154 Facts About Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher is a German former racing driver who competed in Formula One for Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes.

Michael Schumacher won his first and second drivers' titles consecutively in 1994 and 1995.

Michael Schumacher was noted for pushing his car to the very limit for sustained periods during races, a pioneering fitness regimen and ability to galvanise teams around him.

Over his career, Michael Schumacher was involved in several controversial racing incidents.

An ambassador for UNESCO, Michael Schumacher has been involved in humanitarian projects and has donated tens of millions of dollars to charity.

In December 2013, Michael Schumacher suffered a severe brain injury in a skiing accident.

Michael Schumacher was placed in a medically induced coma until June 2014.

Michael Schumacher left the hospital in Grenoble for further rehabilitation at the Lausanne University Hospital, before being relocated to his home to receive medical treatment and rehabilitation privately in September 2014.

When Michael Schumacher was four, his father modified his pedal kart by adding a small motorcycle engine.

Michael Schumacher's father built him a kart from discarded parts and, at the age of six, Schumacher won his first club championship.

Nevertheless, when Michael Schumacher needed a new engine costing 800 DM, his parents were unable to afford it; he was able to continue racing with support from local businessmen.

Michael Schumacher joined Eurokart dealer Adolf Neubert in 1985 and by 1987, he was the German and European kart champion, then he quit school and began working as a mechanic.

In 1989, Michael Schumacher signed with Willi Weber's WTS Formula Three team.

Michael Schumacher won the 1990 Macau Grand Prix under controversial circumstances.

Michael Schumacher placed second behind Mika Hakkinen in the first heat, three seconds behind.

At the start of the second heat, he overtook Hakkinen, who only had to finish within three seconds of Michael Schumacher to clinch the overall win.

However, Weber advised Michael Schumacher that being exposed to professional press conferences and driving powerful cars in long-distance races would help his career.

Michael Schumacher competed at Le Mans during that season, finishing fifth in a car shared with Wendlinger and Fritz Kreutzpointner.

Michael Schumacher eventually caught up with Schumacher, and it took intervention from several mechanics and Schumacher's teammate Jochen Mass to prevent Warwick physically assaulting Schumacher.

Michael Schumacher has shaped a generation like no other, he is iconic.

Michael Schumacher was noted throughout his career for his ability to produce fast laps at crucial moments in a race and to push his car to the very limit for sustained periods.

Michael Schumacher was noted for his pioneering fitness regimen and ability to galvanise teams around him.

Michael Schumacher is known as "the Red Baron", because of his red Ferrari and in reference to the German Manfred von Richthofen, the famous flying ace of the First World War.

Michael Schumacher is often credited with popularising Formula One in Germany, where it was formerly considered a fringe sport.

When Michael Schumacher retired in 2006, three of the top ten drivers in that year's Drivers' standings were German, more than any other nationality.

Younger German drivers, such as Sebastian Vettel, felt Michael Schumacher was key in their becoming Formula One drivers.

In 2020, Michael Schumacher was voted the most influential person in Formula One history.

Michael Schumacher made his Formula One debut with the Irish Jordan-Ford team at the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix, driving car number 32 as a replacement for the imprisoned Bertrand Gachot.

The week before the race, Michael Schumacher impressed Jordan designer Gary Anderson and team manager Trevor Foster during a test drive at Silverstone.

Michael Schumacher then learned the track on his own, by cycling around the track on a fold-up bike he brought with him.

Michael Schumacher retired on the first lap of the race with clutch problems.

Jordan applied for an injunction in the British courts to prevent Michael Schumacher driving for Benetton, but lost the case as they had not yet signed a final contract.

Michael Schumacher finished the 1991 season with four points out of six races.

Michael Schumacher went on to take his first victory at the Belgian Grand Prix, in a wet race at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, which by 2003 he would call "far and away my favourite track".

Michael Schumacher finished third in the Drivers' Championship in 1992 with 53 points, three points behind runner-up Patrese and three in front of Ayrton Senna.

Michael Schumacher won one race, the Portuguese Grand Prix where he beat Prost, and had nine podium finishes, but retired in seven of the other 16 races.

Michael Schumacher finished the season in fourth, with 52 points.

Michael Schumacher won six of the first seven races and was leading the Spanish Grand Prix, before a gearbox failure left him stuck in fifth gear for most of the race.

At the British Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher was penalised for overtaking Hill on the formation lap.

Michael Schumacher was disqualified after winning the Belgian Grand Prix after his car was found to have illegal wear on its skidblock, a measure used after the accidents at Imola to limit downforce and hence cornering speed.

Benetton protested that the skidblock had been damaged when Michael Schumacher spun over a kerb, but the FIA rejected their appeal because of the pattern of wear and damage visible on the block.

