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Template:F1 driver Michael Schumacher (pronounced /] (help·info)/, (nicknamed Schumi / Schu in German) born January 3, 1969, in Hürth Hermülheim, near Cologne) is a German Formula One driver and seven-time Formula One world champion. According to the official Formula One web site, he is statistically the greatest driver the sport has ever seen., as well as being the most successful driver in the history of Formula One. Schumacher has been nicknamed the Red Baron, both because of his red Ferrari, and also referring to the great German fighter pilot Manfred Von Richthofen, who was similarily the most successful in his endeavors as a flying ace.

Schumacher currently holds nearly every record in Formula One, including those for most drivers' championships, race victories, fastest laps, pole positions, and most races won in a single season. 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).

Schumacher is the senior driver in the Formula One world championship, and he was for many years the president of the Grand Prix Drivers Association. He has also become a committed spokesman for road safety, most recently 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.

On September 10 2006, after winning the Italian Grand Prix, Schumacher announced his retirement as a driver. He will be replaced at Ferrari by Kimi Räikkönen for the 2007 season. At the end of 2006, Ferrari will define Schumacher's new position within the reorganised Ferrari team, following his retirement as a race driver. Bernie Ecclestone has said he doesn't believe Schumacher's decision is final and that he could decide to race next year.

Early years

In a sport that has often been thought of as a playground for only the ultra-rich, Schumacher's humble beginnings present a sharp contrast in the history of Formula One. He was the son of a bricklayer, who, as a second job, ran the local kart track in Kerpen. 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 Rolf. It was nothing more than a pedal-kart that had been fitted with a motorcycle engine. He quickly mastered the vehicle and won his first kart championship at the age of six. Schumacher's prodigious talents were noted at this point 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 persons who also saw the potential of their son.

From 1984 and on, 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. In 1991, he continued his ascent up the racing ladder, joining the Mercedes junior racing programme in the World Endurance Championship, winning races in Mexico City and at Autopolis, at the wheel of a Sauber-Mercedes C291. He also briefly competed in the Japanese Formula 3000 Championship and the German Touring Car Championship in the early 1990s.

Formula One debut

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 (incarcerated for spraying CS gas in a London taxi-driver's face). Schumacher was signed by Eddie Jordan after he was greatly impressed at a Silverstone test the previous week, and Schumacher 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 borrowed bicycle. Schumacher impressed the paddock by qualifying seventh in his first competition in an F1 vehicle, matching the team's season-best grid position, and out-qualifying his seasoned 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 impressive debut, he was quickly signed by Benetton-Ford for the next 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 Belgian Grand Prix with Benetton Ford. In 1992 he finished third ahead of three-time world champion, Ayrton Senna in the final standings.

1993 was a year of great expectations for Benetton and Schumacher. Schumacher won one race at the Portuguese Grand Prix, but was not able to challenge for the World Title as the Benetton machine was not fully competitive with the technically more advanced and powerful Williams of Hill and Prost nor the advanced "TAG" electronic package found in the McLaren of Senna, all of which were utilizing electronic suspension and traction control. The same electronics were banned the next year. The year was once again dominated by Williams and only Senna, in a less powerful McLaren, was able to challenge Alain Prost, who had at his disposal the strongest package in terms of engine, chassis, and electronics.

1994

Schumacher won his first World Championship 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. Schumacher's domination was a surprise to the other teams, some of which levelled allegations of cheating. They 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, however. Additionally, while Schumacher managed to claim 66 points in 7 races(70 possible points), his teammates only managed to make a single point in the very same amount of races. Flavio Briatore, who is currently the chief of Ferrari's biggest rivals, said that Benetton never used any illegal software, and the only thing Benetton was guilty of was being too successful for too young of a team.

After Senna's death, Damon Hill inherited the responsibility of fighting for the championship for the Williams team. Despite Hill having the superior car, he struggled to keep pace with Schumacher. Due to several mid-season controversial disqualifications and bans for Schumacher, however, he began to close the gap in the standings. In 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 Spa 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, allowing Hill to close the points gap even further.

Leading by a single point going into the final race in Australia, Schumacher clinched the title after colliding with Hill in a controversial incident, taking both drivers out (see below).

1995

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 F1 history.

During these two championship seasons, the Benetton was not the best car in the field; however, Schumacher's dominance of Formula One was such that he 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 .

