher was narrowly leading the points for the Drivers' Championship from Jacques Villeneuve. During the race Schumacher and Villeneuve collided after Villeneuve attempted to overtake Schumacher on a right turn. Schumacher ended up in the gravel and out of the race. He was deemed to have deliberately initiated this crash and as a result was disqualified from the drivers' championship for the season.

In 1998, there were tyre rule changes in Formula 1 which seemed to favour tyre manufacturer Bridgestone over rival manufacturer Goodyear. Early into the season, it was evident that McLaren, who chose to compete with Bridgestone tyres that year, had the better car. It was then left to Schumacher to challenge the McLaren domination and the fight for the title continued to the last race. Schumacher had won six races that year, the most memorable of which was in Hungary, where he pitted three times and did a section lapping at qualifying speed, more than a second faster than anyone else. Schumacher also set the record of being the only driver to win a race from the pit lane, in the British Grand Prix. Despite the inferiority of the Ferrari, Schumacher pushed hard all the way until the final race in Japan where, after having secured the pole position, he subsequently stalled his Ferrari on the starting grid and had to restart from the back of the grid. He eventually regained lost ground, only to retire some laps later due to a punctured tyre, thereby yielding the title to Mika Häkkinen. While lapping back markers at the Belgium Schumacher collided with Hakkinen's team mate David Coulthard. This incident caused a great deal of controversy with Schumacher storming into the McLaren garage after retiring and allegedly accusing Coulthard of trying to kill him. Coulthard has since admitted the collision was his fault and cited his inexperience, "I lifted to let him pass me, but I lifted in heavy spray on the racing line. You should never do that. I would never do that now."

After several rebuilding years, Schumacher's efforts helped Ferrari win the Constructors title in 1999. However, his hopes for another Drivers' Championship were dashed at that year's British Grand Prix, where he broke his leg. A rear brake failure caused him to exit the track on the first lap of the race while facing the high-speed, right-hand 'Stowe' corner, and he crashed heavily into a tyre barrier. This accident prevented Schumacher from competing in the next six races. After his return, he assumed the role of a second driver, yielding to his team mate, Eddie Irvine, in order to help his team win a Drivers' Championship title. However, they were once again beaten by Mika Häkkinen in the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. Schumacher would later say that of all his years of racing, Häkkinen was the opponent he respected the most.

2000 − 2002

In 2000 Schumacher won his third World Championship, Ferrari's first since Jody Scheckter in 1979, after a hard-fought year-long battle with Mika Häkkinen. Schumacher won the first three races of the season, and five of the first eight. Midway through the year, three consecutive non-finishes, included being hit from behind at the first corner in Austria and Germany, allowed Häkkinen to close the gap in the championship standings. Hakkinen took another two victories before Schumacher won at the Italian Grand Prix. At the post race press conference, Schumacher broke into tears when asked about his feelings on equalling his idol Ayrton Senna's record of 41 race wins. The championship fight went down to the penultimate race in Japan. Starting from pole position, Schumacher lost his lead to Häkkinen early in the race, but a combination of strong mid-race pace and rapid Ferrari pit-work ensured that he came out ahead of Häkkinen after his second pit-stop and went on to win the race and the Championship.

In 2001, Schumacher took his fourth drivers' title in a season that lacked the championship drama that had defined the previous four seasons. David Coulthard, Schumacher's younger brother Ralf, Mika Häkkinen, and rookie Juan Montoya all won races, but none was able to sustain 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. Season highlights included the Canadian Grand Prix, where Schumacher finished 2nd to his brother Ralf, thus scoring the first ever 1-2 finish with two brothers, and several on-track battles for the lead with Montoya. At the Belgian Grand Prix Schumacher scored his 52nd career win, thus breaking Alain Prost's record for most career wins.

In 2002, a dominant year, Schumacher used the Ferrari F2002, retaining his drivers' championship. In doing so he equalled the record set by Juan Manuel Fangio) of 5 world championships. Ferrari won 15 out of 17 races and Schumacher won the title with six races remaining in the season. Schumacher also broke Nigel Mansell's and his own record of 9 race wins for most victories in a season, scoring 11 and finishing every race on the podium. Again, just Williams' Ralf Schumacher and McLaren Mercedes' Coulthard could take something from Ferrari. Montoya remained someone to battle with, finishing third behind the two Ferraris.

