Born in 1969, German Formula 1 driver Michael Schumacher is arguably one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time. Schumacher always had an enthusiasm for racing that his father was able to support, as he managed a go-kart track. In both 1984 and 1985, he won the German Junior karting championship, and won both the German and European karting titles in 1987. At age 19, he left karting and became a Formula 3 driver, and won the F3 championship in 1990.
The following year, in 1991, Schumacher moved up to F1, racing for the Jordan team before switching to Benetton the following year. Between 1992 and 1995, he won 19 races and had 38 podiums in a span of 63 races. As well as winning the driver’s world championship in 1994 and 1995. However, before the start of the 1996 season, he announced that he would be racing for Scuderia Ferrari, and finished 3rd in the championship standings. Ferrari had previously been struggling with their car before Schumacher joined the team. On a workday, Schumacher was the first one there and the last person to leave, dedicating insane hours to help restore the car. His dedication paid off in 2000 when he won his 3rd world championship, which was also Ferrari’s first driver’s title since 1979. Schumacher’s win was the first in a string of five consecutive championships, breaking the record of most championships won in a row, and creating a new record of seven driver world championships. During his time with Ferrari, he helped them win six constructors’ championships, after the team had been struggling for so long. In the 2005 and 2006 seasons, he finished third and in second place, before announcing his retirement at the end of the 2006 season.
While the fans were sad to see him go, he didn’t completely retire from Formula 1, he served as a test driver and advisor for Ferrari. At the time of his retirement, he had 91 race wins, which was later broken by Lewis Hamilton, but completely shattered the previous record of 51. Later in 2009, Schumacher announced that he would be coming out of retirement to race for Mercedes at the beginning of the 2010 season. Schumacher spent a total of three seasons with Mercedes, but he only had one podium with them in 2012, never finishing higher than 8th in the drivers’ championship. Once again, he announced his retirement at the end of the 2012 season. Although his comeback wasn’t as great as fans had hoped, he achieved amazing career stats. Throughout his Formula 1 career, he achieved 7 world championships, 91 race wins, 155 podiums, and 68 pole positions. He is currently tied with Lewis Hamilton for most world championships, but still holds the record for most race wins.
Michael Schumacher officially retired on October 4th, 2012, and a year later, on December 29th, 2013, he had a terrible accident. Michael asked his son, Mick Scumacher, whether he wanted to go skydiving in Dubai or skiing in the Alps. His son replied that he wanted to go skiing, but Michael fell and hit his head on a rock. Despite wearing a helmet at the time of the accident, he sustained a significant brain injury and was placed in a medically induced coma until the following June. He was strictly bedridden with extreme difficulty communicating, and had a 24hr care team. However, at the beginning of 2026, his family released a health update stating that Michael is no longer bedridden and can move and communicate to some degree. Reports also say that he has a better understanding of his surroundings, including being able to watch a Formula 1 race. Michael Schumacher has set unbelievable records in F1 and is loved by the F1 community, and it is truly a miracle that he has shown improvement in his recovery after 13 years.