Ferrari years

In 1996, Schumacher signed with Ferrari. In this bold and risky move, Schumacher was leaving his world champion team for one that, at the time, was considered largely inferior, both technologically and statistically. Ferrari had not won a single drivers championship since 1979, and were racing with a car that was called "a truck", "a pig", and "an accident waiting to happen" by recent Ferrari drivers. Even the poor performance of the Ferrari pit crews were considered the running joke and laughing stock of Formula One.

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. Whether Schumacher himself was primarily responsible for the reversal of fortune at the Ferrari team, or it was a more synergistic mix of Schumacher and the several other men he recruited into Ferrari, is a matter of speculative debate. The same members that Schumacher brought to Ferrari from Benetton, however, had no success in creating a competitive racing team prior to the hiring of Schumacher. After Schumacher left, having won two world titles for the team in back-to-back years, the Benetton team would win just a single race in the next five years. This win rate was not much different than Ferrari's record prior to hiring Schumacher, with just two wins in the previous five years.

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 races in Spain, Belgium and Italy, the first one in the wet. The worst moment of his season was arguably France, in which he qualified on pole position but suffered an engine failure on the formation lap.

In 1997, he again took the title fight down to the last race, narrowly leading the points for the Drivers' Championship title. Schumacher and Villeneuve collided after Villeneuve attempted to overtake Schumacher on a right turn. Schumacher ended up on the gravel and out of the race. (see below).

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 well into the last race. Schumacher had won six races that year, the most memorable of which was in Hungary, where he pitted three times and had to do a whole stint lapping the circuit at qualifying speed, more than a second faster than anyone else to catch up with the McLaren. He also set the record of being the only driver to win a race from the pit lane which he did 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. Some fans argue that it was not only bad luck that prevented Schumacher from winning the 1998 Drivers' Championship, but also because of Häkkinen's team mate, David Coulthard, whose collision with Schumacher in Belgium, while a lap behind Schumacher, caused the German to retire and lose vital Championship points. 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. This drew criticism, not least because Schumacher had been involved in several other controversial collisions in previous years. 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.

2000

In 2000 Schumacher won his third World Championship and more significantly, Ferrari's first since Jody Scheckter in 1979, after a hard-fought year-long battle with Mika Häkkinen. A few races into the 2000 season, Schumacher changed his helmet colours from a white base with a blue top and German flag, 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 Barichello, who had a similar white and blue helmet.

Schumacher won the first 3 races of the season, and 5 of the first 8. Midway through the year, he experienced a run of bad luck, which included being hit from behind at the first corner in two consecutive races. This allowed Häkkinen to overtake Schumacher in the championship standings, but a resounding win at the Italian Grand Prix brought him back on track.

The immense pressure of fighting for the world title showed, when at the post-race press conference at the end of the Italian Grand Prix, Schumacher broke into tears when asked about his feelings on equalling Ayrton Senna's record of 41 race wins. It also showed his enormous respect for the late Ayrton Senna as Schumacher had publicly stated before that Senna was one of his idols.

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 excellent 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.

2001

Schumacher took his fourth drivers' title in a season that lacked the championship drama that had defined the previous four seasons. David Coulthard, Ralf Schumacher (Michael's younger brother), 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.

2002

In a dominant year, Schumacher took his fifth Drivers' title (equalling the record set by Juan Manuel Fangio). Ferrari won 15 out of 17 races and Schumacher wrapped up 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

Schumacher broke Fangio's record by winning the Drivers' title for the sixth time in a closely contested season.

The biggest threats once again came from the McLaren Mercedes and BMW Williams F1 teams. His brother Ralf and Juan Pablo Montoya, became regular race contenders and scored some victories. Montoya and Raikkonen became title challengers, but Ferrari reacted from the Italian Grand Prix onwards and gained two more decisive wins. After Montoya was penalised in the US GP he was out of the title contention; leaving the title fight between Kimi Räikkönen and Schumacher. Räikkönen performed strongly and consistently all year, in an inferior car, benefitting from the newest points system and giving Schumacher a challenge all the way to the final round. Schumacher took his hotly contested sixth World Driving Title, barely clinching it at the final round in Suzuka, finishing a mere two points ahead of his rival, although Raikkonen had just a single victory to his credit compared to Schumacher's six.

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 under 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

The 2005 season was a struggle for Schumacher, as the Ferrari package was far from ideal, especially in the use of its Bridgestone tyres, which had been dominant in past years but were now of inferior quality. Ferrari, Bridgestone, fans, and commentators alike attributed this to the 2005 rule changes, which required tyres to last the distance of the whole race. Some believe the rule changes were entirely targeted to end the domination of Ferrari and Schumacher.