2003 − 2004

Schumacher broke Fangio's record by winning the Drivers' title for the sixth time in 2003, a closely contested season. The biggest competion came once again from the McLaren and BMW Williams. In the first three races Ferrari achieved pole position in qualifying, however Schumacher was involved in collisions in all three races and fell 16 points behind Kimi Räikkönen. Schumacher won the San Marino Grand Prix, hours after his mother had passed away. Schumacher won the next two races to close within two points of Räikkönen. Following that, the hot European summer handed the advantage to the Michelin shod Williams and McLarens. Aside from a victory in Canada, and Barrichello's victory in Britain, the summer was dominated by the Williams of Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya who each claimed two victories. After the Hungarian GP Schumacher led Montoya and Räikkönen by only one and two points respectively. At the Italian Grand Prix the FIA changed tyre regulations which forced Michelin to redesign their tyres and gained Ferrari two more decisive wins. After Montoya was penalised in the US GP he was out of the title contention, leaving the title fight between Räikkönen and Schumacher. At the final round, the Japanese Grand Prix, Schumacher needed only a point from the final round whilst Räikkönen needed to win with Schumacher pointless. Despite a difficult race Schumacher won his sixth World Drivers' title, finishing two points ahead of Räikkönen.

In 2004, Schumacher won a record twelve of the first thirteen races of the season, only failing to finish in Monaco after a controversial accident with Juan Pablo Montoya during the safety car period. He clinched a record seventh drivers' title at the Belgian Grand Prix. Bridgestone had been the key as the tyre was superior to Michelin over the season. He would finish this season with a record 148 points, and a new record of 13 race wins out of 18 that season, surpassing the previous best of 11, which he had scored in the 2002 Formula One season.

2005 − 2006

The 2005 season was a struggle for Schumacher, as the Ferrari package was far from ideal, especially in the use of its Bridgestone tyres. The 2005 rule changes which required tyres to last the distance of the whole race particularly disadvantaged Bridgestone teams.According to the Associated Press, the rule changes were entirely targeted to ending the domination of Ferrari and Schumacher. His only first place finish would be at the United States Grand Prix, a race which was only contested by fellow Bridgestone tyre using teams due to saftey concerns of the dominant Michelin tyres.

Less than half-way through the season, Schumacher stated he didn't have the weapons to defend his title. In an interview he said, "It's hard to put up a fight when you don't have the same weapons." Despite this, Schumacher had some moments, most notably his fight with Fernando Alonso in the San Marino GP and a pole in Hungary.

There were many on-track problems for Schumacher, including collisions with Mark Webber (Turkish GP), Nick Heidfeld (Australian GP), Takuma Sato (Belgian GP) and Christijan Albers (Chinese GP). He would ultimately finish third in the World Championship standings.

At the start of the 2006 season Schumacher achieved a second place at Bahrain, a sixth at Malaysia but did not finish in Australia. Schumacher then won two Grands Prix, at San Marino and the European Grand Prix at Nürburgring. Barring the boycott marred 2005 United States Grand Prix, these were his first wins in 18 months. His pole position at San Marino was his 66th, breaking the previous record of Ayrton Senna. In Spain, Schumacher finished second behind his rival and 2005 world champion Fernando Alonso. Schumacher was involved in a controversy at the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix, during the qualifying sessions (see below). At the two following races, the British Grand Prix and the Canadian Grand Prix, Schumacher finished second, behind Alonso. Three wins would follow, at the US Grand Prix, the French GP and the German GP. After winning the French GP on July 16, he also became the only driver in history to win the same Grand Prix eight times. In Hungary, Schumacher did not finish the race but scored one point due to the later disqualification of Robert Kubica. Schumacher finished third, behind Alonso, at the Turkish Grand Prix. Schmacher won the Italian Grand Prix and the Chinese GP.

The Japanese Grand Prix saw Schumacher retiring after his first engine failure in 5 years with only 16 laps to go. Alonso, who was behind him, would go on to win the race and almost the Championship, by getting a 10 point advantage before the last race of the season. The only way Schumacher could win the championship was if he won the race and if Alonso didn't manage to score a single point. Schumacher himself conceded the title to Alonso after the race.

In the last race, the Brazilian Grand Prix, Schumacher finished fourth. Before the race he was awarded a trophy by football legend Pelé for his years of dedication to F1. During the qualifying session, he managed to get the best time of all drivers in the first two sessions. However, a fuel pressure problem prevented him from completing a single lap during the third part, forcing him to start tenth. Schumacher managed to push forward early to the 6th Position. However after overtaking Giancarlo Fisichella, teammate of Fernando Alonso, down the main straight on the first corner of lap 9, Schumacher experienced a puncture caused by the front wing of Fisichella's car. Schumacher pitted and consequently fell to the back of the field down in 19th place and 70 seconds off team mate and race leader Felipe Massa. However he managed to claw back into position and challenged Fisichella and Kimi Räikkönen and subsequently overtaking them both to secure 4th place and setting numerous fastest laps on the way.