On lap 36, Michael Schumacher hit the guardrail on the outside of the track while leading.

Hill attempted to pass, but as Michael Schumacher's car returned to the track there was a collision on the corner causing them both to retire.

The race stewards judged it as a racing accident and took no action against either driver but public opinion was divided over the incident and Michael Schumacher was vilified in the British media.

At the FIA conference after the race, Michael Schumacher dedicated his title to Senna.

In 1995, Michael Schumacher successfully defended his title with Benetton, which now had the same Renault engine as Williams; according to Motor Sport author Marcus Simmons, Benetton had the better team, while Williams had the superior car.

Michael Schumacher won 9 of the 17 races, and finished on the podium 11 times.

In 1996, Michael Schumacher joined Ferrari, a team that had last won the Drivers' Championship in 1979 and the Constructors' Championship in 1983, for a salary of $60 million over two years.

Michael Schumacher left Benetton a year before his contract with them expired; he later cited the team's damaging actions in 1994 as his reason for opting out of his deal.

Michael Schumacher finished third in the Drivers' Championship in 1996 and helped Ferrari to second place in the Constructors' Championship ahead of his old team Benetton.

At the French Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher took pole position, but suffered engine failure on the formation lap.

Michael Schumacher won three races more than the team's total tally for the period from 1991 to 1995.

Michael Schumacher took his first win for Ferrari at the Spanish Grand Prix, where he lapped the entire field up to third place in the wet.

At the Belgian Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher used well-timed pit-stops to fend off Williams' Jacques Villeneuve.

Michael Schumacher took first place at Monza to win in front of the tifosi.

Towards the end of the race, Michael Schumacher's Ferrari developed a coolant leak and loss of performance indicating he might not finish the race.

Michael Schumacher's actions were widely condemned in British, German, and Italian newspapers.

Michael Schumacher then won in Argentina and, with the Ferrari improving significantly in the second half of the season, Michael Schumacher took six victories and had five other podium finishes.

At the Belgian Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher was leading the race by 40 seconds in heavy spray, but collided with David Coulthard's McLaren when the Scot, a lap down, slowed on the racing line in very poor visibility to let Michael Schumacher past.

Michael Schumacher's Ferrari lost a wheel but could return to the pits, although he was forced to retire.

Michael Schumacher leaped out of his car and headed to McLaren's garage in an infuriated manner and accused Coulthard of "trying to kill him".

In 1999, Michael Schumacher's efforts helped Ferrari win the Constructors' title.

Michael Schumacher lost his chance to win the Drivers' Championship at the British Grand Prix at the high-speed Stowe Corner; his car's rear brake failed, sending him off the track into the barriers and resulting in a broken leg.

Michael Schumacher then assumed the role of second driver, assisting teammate Irvine's bid to win the Drivers' Championship for Ferrari.

Michael Schumacher later said that Hakkinen was the opponent he respected the most.

Michael Schumacher won his third World Drivers' Championship in 2000, and his first with Ferrari, after a year-long battle with Hakkinen.

Michael Schumacher won the first three races of the season and five of the first eight.

Midway through the year, Michael Schumacher's chances suffered with three consecutive non-finishes, allowing Hakkinen to close the gap in the standings.

Hakkinen then took another two victories, before Michael Schumacher won at the Italian Grand Prix.

At the post-race press conference, after equalling the number of wins won by his idol Senna, Michael Schumacher broke into tears.

Michael Schumacher scored a record-tying nine wins and clinched the World Championship with four races yet to run.

Michael Schumacher finished the championship with 123 points, 58 ahead of runner-up Coulthard.

Many argued that Michael Schumacher did not need to be "given" wins in only the sixth race of the season, particularly given that he had already won four of the previous five Grands Prix, and that Barrichello had dominated the race weekend up to that point.

At the podium ceremony, Michael Schumacher pushed Barrichello onto the top step, and for this disturbance, the Ferrari team incurred a US$1 million fine.

At the United States Grand Prix later that year, Michael Schumacher returned the favour by giving Barrichello the win by the second-closest margin in Formula One history of 0.011 seconds on the finishing line.

Ferrari won 15 out of 17 races, and Michael Schumacher won the title with six races remaining in the season, which is still the earliest point in the season for a driver to be crowned World Champion.

Michael Schumacher broke his own record, shared with Nigel Mansell, of nine race wins in a season, by winning 11 times and finishing every race on the podium.

Michael Schumacher finished with 144 points, a record-breaking 67 points ahead of the runner-up, his teammate Barrichello.

Michael Schumacher broke Fangio's record of five World Drivers' Championships by winning the drivers' title for the sixth time in 2003, after a closely contested battle with his main rivals.

Michael Schumacher, running on Bridgestone tyres, won the next two races.