Less than half-way through the season, Schumacher admitted he didn't have the potential 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.

Ultimately and most importantly he finished third in the World Championship standings, barely ahead of McLaren's Juan Pablo Montoya. His points total included the 10 points from his only victory of the season, the United States Grand Prix, which was only contested by 6 cars due to Michelin tyre problems.

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).

2006

Schumacher started 2006 well, narrowly edging out new Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa to take pole position at the first grand prix in Bahrain. Doing so, he equaled Ayrton Senna's record of 65 pole positions that had stood for 12 years after Senna's death. He went on to finish second, behind the Renault of reigning drivers' champion Fernando Alonso, making it his first podium finish in seven races, the last being a second place at the 2005 Hungarian Grand Prix.

Ferrari's engine troubles resulted in an engine change for Schumacher before qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix, demoting him to 14th on the starting grid. He finished the race in 6th, just behind team-mate Felipe Massa. He qualified 11th in changing weather conditions at the Australian Grand Prix. Mid-way through the race, while chasing Jenson Button for 5th place, Schumacher ran wide on the exit of the final corner, hitting a large bump while trying to pull the car back to the circuit and launching the car into the wall, ending his race.

At the San Marino Grand Prix, Schumacher took his 66th pole position, breaking Senna's record of 65. In a reverse situation from last year, he held off an intense challenge from Fernando Alonso for more than 30 laps and two pit-stops, despite struggling with a "bad set" of tyres in the middle stages of the race, to win the race. Barring the boycott marred 2005 United States Grand Prix, this was his first win since the 2004 Japanese Grand Prix, 18 months earlier. With this win, Schumacher tied his own record with his 7th win at the same track, the other ones being Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal and Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours in Magny-Cours.

Schumacher's strong form continued at the European Grand Prix, where he beat Alonso in a closely contested battle, putting in a series of fast laps before his second pit-stop to emerge in front of Alonso. The Spanish Grand Prix, was rather different for Schumacher, as he finished second, some 18 seconds behind eventual home race winner Fernando Alonso. Schumacher has commented that this is a "blip".

In the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix, although Schumacher took pole position with Fernando Alonso 0.064 seconds behind him, there was uproar in the paddock after the end of qualifying, after he stopped his car at the Rascasse hairpin causing an obstruction for his rivals who were trying to set a faster time. Alonso failed to set a faster lap time than Schumacher's best. After interviewing Schumacher and Ferrari personnel, and reviewing evidence and data provided by the FIA and Ferrari, the race stewards stripped Schumacher of all of his qualifying times after deciding he had deliberately stopped his car to disadvantage his competitors. The stewards said Schumacher's actions breached Article 112 of the FIA sporting regulations and that therefore their ruling was final and would not be subject to appeal. Ferrari's director Jean Todt strongly disputed the decision, claiming that "with no real evidence, the stewards have assumed he is guilty.".

During the race itself, Schumacher persevered through the penalty and battled back from the 22nd spot, passing 5 cars on the opening laps, moving him to 17th. By lap 12 he aggressively passed Jenson Button into the Nouvelle chicane for 15th and made up several spots with the fastest laps during the crucial pit-window stages. He finished fifth after further retirements of cars in front of him.

At the British Grand Prix he salvaged second by passing Kimi Räikkönen after the second round of stops after being trapped behind the Finn for most of the race. The Canadian Grand Prix was much of the same for Schumacher as he was stuck behind Jarno Trulli at the start of the race. He passed Trulli at the final chicane before he made his first stop and snatched second from Kimi Räikkönen when the Finn ran wide at the hairpin with two laps to go. After qualifying on Pole position for the US Grand Prix, Schumacher was passed by team-mate Felipe Massa at the first corner but by lap 30 was back in front, going on to win the race. After his win, he is the only racing driver ever, in any racing class, to win five times on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

After winning the French GP on July 16th, 2006, Michael Schumacher became the only driver in history to win the same Grand Prix eight times. Schumacher then proceeded to win the German GP, a result that gave him a hat-trick of wins following those of France and America. With championship rival Fernando Alonso finishing the race 5th, Schumacher reduced the gap between the two to 11 points with 6 races remaining. Schumacher is now only three wins short of the combined total of wins of Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna.

