Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher (; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to and from to . Schumacher won a record-setting seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, tied by Lewis Hamilton in 2020, and—at the time of his retirement—held the records for most wins (91), pole positions (68), and podium finishes (155), while he maintains the record for most fastest laps (77), among others.

Born in Hürth to a working-class family, Schumacher began competitive kart racing aged four in a pedal kart built from discarded parts. After a successful karting career—culminating in his victory at the direct-drive Karting European Championship in 1987—Schumacher graduated to junior formulae. He dominated Formula König in his debut season, before graduating to German Formula Three in 1989, where he finished third. He won the title the following season, also claiming the Macau Grand Prix and becoming a race-winner in the World Sportscar Championship with Sauber Mercedes. Schumacher made his debut Formula One appearance with Jordan at the in ; his qualifying performance saw Benetton sign him for the remainder of the season. In , he achieved his maiden victory in Belgium amongst several podiums, which he repeated at the in . Schumacher won his maiden World Drivers' Championship with eight victories in , following a collision with his rival, Damon Hill, at the last race of the season. He won a further nine Grands Prix as he defended his title in .

Schumacher moved to the struggling Ferrari for his campaign, where he took several victories and finished third overall. He was involved in title battles in and , being disqualified from the former for a collision with Jacques Villeneuve and finishing runner-up to Mika Häkkinen in the latter. His rivalry with Häkkinen continued into , when Schumacher broke his leg following a brake failure whilst second in the championship. He returned to beat Häkkinen to his first title with Ferrari in , their first in 21 years, which he successfully defended in . His campaign—during which he won a then-record 11 Grands Prix—saw him claim a record-equalling fifth title with an unparalleled perfect podium rate. He then claimed his unprecedented sixth and seventh titles, holding off Kimi Räikkönen and Juan Pablo Montoya in the former before winning 13 of 18 Grands Prix during the latter, breaking several further records. After dropping to third in and narrowly finishing runner-up to Fernando Alonso in , Schumacher announced his retirement from Formula One. He later returned with the resurrected Mercedes from to , claiming his final podium at the latter , and has been credited with elevating the project to championship-winning form.

Schumacher was noted for pushing his machinery to the limit for sustained periods, as well as his pioneering fitness regimen, win-at-all-costs mentality, and ability to galvanise teams around him. Appointed a UNESCO Champion for Sport in 2002, Schumacher has been involved in several humanitarian projects and has donated over million to various charities. In December 2013, Schumacher suffered a traumatic brain injury in a skiing accident and was placed in an induced coma for six months. He received further rehabilitation in Lausanne before being relocated to receive private treatment at his home in September 2014; he has not appeared publicly since. Provided by Wikipedia