Retirement

While Schumacher was still on the podium after his win at the 2006 Italian Grand Prix, Ferrari issued a press release stating that he would retire from racing at the end of the 2006 season. Schumacher confirmed his retirement in the post-race press conference. The press release also stated that Schumacher would continue working for Ferrari in some capacity after his official retirement as a racing driver, and full details of this will be made clear by the end of 2006. The team also announced that Kimi Räikkönen will replace him at Scuderia Ferrari. After announcing his decision to retire, leading F1 figures such as Niki Lauda and David Coulthard have hailed Schumacher as the greatest all-round racing driver in the history of Formula. Many others have responded to his decision and the impact it will have on Formula One. Bernie Ecclestone has said he did not believe Schumacher's decision was final and that he could decide to race next year.

Helmet

Schumacher arrived in Formula One using a helmet with a white base with a blue top and German flag on each side. A few races into the 2000 season, Schumacher changed his helmet colours to a red base with a red top and German flag. The design and pattern remained the same. This was to avoid confusion between himself and his new team-mate, Rubens Barrichello, who had a similar white and blue helmet. Until 2000, Schumacher always wore Bell until he switched to Schuberth, a company that he co-owned and helped to develop a lightweight carbon helmet, the first of it's kind. In 2004, one example was publicly tested for strength by allowing it to be driven over by a tank which survived intact, also the helmet became so light that the FIA disallowed it from competition as a result, the company had to build a slightly heavier example to fit in with the rules.

Awards

Michael Schumacher won the coveted Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award in 2002 and 2004 for his outstanding performance in the 2001 and 2003 seasons respectively. He joins a select group of sports personalities to win the award - golfer Tiger Woods, cyclist Lance Armstrong and tennis player Roger Federer. In its 7-year history, no other sportsman has been nominated more times than Schumacher, who also received nominations for the 2001, 2003 and 2005 awards.

Controversies and criticism

During his long career Schumacher has been involved in several incidents which caused considerable controversy. Some Formula One reporters and analysts have noted the media's, particularly the British media, attempts to villify Schumacher and diminish his accomplishments using such controversial incidents.

Championship deciding collisions

Going into the 1994 Australian Grand Prix, the final race of the 1994 season, Schumacher led Damon HIll by a single point in the drivers' championship. Schumacher led the race from the beginning, with Hill closely following him. On lap 20, Schumacher ran off the track, hitting a wall with his right side wheels. He returned to the track at reduced speed but still leading the race. At the next corner, Schumacher and Hill collided when Hill attempted a pass on the inside and Schumacher turned into the corner. Schumacher's car was tipped up onto two wheels and eliminated on the spot. Hill pitted immediately and retired from the race with unrepairable damage to the car's front left suspension wishbone. As neither driver scored, Schumacher took the title. The race stewards judged it a racing accident and took no action against either driver. Opinion of whom was to blame, if anyone, has been divided. The incident can be seen here from various camera angles, as well as comments from the drivers themselves.

At the 1997 European Grand Prix at Jerez, the last race of the season, Schumacher led Jacques Villeneuve by one point in the drivers' championship. Although Schumacher and Villeneuve had set the same time during qualifying, the Canadian driver started the race in pole position due to having set the time first. By the first corner of the race, Schumacher was ahead of Villeneuve. On lap 48, Villeneuve tried to overtake Schumacher at the Dry Sac Corner. Schumacher turned into Villeneuve, the right-front wheel of Schumacher's Ferrari hitting the left radiator pod of Villeneuve's Williams. Schumacher retired from the race immediately while Villeneuve was able to finish the race in the third place, taking four points and so becoming the World Champion.

Two weeks after the race, Schumacher was stripped of all his points for the season after a FIA disciplinary hearing disqualified him, finding that his "manoeuvre was an instinctive reaction and although deliberate not made with malice or premeditation. It was a serious error." Schumacher agreed with FIA's interpretation of events and said it was a mistake.