The practice sessions of the Hungarian GP brought a lot of controversy. Fernando Alonso was penalised for two incidents in the second free practice, receiving a two second penalty in every qualifying round. Schumacher, who could have used the opportunity to reduce Alonso's lead further, also suffered a two second penalty for overtaking two cars, one of them being Alonso, during a red flag situation. Schumacher qualified in 11th position, while Alonso qualified 15th on the grid. This was the first time in its 20 year history that the Hungarian GP was rain soaked and set the stage for the most exciting race of the year. Schumacher and Alonso were extremely fast and aggressive from the start, pulling up to fifth and seventh after the opening lap. However, it was clear that the Bridgestone tyres were far inferior to the Michelin tyres in wet conditions, and Schumacher slowly drifted backwards to 8th place, and was lapped by Alonso until a safety car incident allowed him to regain the lap. As the track dried, Schumacher began setting the fastest laps of the race and began to regain positions from Michelin cars which were slower in dry conditions. He retired only 2 laps from home after colliding with Nick Heidfeld. This was failed chance to make up a huge deficit in the points, to points leader, Alonso, who had retired earlier with a broken drive-shaft whilst leading. He was classified 9th but was soon promoted to 8th following Robert Kubica's disqualification.

At the Turkish GP Ferrari looked very strong against the opposition and they even set the fastest time through Michael Schumacher in the third practice session in the Saturday morning. For the three 15 minute qualifying sessions Schumacher was the fastest for the first two sessions under a light fuel load. However, at the start of his hot laps in the third session Schumacher made a mistake by out braking himself down into the first corner. At the end of the final session Schumacher qualified second just behind his team mate Felipe Massa for Massa's first pole of the season and, more importantly he qualified in front of Fernando Alonso who qualified third without the controversial mass dampers in his Renault. At the start he nearly made contact with Fernando Alonso but managed to hold him off and was comfortably ahead of him until Liuzzi from Scuderia Toro Rosso had a spin off at the first corner and the safety car had to come out to assist the marshals as the car was on the racing line. This bunched up the pack again and because Felipe Massa was leading Schumacher had to come into the pits and wait 6 seconds for Massa to make his stop while Alonso was able to pit and leave. However, Schumacher was slower in the second phase of the race and could not maintain pace with Alonso. He started lapping more quickly in the latter stages of race and closed Alonso down but was unable to pass. Felipe Massa won by 6 seconds with Schumacher less than a tenth of a second behind Alonso in second.

Immediately after beating Kimi Räikkönen to win the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, on September 10, 2006, Schumacher announced that he would retire at the end of the 2006 season, ending the career of the most statistically successful driver in history. His seat at Ferrari will be taken over by current McLaren driver Kimi Räikkönen.

However, in the press release stating his retirement, it also mentioned that Schumacher would stay on as part of Ferrari. It did not state what his role might be.

In the Chinese GP, all initially seemed well for Ferrari and Schumacher, with Schumacher being the pre-race fastest in dry conditions. However, rain began to pour down on the track during qualifying, under which Michelin offered the superior tyres. Schumacher qualified in 6th, behind both Renaults and Hondas.

During the race the track slowly went from wet conditions to wet but drying conditions, slowly reducing the tyre advantage of the Michelin using teams. Alonso pulled out a 22 second lead early in the race while Schumacher fought through slower drivers as the track dried. After a wrong tyre selection at his first stop, Alonso began to lost 3s per lap and was easily passed by both Schumacher and Fisichella. Alonso later began to make up some time after changing to dry-weather tyres at the second stop, but he could not bridge the gap Schumacher had put between them. Schumacher won his 91st victory, his first in Shanghai, giving him the championship lead on account of having more victories.

The Japanese Grand Prix started off in the practice sessions as very wet before clearing off into sunny conditions for Saturday's Qualifying. These drying conditions suited the Bridgestone tryes excellently and it showed as the first 4 places on the grid were Bridgestone runners with the Ferrari of Massa and Schumacher on the front row, followed by the Toyotas of Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli, and then the Renaults of Alonso and G Fisichella sixth. The Ferraris started well with Massa leading Schumacher into the first corner. Alonso jumped Trulli and was fourth behind Ralf Schumacher, whom he eventually passed prior to the first pit stop. On the third lap Massa let Schumacher through to allow him the maximum chance of a win and of increasing his championship lead. After the first round of stops Alonso jumped Massa and was chasing Schumacher for the win. The gap, however, stabalised at 5.5 seconds and it appeared Schumacher would win with 16 laps remaining until his engine failed (the first such failure for 5 years), allowing Alonso to claim the victory. After the race Schumacher announced that the title was lost even though he can still win the championship in Brazil should he win and Alonso fail to score. In this event, he would have 92 race wins, the combined total of Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna, the second and third placed drivers in terms of race wins.

