THE LEGENDARY MICHEAL SCHUMACHER

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born January 3, 1969, in H黵th Herm黮heim, Germany)[1] is a former Formula One driver, and seven-time world champion. According to the official Formula One website, he is "statistically the greatest driver the sport has ever seen".[2] He is the first German to win the F1 World championship[3] and is credited with popularising Formula One in Germany.[4] Schumacher has been called the world's first billionaire athlete, earning as much as US$100 million annually.[5] In a 2006 FIA survey Michael Schumacher was voted the most popular driver with F1 fans.[6]After winning two championships with Benetton, Schumacher moved to the Ferrari team in 1996, which had not won a drivers' championship since 1979. From 2000 to 2004, Schumacher won five consecutive drivers' titles with the team. Triple World Champion Jackie Stewart believes his transformation of the Ferrari team was Schumacher's greatest feat.[7] As of 2006, Schumacher holds nearly every record in Formula One, including most drivers' championships, race victories, fastest laps, pole positions, and most races won in a single season. His career as a driver was not one free of controversy, most notably his disqualification from the 1997 championship for causing a collision with Jacques Villeneuve.[8]
Off the track, Schumacher is a devoted family man and an accomplished footballer. He is an ambassador for UNESCO and a spokesman for driver safety. He has also been involved in numerous humanitarian efforts throughout his life, donating at least 50 million dollars in just the last four years of his driving career.
On September 10, 2006, Schumacher announced his retirement as a driver.[9] It was revealed on 29 October 2006 that Schumacher will act as assistant to the newly appointed Scuderia Ferrari CEO Jean Todt for the 2007 Formula One Season, in particular scouting for new drivers.[10]

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Schumacher is the son of Rolf, a bricklayer who ran the local kart track in Kerpen for a second job. His mother Elisabeth[11] worked in the canteen. He began kart racing at the age of four, using a homemade kart built by his father. It was nothing more than a pedal-kart that had been fitted with a small motorcycle engine. He quickly mastered the vehicle, winning his first kart championship at the age of six. Schumacher's parents could not afford to develop his driving talents further. Instead, they had to rely upon the generosity and sponsorship of a few affluent people who also saw the potential of their son.[1]

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

[ Last edited by  peret at 19-1-2007 05:30 PM ]

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

Record Number
1 Championship titles 7
2 Consecutive titles 5
3 Race victories 91
4 Consecutive wins* 7 (2004, Europe - Hungary)
5 Wins with one team 72 (Ferrari)
6 Wins at same GP 8 (France)
7 Wins at different GPs 20
8 Most Time between first and last wins 14 years, 1 month and 2 days
9 Second places 43
10 Podiums (Top 3) 154
11 Consecutive podium finishes 19 (US 2001 - Japan 2002)
12 Points finishes 190
13 Laps leading 4741 (22,155 km)[81]
14 Pole positions 68
15 Front row starts 115
16 Fastest laps 76
17 Doubles (Pole and win) 40
18 Perfect Score (Pole, fastest lap and win) 22
19 Championship points 1,369
20 Consecutive race finishes 24 (Hungary 2001 - Malaysia 2003)
21 Points in a season for vice-champion 121 (From 180)
22 Wins in a season for vice-champion* 7
23 Races for same car and engine builder 180 (Ferrari)[82]
24 Wins at Indy (Any racing class) 5
25 Wins at Monza (Any racing class) 5
26 Wins in a season 13 (2004)
27 Fastest laps in a season* 10 (2004)
28 Points scored in a season 148 (2004)
29 Podium finishes in a season 17 (2002)
30 Championship won with most races left 6 (2002)
31 Consecutive years with a win 15