At the final round, the Japanese Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher needed only one point whilst Raikkonen needed to win.

In 2004, Michael Schumacher won a record 12 of the first 13 races of the season, only failing to finish in Monaco after an accident with Montoya during a safety car period.

Michael Schumacher clinched a record seventh Drivers' title at the Belgian Grand Prix.

Michael Schumacher finished the season with a record 148 points, 34 points ahead of the runner-up Barrichello, and set a new record of 13 race wins out of a possible 18, surpassing his previous best of 11 wins from the 2002 season.

The most notable moment of the early season for Michael Schumacher was his battle with Renault's Fernando Alonso in San Marino, where he started 13th and finished only 0.2 seconds behind Alonso.

Michael Schumacher retired in 6 of the 19 races, and finished the season in third with 62 points, fewer than half the points of World Champion Alonso.

Michael Schumacher won the following two races; his pole position at San Marino was his 66th, breaking Ayrton Senna's 12-year-old record.

Michael Schumacher was stripped of pole position at the Monaco Grand Prix and started the race at the back of the grid, as he stopped his car and blocked part of the circuit while Alonso was on his qualifying lap; he still managed to work his way up to fifth place on the notoriously cramped Monaco circuit.

Michael Schumacher led the Japanese Grand Prix; with only 16 laps to go, his car suffered an engine failure for the first time since the 2000 French Grand Prix, handing Alonso the victory.

Early in the race, Michael Schumacher moved up to sixth place but suffered a puncture caused by the front wing of Giancarlo Fisichella's Renault.

Michael Schumacher fell to 19th place, 70 seconds behind teammate and race leader Felipe Massa.

Michael Schumacher recovered and overtook both Fisichella and Raikkonen to secure fourth place.

Michael Schumacher helped Ferrari with their development programme at the Jerez circuit.

Michael Schumacher focused on testing electronics and tyres for the 2008 Formula One season.

Michael Schumacher tested a modified Ferrari F2007 to prepare himself as he had been unable to test the 2009 car due to testing restrictions.

In December 2009, Michael Schumacher announced his return to Formula One for the 2010 season alongside fellow German driver Nico Rosberg in the new Mercedes GP team.

Michael Schumacher stated that his preparations to replace the injured Massa had initiated a renewed interest in Formula One, which, combined with the opportunity to fulfil a long-held ambition to drive for Mercedes and to be working again with team principal Ross Brawn, led Michael Schumacher to accept the offer once he was passed fit.

Michael Schumacher turned 41 in 2010 and his prospects with Mercedes were compared with Juan Manuel Fangio, Formula One's oldest champion who was 46 when he won his fifth title.

Michael Schumacher finished sixth in the first race of the season at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Michael Schumacher finished behind teammate Rosberg in each of the first four qualifying sessions and races; former driver Stirling Moss suggested that Schumacher might be "past it".

At the Monaco Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher finished sixth after passing Ferrari's Fernando Alonso on the final corner before the finish line when the safety car returned to the pits.

At the European Grand Prix in Valencia, Michael Schumacher finished 15th, the lowest recorded finish in his career.

Michael Schumacher was found guilty of dangerous driving and was demoted ten places on the grid for the following race, the Belgian Grand Prix, where he finished 7th despite starting 21st after his grid penalty.

At the season finale in Abu Dhabi, Michael Schumacher was involved in a major accident on the first lap, after Vitantonio Liuzzi's car collided with Michael Schumacher's, barely missing his head.

Michael Schumacher finished the season in ninth place with 72 points.

Michael Schumacher finished the season in eighth place in the Drivers' Championship, with 76 points.

Michael Schumacher was again partnered by Rosberg at Mercedes for the 2012 season.

Michael Schumacher retired from the season's inaugural Australian Grand Prix, and scored a point in the second round in Malaysia.

In China, Michael Schumacher started on the front row, but retired due to a loose wheel after a mechanic's error during a pit stop.

Michael Schumacher was fastest in qualifying in Monaco but started sixth owing to his penalty.

Michael Schumacher later retired from seventh place in the race.

At the European Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher finished third, his only podium finish since his return to Formula One.

In Germany, Michael Schumacher set the fastest lap for the 77th time in his career, and in Belgium he became the second driver in history to race in 300 Grands Prix.

Helmet for the 1994 season ; Michael Schumacher used the Bell helmet for nine years in Formula One, from the 1992 Canadian Grand Prix to 2001 Australian Grand Prix.

Bell helmet for the 1995 season ; Michael Schumacher kept using this white-coloured helmet after moving to Ferrari in 1996 until he switched its colour to red at the 2000 Monaco Grand Prix.

Schuberth helmet for the 2002 season ; at the 2001 Malaysian Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher switched his helmet from Bell to Schuberth, though there was a contract with Bell for the 2001 season.