Complete Formula One results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

* Denotes present season standing.
** Schumacher was excluded due to dangerous driving in the European GP, causing an avoidable collision with Villeneuve.

Formula One records

As of the 2006 Japanese Grand Prix, 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) This record is shared with Ascari, who won the last 6 races of 1952 and the first one of 1953. The following race was the Indianapolis 500, in which he did not participate. Afterwards he won other two races, but since the Indy 500 was officially part of the F1 World Championship, his winning streak was already over.
• 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: 189
• Most laps leading: 4741 (with a total of 22,155 km in 131 Grands Prix)
• Most pole positions: 68
• Most starts from first row: 108
• Most fastest laps: 75
• Most doubles (pole position and race win): 40
• Most hat-trick (pole position, race win and fastest lap): 22
• Most championship points: 1,364
• Most consecutive race finished without retirement: 24 (from the 2001 Hungarian Grand Prix, until the 2003 Malaysian Grand Prix)
• 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)

1995:

• Youngest double World Champion: 26 years, 9 months and 19 days

The one major record Schumacher is set to miss out on is the record for most Grands Prix competed in. His final race will be his 250th so he will finish 6 short of Riccardo Patrese's record of 256. Other records he will not be able to break are the one for most pole positions in a season, that is held by Nigel Mansell (14), and for most consecutive pole positions, held by Ayrton Senna (8).

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 personally confirmed his retirement in a very emotional statement during the post-race press conference, which is posted below. 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.

Responses to Schumacher's retirement

Following the announcement of his retirement, many people in Formula One have responded to his decision and the impact it will have on Formula One.

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo:

"I always said that the decision to retire would be his alone but now that decision has been taken I feel a sense of sadness. We have lived through some unforgettable times together, some good and some bad, achieving results that will be hard to equal."

Ferrari team boss Jean Todt:

"Michael has been the author of a unique chapter in the history of Formula 1 and of Ferrari in particular. It has yet to reach its conclusion and what he has achieved extends over and above the results obtained. He is an exceptional man and will become a legend as a driver."

Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn:

"Everybody will miss Michael, whoever they are. It is a big event for everyone. I think someone of his ability, someone of his experience, and someone of his involvement will be very badly missed. But F1 goes on, Ferrari goes on."

Ferrari chief designer Rory Byrne, who designed all of Schumacher's championship winning cars:

"He will be missed as a friend and colleague and as the ultimate professional. It's the end of Michael's career in Formula One so in that sense, it is the end of an era. When you look at his record, that's going to be difficult to beat."

Formula One driver and brother Ralf Schumacher:

"I am sure he has thought long and hard about his decision and I respect it. I've enjoyed racing with him and I wish him all the best both for the championship and the future."

Three-times Formula One world champion Niki Lauda:

"If the best guy in the world retires it is certainly a sad day. You can say whatever you want, he won seven world championships and he might win another one. There is nobody like him in the world, he is unique. It's sad that he retires. But I know you have to retire one day and I respect that."

Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone:

"People have said to me that F1 is boring because he wins everything. So presumably when he's not here, people will be happy. But we'll miss him, because he is a superstar."

FIA president Max Mosley:

"Any top driver when he leaves will be missed. Michael's probably the furthest up the scale of anyone because he's got an unbeaten record. It won't damage F1 in any way but I think all of us who follow it will miss him clearly because he is an exceptional driver."

Formula One world champion and ex-rival Damon Hill:

"It's a brave decision to stop doing something he loves. We sort of know how he'll be remembered but over time his successes will mark an era when his dedication to winning gave the championship colour. I think he'll be doubly motivated to win the championship. He's certainly capable of winning races. I think it's hard to give that up. I think he's doing the right thing for himself.

"I'm looking forward to F1 without Michael and hoping that we will see some real competition again between drivers within teams as well as drivers against each other in other teams."

Formula One world champion and rival Fernando Alonso:

"I think we lose and we will miss a great champion on the track. He beat all the records so he has the best numbers in Formula One but I think maybe F1 will focus more on sport after that."

Former Ferrari Formula One driver Gerhard Berger:

"It is a pity for F1 to lose such a great champion, but the time to stop comes to everyone."

Former Formula One driver and two time Champ Car champion Alex Zanardi:

"He has everything to lose and nothing to gain, so it's very logical and sensible to retire while he's on top of his game, but knowing Michael, everything he has been able to do, I think he would still have the energy to continue."

Formula One driver David Coulthard:

"Winning at Monza was a fitting way to announce his departure. Irrespective of whether people are believers in Michael's race ethics or not, you have to recognise he's been a great champion and it's the end of an era."