Other incidents

Two laps from the finish of the 1998 British Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher was leading the race when he was issued with a stop-and-go penalty for passing another driver under safety car period. The penalty involved go into the pit lane and stopping for 10 seconds before continuing the race. As it was given with less than 5 laps remaining, Schumacher could choose not serve the penalty and instead be penalised 25 seconds in his overall finish time. Just before finishing the race, Schumacher turned into the pit lane and passed the finish line to end his race. Only after passing the finish lane Schumacher served the stop-and-go penalty.

During Schumacher's time at Ferrari, the team often employed team orders to benefit one of their drivers over the other. Usually Schumacher benefitted as team leader, although in 1999 he played a supporting role to Eddie Irvine after missing part of the season with a broken leg. Historically, team orders had always been permitted in Formula One. At the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix, Schumacher's teammate, Rubens Barrichello, took pole and led the race from the start. In the final metres of the race, the Brazilian driver, under orders from Ferrari, slowed his car to make way for Schumacher to pass and win the race. This angered fans who were watching the race at the circuit and at the podium ceremony Schumacher pushed Barrichello onto the top step, for which the Ferrari team later incurred in a 1 million US dollars fine for disturbing the podium ceremony. Later in the season, Schumacher let Barrichello past in a similar fashion at the end of the 2002 United States Grand Prix, causing a similar outcry. The FIA, motor sport's worldwide governing body, banned team orders from Formula One at the end of the season.

Although Schumacher took the pole position during the qualifying for the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix, there was controversy near the end of the session as Schumacher stopped his car in the Rascasse corner of the circuit, near the end of it, partially blocking the circuit when his main contender for the season title, Fernando Alonso, was on his qualifying lap. Schumacher stated that he simply locked up the wheels going into the corner and the car then stalled while he attempted to reverse out. Alonso believes he would have been on pole if the incident had not happened. Schumacher was later stripped of pole position by the race stewards and started the race at the back of the grid.

Personal life

Schumacher married Corinna Betsch in August 1995. They have two children together, daughter Gina-Maria (b. 1997) and son Mick (b. 1999), and reside in Gland, Switzerland, near Lake Geneva. Schumacher is very protective of his private life and takes every effort to keep his family out of the spotlight. He does not care for the celebrity spotlight, rather preferring a simple life. Michael Schumacher's younger brother Ralf, six years his junior, is also an F1 driver.

In Germany, Schumacher is sometimes called "Schwiegermutters Liebling" (mother in law's favourite), because he is seen as a devoted family man and has never been involved in any personal scandals.

Schumacher's off-track interests include playing football (soccer) (actively in FC Echichens), watching films, karaoke, playing tennis, swimming, and skiing.

Charity

In 2005, Schumacher donated US$10 million to charity for the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake in a charity show on the German television network ZDF. It was later announced that a bodyguard for Schumacher, Burkhard Cramer, and his two sons had died while on holiday in Phuket, Thailand. His donation surpassed that of any other sportsperson, most sports leagues, many worldwide corporations and even some countries.

Combining his hobby of football with charity, Schumacher has participated in several friendly games together with other Formula One drivers to raise money for charity.

Schumacher is a special ambassador to UNESCO and has donated US$3 million to the organization. He has funded projects for the construction of a school in Senegal, a clinic in Sarajevo and a centre for street children in Peru. He has even taken the rare step of visiting Sarajevo to see how his funding has benefited child victims of war. For his contribution, he was named a UNESCO Champion For Sport by its Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura in 2002.

Road safety awareness

In 1997, the FIA tasked Schumacher to promote road safety as part of his punishment conditions for the incident in Jerez. Although initially short term, he is still an active advocate of road safety, and an iconic supporter of the FIA's initiatives to promote road safety around the world. Along with Max Mosley, he was a keynote speaker at the launch and official signing of the European Road Safety Charter in Dublin on 6 April 2004.

He also participated in the global launch of the FIA's Think Before You Drive campaign at the 2005 Spanish Grand Prix along with then Ferrari team-mate Rubens Barrichello.

In 2005 Schumacher agreed to join the high level Commission for Global Road Safety, headed by former NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, as the representative for Germany. The Commission’s report, Make Roads Safe, published in June 2006, argued for urgent international action to tackle the one million annual road deaths in developing countries around the world. Schumacher has subsequently supported the Make Roads Safe campaign, led by the FIA Foundation, which is calling on G8 countries and the UN to recognise global road deaths as a major global health issue on the scale of Malaria and TB.

Film cameos

In early March 2006, the Spanish press reported that Michael Schumacher will play a small role in the upcoming movie Asterix at the Olympic Games, together with football players David Beckham and Zinedine Zidane.

