MICHAEL SCHUMACHER

Rubens Barrichello Luca Badoer Jean Todt Rory Byrne

Paolo Martinelli Ross Brawn Enzo Ferrari

Name : Michael Schumacher
Date of Birth : 03 January 1969
Birth Place : Hürth-Hermühlheim
Nationality : German
Marital Status : Married, 2 children
Height : 174cm
Weight : 75kg
Driving Team : Ferrari

Michael started his career in the Formula Konig series in 1987, a series he dominated to such an extent, that he had the title wrapped up early before moving on to Formula Ford. Here he came second to ex- Sauber driver, Mika Salo in the European Championship, and fourth in the German series. In 1989, he went to the German Formula 3 series, where he finished third, equal with his teammate, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, and just one point behind second place. 1990 saw him dominate this series as well, winning five times and later topping that by also winning the international races at Macau and Fiji.

Sports cars are nothing new to him either, becoming a member of the Mercedes junior team, even winning the round in Mexico City. He drove sports cars again in 91, winning at Autopolis. That year also saw his Formula 3000 debut where he finished second at Sugo, in the Japanese Series.More importantly, 1991 saw him explode into Formula One, his first race driven for Jordan in the Belgian Grand Prix. He qualified seventh, but failed to complete the first lap, due to clutch problems. That was his only race for Jordan, as he was quickly snatched up by the Benetton team.

1992 saw him visit the podium 8 times, including once on the top step for his first Grand Prix victory in Belgium, completing the season third overall with 53 points. He continued with the Benetton team and 1993 saw him win a superb race in Portugal, rounding off the season, fourth overall. Then, in 1994, Michael stunned the Grand Prix world, when he was quicker in the Benetton, than Senna was in the Williams. After Sennas death, Michael seemed unbeatable, even though Benetton were swamped with allegations of cheating. They fought through all the disqualifications and bans, and in the end, he beat Damon Hill to the crown by one point, after a controversial accident at the last race in Australia. Nine wins later, he took the crown for a second time, before moving to the Ferrari team in 1996 where he still remains.

That year, he pushed the unreliable Ferrari to its limits, bringing home three wins that the car didn't deserve. It was more competitive in 97, where he won in Monaco, France, Canada, Belgium and Japan, and he went into the final race in Jerez, with a one-point advantage over Williams's driver, Jacques Villeneuve. Once again, the season finished in controversy, after an accident between the two. Villeneuve raced onto to take the crown, while Michael had his 2nd place in the championship stripped from him by the FIA.

1998 saw a very reliable Ferrari, and a very determined Michael Schumacher. Although McLaren dominated from the start, Michael wouldn't give up, pushing the Ferrari as far as it would go. Winning 6 races for the season, it once again came down to the final race, but a stall from pole position, and a blown tyre, saw his chances of taking the title for a third time vanish.

The 1999 season didn't start that well for Michael, with problems in the opening race, but from then on, he quickly took to the lead in the championship and just as it started to appear that he may finally take the title for Ferrari, tragedy struck at the British Grand Prix where a first lap accident saw him sidelined for months with a broken leg. He watched helplessly as the season went on without him, but returned for the final two races. Although his teammate, Eddie Irvine, narrowly lost out on the drivers title, between them both they gave Ferrari their first Constructors victory since 1983.

The 2000 season saw him partnered with Rubens Barrichello as Irvine moved across to Jaguar and it was undoubtedly the best season of his career. After winning the first three races of the season, it appeared as if the Ferrari ace was unstoppable on his way to glory. However, although mid-season setbacks saw him lose a lot of his lead over his rivals at McLaren, his determination never waned and he went on take his third world title and Ferrari's first driver's victory in 21 years at the second last race of the season at Suzuka, wrapping up the constructors crown one race later in Malaysia.

2001 was a year that saw the Italian team and Michael dominate from round one in Australia to the season finale in Japan. During the course of the 17 events, Michael broke numerous records and wrapped up his fourth world title in Hungary with four races left to contest. He is now the record holder of the most Grand Prix victories, surpassing Alain Prost's total of 52 and with Juan Manuel Fangio's record of five world titles in his sights, Schumacher began the 2002 season with a strong determination and an extremely strong Ferrari.

The record equalling title came at just the eleventh round of the season and throughout the course of 2002, the German star broke record after record. The one tarnished spot on the year came in Austria where team orders saw teammate Rubens Barrichello forced to yield, gifting Michael the win. What followed was an ugly scene with fans booing the world champion on the podium and the move is still debated fiercely today.

2003 saw Michael Schumacher pushed hard to the title by Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya, but a rather chaotic US Grand Prix helped Michael to his sixth title. 2004 saw the German dominate proceeding once again, winning 12 of the first 13 races of the season before claiming win number 13 in the penultimate race of the season in Japan. With seven titles to his credit, it is difficult to see anyone beating Schumacher.