Formula One driver Jarno Trulli:

"We will miss him a little bit as a driver. We will miss him a lot in the football matches."

Mercedes motorsport head Norbert Haug:

"For me it is sad to learn that he will retire. With his retirement, an era of Formula One racing ends."

Attributes

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Michael Schumacher" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Schumacher is noted for his ability to get the most out of his team and car, for his wet weather abilities, and for his ability to turn fast laps at key parts of the race (such as around pitstops).

Schumacher is also known for his ability to unite the team around him. This ability often leads to increased success for Schumacher and the team, but can also alienate his team mates. Johnny Herbert (his team mate at Benetton in 1995) in particular complained publicly about what he saw as favouritism for Schumacher from the team. Schumacher's supporters claim there is nothing wrong with the team being centred around Schumacher, as Schumacher has invariably been faster than his team mates and thus more capable of bringing success to the team.

On the track, Schumacher has a characteristic at-the-limit driving style. A documentary using telemetry more properly demonstrates this, as seen here.

Schumacher's wet weather abilities are legendary. One example of this talent was the 1996 Spanish Grand Prix, where Schumacher took his first victory for Ferrari in dominant fashion, despite the fact that his car was notably inferior to the Williams cars. At one point, Schumacher was pulling away by several seconds per lap in the torrential downpour. Another notable win was the 2001 Malaysian Grand Prix, where Schumacher took intermediate tires while everybody else took full wet tires after a monsoon hit half the track. Within a handful of laps Schumacher had charged from 11th place to the lead, eventually taking a dominant win.

Schumacher often uses his ability to produce fast laps at important times in a race to pass opponents during pit stops, an important talent in Formula 1, where overtaking is notoriously difficult. When Schumacher catches an opponent on the track, he will often wait behind him until the opponent has to make a pitstop to refuel. While the opponent is struggling to get up to speed in a car that is heavy with fuel, Schumacher will take advantage of the clear track in front of him and his car's lighter weight to turn a series of fast laps. Often these fast laps will create enough of a gap between Schumacher and the opponent so that Schumacher can make his own pitstop and come out in front of the opponent. Schumacher has used this tactic countless times, with the most famous example coming at the 2000 Japanese Grand Prix where Schumacher used the tactic to overtake Mika Häkkinen and clinch Ferrari's first World Drivers' Championship since 1979. Similar tactics used in a much different situation also brought him victory in the 1998 Hungarian Grand Prix, which Schumacher said at the time was one of his greatest victories.

Controversy

Schumacher has attracted not only accolades, but also controversy during his long career. Some of his rivals have accused him of being excessively ruthless and unsportsmanlike on the track. These accusations have rarely been supported by the FIA. Some believe the claims of Schumacher's "poor sportsmanship" are little more than sour grapes in a sport that has become increasingly competitive.

Championship-deciding collisions

Two of the most noted and controversial incidents in which Schumacher was involved were the 1994 Australian Grand Prix crash with Damon Hill and the 1997 European Grand Prix crash with Jacques Villeneuve. Both of these incidents decided the World Championship, and Schumacher's critics allege that both incidents were intentional attempts by Schumacher to crash his rival out of the race.

The 1994 Australian Grand Prix was the final round of the 1994 season, and Schumacher entered the race with a single point advantage over Damon Hill. Schumacher had been leading the race from the start, but he went off the track on a corner, bumping into a wall. Whether the car was damaged in the impact is unknown and still the subject of considerable debate. Schumacher managed to get his car back on track in front of Hill, but he had lost momentum. Hill took the opportunity to go for the overtaking manoeuvre and moved for the inside on the next corner. Schumacher turned in normally for the corner, Hill refused to back off, and the cars collided. Schumacher's car crashed into the outside wall, while Hill was forced to pull out due to suspension damage. The double-retirement meant that Schumacher won the 1994 World Championship. Schumacher's critics allege that, knowing his car was damaged, he intentionally drove his car into Hill's in order to take the Briton out of the race. Schumacher denies this allegation. The FIA apparently saw no foul play in Schumacher's actions, and no formal complaints were brought by Williams.