Michael Schumacher delivered a vocal performance in Disney-Pixar's animated feature film Cars. His character in the film, a trademark Rosso Corsa Ferrari F430 who comes to Luigi's Casa della Tires (which makes Luigi himself and his friend Guido faint from joy), was named after him.

Complete Formula One results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

* Schumacher only raced for Jordan in the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix
** Schumacher was excluded from the 1997 WDC due to dangerous driving in the European Grand Prix, where he caused an avoidable accident with Villeneuve.

Formula One records

As of the end of the 2006 Formula One Season, Michael Schumacher holds the following F1 records:

Career Records:

• Most championship titles: 7
• Most consecutive championship titles: 5
• Most race wins: 91
• Most consecutive race wins: 7 (in 2004 - European GP, Canadian GP, United States GP, French GP, British GP, German GP, Hungarian GP; record shared with Alberto Ascari)
• Most race wins with one team: 72 with Ferrari
• Most race wins at the same GP: 8 at the French Grand Prix (Magny-Cours)
• Most different GPs (by country) won: 20
• Most time between first and last race wins: 14 years, 1 month and 2 days
• Most second place finishes: 43
• Most podium finishes: 154
• Most consecutive podium finishes: 19 (from the 2001 United States Grand Prix, until the 2002 Japanese Grand Prix)
• Most points finishes: 190
• Most laps leading: 4741 (with a total of 22,155 kilometers (13,758 miles) in 131 Grands Prix)
• Most pole positions: 68
• Most starts from first row: 108
• Most fastest laps: 76
• Most doubles (pole position and race win): 40
• Most hat-trick (pole position, race win and fastest lap): 22
• Most championship points: 1,369
• Most consecutive race finished without retirement: 24 (from the 2001 Hungarian Grand Prix, until the 2003 Malaysian Grand Prix)
• Most championship points in a season for a vice-world champion: 121 (out of a maximum of 180)
• Most Wins in a season for a vice-world champion: 7 (ties Alain Prost and Kimi Räikkönen)
• Only racing driver ever, in any racing class, to win 5 times at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
• Only racing driver ever, in any racing class, to win 5 times at Autodromo Nazionale Monza

2004:

• Most race wins in a season: 13 (out of 18 races)
• Most fastest laps in a season: 10 (out of 18 races; tied by Räikkönen in 2005)
• Most championship points in a season: 148 (out of a maximum of 180)

2002:

• Most podium finishes in a season: 17 (out of 17 races)

The one major record Schumacher missed out on was the record for most Grands Prix competed in. His final race was his 250th so he finished 6 short of Riccardo Patrese's record of 256. Other records he did not break were the one for most pole positions in a season, as held by Nigel Mansell (14), and for most consecutive pole positions, held by Ayrton Senna (8).

However, the record for the highest winning strike rate, is held by Juan Manuel Fangio, with 24 wins from 51 starts (47.1%) to Schumacher's 36.4%.

He was the youngest double World Champion when he won the championship in 1995 aged 26 years, 9 months and 19 days, but this record was beaten by Fernando Alonso in 2006, when he won his 2nd championship aged 25 years, 3 months and 24 days.

With the exception of his debut year, 1991 where he only participated in 6 races, Schumacher never had a winless year in Formula One.

Trivia

• In the 2005 Forbes celebrity 100, he was ranked at seventeenth.
• Deutsche Vermögensberatung paid him 8 million US dollars over three years from 1999 for wearing a 10 centimeters by 8 advertisement on his post-race cap. The deal was extended until 2010.

References and notes

1. ^ "Hall of Fame - World Champions: Michael Schumacher". www.formula1.com. 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-05.
2. "Alonso ahead of Schumi". www.news24.com. 2006-10-21. Retrieved 2006-10-22.
3. "Schu brought down to earth". www.itv-f1.com. 2006-10-11. Retrieved 2006-10-14.
4. "Michael Schumacher - the end of an era". www.formula1.com. 2006-09-10. Retrieved 2006-10-24.
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External links

• Michael Schumacher's official website
• Formula1.com Profile
• Career statistics
• Michael Schumacher Profile and Statistics on F1db
• Michael´s exlusive parfum collections
• Farewell to Michael Schumacher
• Michael Schumacher career statistics

Template:Persondata

• German Formula One drivers
• Ferrari Formula One drivers
• Formula Three drivers
• Natives of North Rhine-Westphalia
• 1969 births
• Living people