Schuberth helmet for the 2011 season ; Michael Schumacher kept using a red-coloured helmet at Silver Arrows.

In 1994 and from 2001 to 2003, Michael Schumacher was voted European Sportsperson of the Year by the International Sports Press Association.

Michael Schumacher was voted Polish Press Agency European Sportsperson of the Year from 2001 to 2003.

Michael Schumacher was voted German Sportspersonality of the Year in 1995 and 2004.

In 2002, for his contributions to sport and his contributions in raising awareness of child education, Michael Schumacher was named as one of the UNESCO Champions for Sport.

Michael Schumacher won the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year in 2002 and 2004, received the Marca Leylenda award in 2001, was named L'Equipe Champion of Champions three times, won the Gazzetta World Sports Award twice, and won the 2003 Lorenzo Bandini Trophy.

In honour of Michael Schumacher's racing career and his efforts to improve road safety and the sport, he was awarded an FIA Gold Medal for Motor Sport in 2006.

Together with Sebastian Vettel, Michael Schumacher won the Race of Champions Nations' Cup six times in a row for Germany, from 2007 to 2012.

In 2017, Michael Schumacher was inducted into the FIA Hall of Fame and Germany's Sports Hall of Fame.

In Sarajevo, Michael Schumacher has been granted honorary citizenship, while the Assembly of the Sarajevo Canton has renamed major city transversal street after him, and earlier a large street mural has been painted in a city neighborhood of Dobrinja by a group of artists.

Michael Schumacher has been appointed Chevalier de la Legion d'honneur, has been honoured with the Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, and has been appointed as an ambassador of San Marino.

Michael Schumacher received the State Prize of North Rhine-Westphalia in 2022.

Michael Schumacher has always been very protective of his private life and is known to dislike the celebrity spotlight.

From late 1991 until May 1996, Michael Schumacher resided in Monaco.

Ralf Michael Schumacher competed in Formula One for ten years, starting from 1997 until the end of 2007.

Michael Schumacher appeared in several charity football games, and organised games between Formula One drivers.

Michael Schumacher's character is himself as a Ferrari F430 who visits the town of Radiator Springs to get new tires from Luigi and Guido at the recommendation of Lightning McQueen.

In 2009, Michael Schumacher appeared on the BBC's motoring programme Top Gear as the Stig.

Presenter Jeremy Clarkson hinted later in the programme that Michael Schumacher was not the regular Stig, which the BBC subsequently confirmed.

Michael Schumacher was there because Ferrari would not allow anyone else to drive the unique black Ferrari FXX that was featured in the show.

Michael Schumacher was a special ambassador to UNESCO and has donated 1.5 million euros to the organisation.

Michael Schumacher supported a hospital for child victims of the siege in Sarajevo, which specialises in caring for amputees.

Michael Schumacher told F1 Magazine: "It's great if you can use your fame and the power your fame gives you to draw attention to things that really matter".

Michael Schumacher donated $10 million for aid after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, which surpassed that of any other sports person, most sports leagues, many worldwide corporations and even some countries.

In 2008, Michael Schumacher was the figurehead of an advertising campaign by Bacardi to raise awareness about responsible drinking.

Michael Schumacher featured in an advertising campaign for television, cinema and online media, supported by consumer engagements, public relations and digital media across the world.

On 29 December 2013, Michael Schumacher was skiing with his then 14-year-old son Mick, descending the Combe de Saulire below the Dent de Burgin above Meribel in the French Alps.

Michael Schumacher was airlifted to Grenoble Hospital where he underwent two surgical interventions.

Michael Schumacher was put into a medically induced coma because of traumatic brain injury.

In June 2014, Michael Schumacher left Grenoble Hospital for further rehabilitation at the Lausanne University Hospital, Switzerland.

In September 2014, Michael Schumacher left the hospital and was brought back to his home for further rehabilitation.

Two months later, it was reported that Michael Schumacher was "paralysed and in a wheelchair"; he "cannot speak and has memory problems".

In September 2016, Felix Damm, lawyer for Michael Schumacher, told a German court that his client "cannot walk", in response to reports from December 2015 in German publication Die Bunte that he could walk again.

In July 2019, former Ferrari manager Jean Todt stated that Michael Schumacher was making "good progress" but "struggles to communicate".

Todt said that Michael Schumacher was able to watch Formula One races on television at his home.

Michael Schumacher's family maintains strict privacy about his condition; as of 2023 he had not been seen in public since the accident.

Michael Schumacher's family said that they would sue the magazine, which sacked the editor responsible.

Michael Schumacher was disqualified from the 1997 World Drivers' Championship due to dangerous driving in the European Grand Prix, where he caused an avoidable accident with Jacques Villeneuve.