During the 1997 European Grand Prix Schumacher was leading the race, followed by Villeneuve. Similar to the 1994 incident, a win for either driver would guarantee him the World Championship. Villeneuve attempted to overtake Schumacher approaching a right-handed corner. As the French Canadian tried passing, their cars collided. Villeneuve managed to keep control of his car, but Schumacher's car bounced off Villeneuve's and into the gravel trap, where it became stuck. Villeneuve went on to finish third, behind Mika Häkkinen (his first F1 win) and David Coulthard, which was sufficient to win the World Championship. Schumacher denied any wrongdoing, and the race stewards ruled the collision a racing incident. However, the FIA overruled this decision and found Schumacher guilty of intentionally driving into Villeneuve's car. As punishment, Schumacher was excluded from the season's final points standings, but was allowed to keep his race results from the season. Schumacher admitted his mistake, but claimed that the move was an instinctive judgement error, not a premeditated act. FIA President Max Mosley accepted this, saying "although the actions were deliberate they were not premeditated." Schumacher's critics complained that the punishment was too light, as it included no fine or race ban. However, this was not the first incident of the sort in F1 history, and while Schumacher was judged to have been at fault, others have escaped punishment for similar situations. Ayrton Senna, for example, received essentially no punishment for deliberately crashing into Alain Prost at the 1990 Japanese Grand Prix to win the World Championship.

Sportsmanship

Schumacher's critics allege that Schumacher occasionally displays poor sportsmanship to gain an unfair advantage over his rivals.

In qualifying for the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix after setting the fastest lap Schumacher drove round slowly on the racing line almost causing a collision with Gerhard Berger who was still on a fast lap. Berger had to spin his car to avoid a collision. Schumacher said that he believed that the session had finished, so he was waving to the fans. He apologised to Berger. Berger was furious and referred the matter to the stewards. Nothing further came of the incident, however.

In 1998 season, Schumacher created controversy by winning the British GP in the pit lane. He was issued a 10s stop-and-go penalty for overtaking during the Safety Car laps. Knowing that a conventional in-stop-out penalty would lose him the race to championship contender Mika Häkkinen, the team delayed him going into the pit for the penalty the allowed number of laps (3) and only served the penalty after the end of the race, thus avoided the slow out lap from the pit that would have caused him to lose the race. However, because the stewards had incorrectly issued the penalty Schumacher escaped punishment as the stewards later rescinded the penalty. The penalty (for overtaking Alex Wurz under safety car on lap 43 of 60) should have been issued within 25 minutes but Ferrari were informed 6 minutes after the limit had expired. The handwritten notification was also unclear as to which penalty was actually being issued: a 10s stop/go, or 10 seconds added to Schumacher's race time (a penalty which could only be used to punish an infraction in the last 12 laps). As a result the three stewards involved handed in their licences at an extraordinary meeting of the FIA World Council.

In 2003 European Grand Prix, Schumacher was helped back to the track by marshals when he ended up high-sided on the kerb after a spin. Many fans falsely believed that this was illegal, as drivers may not receive outside assistance to get back on the track. However, an exception is made if a car is in a dangerous position, and the FIA judged that this was indeed the case. Schumacher's critics complained of a double-standard, which they believe, again falsely, was substantiated by the marshals' refusal to aid Fernando Alonso in the 2004 Italian Grand Prix when he was in a similar situation. However, the rules for this situation had changed as the exception in the 2003 rules had been removed in the 2004 version. Schumacher also received a push from the marshals in the 2005 Australian Grand Prix, although he retired anyway due to suspension damage after driving back to the pits. However, Nick Heidfeld, who was involved in the same incident, received no help from the marshals and had to retire. However, receiving a push from marshals when a car is in a dangerous situation is hardly a unique or even rare thing. A notable example, for instance, is Riccardo Patrese, who won the 1982 Monaco Grand Prix having received a push from the marshals after a spin on the penultimate lap.

In qualifying for the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix Schumacher set the fastest lap time. He then took the Rascasse corner wide, narrowly avoided contacting the wall, before his engine stalled. The subsequent yellow flag prevented other runners from completing their qualifying runs. His main championship opponent, Fernando Alonso was on a qualifying run at the time. The time sheets showed that both Alonso and Mark Webber were going to set a faster lap then him when he stopped. Three-time world champion Jackie Stewart accused Schumacher of leaving his car there on purpose to ensure his competitors could not better his lap time. As a result of an inquiry by stewards into the incident Schumacher was found guilty of stopping deliberately and stripped of all times set in the qualifying session. This forced him to start from back of the grid, whereas his arch-rival Fernando Alonso was promoted to pole position. Schumacher and Ferrari maintain that the incident was accidental. Even though Schumacher started at the back of the grid, he was able to move up 17 places to come out 5th helped by retirements in front of him.

