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The following biography
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Michael Schumacher (pronounced /mɪçaeːl ʃumaxɐ (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. Statistically, he is the most successful Formula One driver ever,
holding many Formula One records, including those for most drivers'
championships, race victories, fastest laps, pole positions, and most races won
in a single season. Schumacher is the only German to have won the drivers'
championship. According to EuroBusiness magazine [[1]], he is the world's first
billionaire athlete, tens of millions of which he has donated to humanitarian
causes. He announced his retirement as a driver on September 10, 2006, and will
be replaced at Ferrari by Kimi Räikkönen for the 2007 season.[1]
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, and some people just consider them little
more than sour grapes in a sport that has become more and more competitive.
However, he was in fact stripped of his second place in the 1997 championship
after he was judged to have deliberately driven into title rival Jacques
Villeneuve at the final race of the season.
He has been noted throughout his career for his
ability to produce fast laps at crucial moments in a race and for his abilities
on wet racetracks, earning him the title "Regenkönig" (rain king) or "Regenmeister"
(rain master)[2]. As the senior driver in the Formula One world championship,
Schumacher has continued to win races up to and including the 2006 season,
having won at least one race every season since his first victory in 1992.
Michael Schumacher has also become a committed
spokesman for road safety, most recently in support of the Make Roads Safe
campaign. At the end of 2006, Ferrari will define Schumacher's new position
within the reorganised Ferrari team, following his retirement as a race driver.
[3]
****
F1 Record
Nationality German
Car # 5
Current team Ferrari
Team for 2007 —
Grands Prix 247
World Championships 7 (1994, 1995, 2000, 2001,
2002, 2003, 2004)
Wins 90
Podium finishes 153
Pole positions 68
Fastest laps 75
First Grand Prix 1991 Belgian Grand Prix
Last Grand Prix
First win 1992 Belgian Grand Prix
Last win -
2006 Championship position 2nd (106 pts
****
Early years
Schumacher began kart racing at the age of four and
a half. He used a homemade kart built by his father, Rolf, who managed the local
karting track in Kerpen, Schumacher's home town. He obtained his first license
and began racing competitively by the age of twelve. Between 1984 and 1987,
Schumacher won numerous German and European kart championships, including the
Formula Konig Series. 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.[4]
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. The German 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 advanced Williams. The year was once again
dominated by Williams and only Senna, in a largely inferior McLaren, was able to
challenge Alain Prost, who had at his disposal the strongest package in terms of
engine, chassis and especially electronics.
1994
Schumacher won his first World Championship in 1994
while driving for Benetton, in an extremely 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. The raw speed of the Benetton was a surprise to the
other teams, who 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
illegal software on their car (and the cars of several rival teams), but could
not prove that it had been used.
After Senna's death, Damon Hill inherited the
responsibility of fighting for the championship. Hill struggled to keep pace
with the Benetton in his Williams-Renault, but due to several mid-season
controversial disqualifications and bans for Schumacher, he began to close the
gap in the standings. In the British Grand Prix, Schumacher was penalized for
overtaking on the formation lap [5]. 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. Things took a turn for the worse at Spa, where Schumacher
was disqualified after winning the race, after his car was found to have illegal
wear on its skidblock.[6]
Leading by a single point going into the final race
in Australia, Schumacher clinched the title after colliding with Hill in a
highly 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. 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, 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 [7].
Ferrari years
In 1996, Schumacher signed a contract with Ferrari,
which at the time was a highly risky move, given Ferrari's championship drought
(the Italian giants had not won a title since 1979).
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 uncompromisingly crashed into Villeneuve's Williams Renault after
Villeneuve attempted to overtake Schumacher, when the German left the door open
under braking into the right-hand 'Dry Sac' hairpin curve at the end of the
back-straight of the Jerez circuit. Schumacher ended up on the gravel and out of
the race. Villeneuve's badly damaged Williams eventually finished third in the
race, thereby winning the Drivers Championship title that year. In a
controversial decision by the FIA, Schumacher was disqualified from the World
Championship final classification that year, but his results and points were
nevertheless kept in the official records.
In 1998, there were tire rule changes in Formula 1
which seemed to favour tire manufacturer Bridgestone over rival manufacturer
Goodyear. Early into the season, it was evident that McLaren, who chose to
compete with Bridgestone tires 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 tire, 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.
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[8] 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 tire 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.
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 penalized 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 tire 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
tires, which had been dominant in past years but were now of inferior quality.
Ferrari and Bridgestone attributed this to the 2005 rule changes, which required
tires to last the distance of the whole race, a change some observers believe
was targeted to end the domination of Ferrari and Schumacher. [citation needed]
Less than half-way through the season, the German
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 tire problems.
There were many on-track problems for the German,
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.[9] 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.[10]
Ferrari's director Jean Todt strongly disputed the decision, claiming that "with
no real evidence, the stewards have assumed he is guilty."[11].
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 tires 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 Grand Prix 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,
but it did not state his role.
Complete Formula One results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole
position)
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