Team orders

During Schumacher's dominance in the first half of the 2000s, he created much controversy around not only him but also his team Ferrari and race director Jean Todt, because of the way they were manipulating the race results by swapping finishing positions with Rubens Barrichello, the other Ferrari driver at the time.

The most infamous episode of usage of 'team orders' by Ferrari was at the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix where the team ordered Barrichello, who was leading the race, to move over for Schumacher to take the win. The move, embarrassing for F1 fans and media, was done after the very last corner of the last lap of the Austrian Grand Prix. This led to a public outcry by spectators in the grandstands; on the podium a visibly embarrassed and bewildered Schumacher ushered Barrichello onto the top step in an attempt to calm the irate crowd. It also led to trouble for bookmakers and betting agencies. The result was a ban on team orders and a $1 million fine for Ferrari for disrupting the podium ceremony ($500,000 to be paid immediately, with the remainder remitted subject to "good behaviour" during the next 12 months) . Nevertheless, team orders are at times practiced by many teams and, despite bans by the FIA, can be executed discreetly.

Team orders, whether tacit or overt, have been a major part of the general environment of Formula One for some time. Schumacher has not always been on the positive end of them. They proved vital for Schumacher's rivals, who used them repeatedly to prevent Schumacher from winning the world championships both in 1997 and in 1998. And in 1999, after Schumacher had broken his leg and had little chance of winning the championship himself, he had to play the second-fiddle, subservient role of feeding points and race wins to his teammate Eddie Irvine, in hopes he would win the championship.

In more recent years, however, Schumacher's success with Ferrari, moderation of his on-track tactics, and a more relaxed public persona have generally had an ameliorative effect on his image.

Awards

Michael Schumacher has 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.

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 Vufflens-le-Château, Switzerland, near Lake Geneva. Schumacher is very protective of his private life and takes every effort to keep his family out of the spotlight. Michael Schumacher's younger brother Ralf, six years his junior, is also an F1 driver.

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. In fact, 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.

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 1 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.

Special ambassador to UNESCO

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.

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 star David Beckham and retired player Zinedine Zidane.

Michael Schumacher himself 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.

Trivia

• In a poll of over 10,000 BBC readers and motorsport fans, Schumacher was voted the "Greatest Ever Grand Prix Driver", receiving 64% of the total votes; Ayrton Senna was second, with 26%; Juan Fangio was a distant third, at 4%. The poll was given in 2003, at which point Schumacher had won 6 of his current 7 World Championships.
• Contemporary sports star Tiger Woods considers Schumacher the greatest sportsman in the world.
• He has stated that of all his years racing, the opponent he respected most was Mika Hakkinen.
• He has never had a winless year in Formula One. (with the exception of his debut year 1991, when he attended only 6 races)
• In the 2005 Forbes celebrity 100, he was ranked at seventeenth.
• He is the first German racing driver to win the F1 world championship under the German flag.
• He does not much care for the celebrity spotlight, rather preferring a simple life.
• He has received several nicknames throughout with his career, including the "Red Baron", "Schuey" and "Schumi".
• Spa is Schumacher's favorite track. It was also the first Formula One track he competed on, as well the first he won. It is considered the most difficult and demanding track in the World Championship.
• Schumacher loves the outdoors, and his favorite color is green.
• He also loves animals, and adopted a stray dog he once found in Brazil.
• After retirement, he has been entertaining the notion of becoming a farmer.
• He still drives karts for entertainment.
• Deutsche Vermögensberatung paid him US$8 million over three years for wearing a four-inch (10 cm) advertisement on his post-race hat.
• Schumacher owns a new Dassault Falcon jet, a Dassault 2000EX registration HB-JEG.
• In Germany, he 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.
• In a recent FIA survey Michael Schumacher was voted the most popular driver with F1 fans.

References

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6. Official press release on Michael Schumacher's retirement
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10. "Formula1.com: 1994 British Grand Prix results" Retrieved May 5, 2006.
11. "Grandprix.com Official GP Encyclopedia: 1994 Belgian Grand Prix results". Retrieved May 13, 2006.
12. ^ Formula One Hall of Fame: Damon Hill
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34. "...but the stewards get the axe"
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55. "Formula One Hall of Fame: Mika Hakkinen
56. "The Celebrity 100"

See also

• Formula One
• Portal:Formula One
• Jordan Grand Prix
• Benetton Formula
• Scuderia Ferrari
• List of racing drivers
• List of Formula One World Drivers' Champions
• List of Formula One records
• Ralf Schumacher
• Famous Germans

External links

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

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