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Michael Schumacher facts for kids
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| Nationality German | |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
|---|---|
| Races | 280 (279 starts) |
| Championships | 7 (1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004) |
| Wins | 91 |
| Podiums | 154 |
| Career points | 1,473 |
| Pole positions | 68 |
| Fastest laps | 76 |
Michael Schumacher (born 3 January 1969 in Hürth, near Cologne) is a German Formula 1 driver. He has won seven world championship titles and has the most Grand Prix victories in the world. This champion, nicknamed campionissimo by Italian fans of Ferrari, is considered the most popular German personality in the world. Michael's younger brother Ralf is also a Formula 1 driver. When he was small, his father gave him a little kart. It had a small motor bike engine in it. He started getting interest from that time.
Contents
Pre-F1 career
In 1984 Michael won the German Kart Championship and went on to win many more. In 1987 he won the German and European Kart Championship. Schumacher signed up with Will Weber's Formula 3 race team and won the 1990 championship.
F1 career
1991
He made his debut in the Belgian Grand Prix on 25 August. He impressed many fans as he qualified 7th on a track where he had never previously(before) driven with an inferior car. At the start he burnt the clutch and retired.
He was quickly snapped up by Benetton and finished in 5th place at the Italian Grand Prix. He followed it up with 6th in both Portugal and at the then new Circuit de Catalunya in Spain. He then crashed out in Japan and spun in the torrential rain at the season finale in Australia. In the 6 races he entered, he scored 4 points and 14th in the championship.
1992
He started the season off well with 4th in South Africa followed by his maiden podium finish in 3rd at the Mexican Grand Prix. He followed it up with another 3rd place in Brazil and 2nd in Spain. In San Marino he crashed out, then came 4th in Monaco and 2nd in Canada. He spun off in the rain at the French Grand Prix and finished 4th in Britain and 3rd in Germany. He retired again in Hungary but at Spa Francorchamps, where he made his debut, he won a rain-affected race. He came 3rd in Italy, 7th in Portugal, retired in Japan and came 2nd in Australia. He finished the season in 3rd place overall (in front of Senna) with a total of 53 points.
Comeback 2010-2012
In 2010 Schumacher returned to F1 with the Mercedes team. In total he spent 3 years with the team in which he scored 1 pole(he was stripped of it due to a penalty), 1 fastest lap, and 1 podium. He was replaced by Lewis Hamilton for 2013 so he retired again.
Racing record
Career summary
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | European Formula Ford 1600 | Eufra Racing | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 50 | 2nd |
| German Formula Ford 1600 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 124 | 6th | ||
| Formula König | Hoecker Sportwagenservice | 10 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 192 | 1st | |
| 1989 | German Formula Three | WTS Racing | 12 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 163 | 3rd |
| European Formula Three Cup | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | NC | ||
| Macau Grand Prix | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | NC | ||
| 1990 | World Sportscar Championship | Team Sauber Mercedes | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 21 | =5th |
| German Formula Three | WTS Racing | 11 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 148 | 1st | |
| European Formula Three Cup | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | N/A | NC | ||
| Macau Grand Prix | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 1st | ||
| 1991 | Formula One | Team 7UP Jordan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14th |
| Camel Benetton Ford | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |||
| World Sportscar Championship | Team Sauber Mercedes | 8 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 43 | =9th | |
| Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft | Zakspeed Mercedes | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | |
| Japanese Formula 3000 | Team Le Mans | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 12th | |
| 1992 | Formula One | Camel Benetton Ford | 16 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 53 | 3rd |
| 1993 | Formula One | Camel Benetton Ford | 16 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 52 | 4th |
| 1994 | Formula One | Mild Seven Benetton Ford | 14 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 92 | 1st |
| 1995 | Formula One | Mild Seven Benetton Renault | 17 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 102 | 1st |
| 1996 | Formula One | Scuderia Ferrari S.p.A. | 16 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 59 | 3rd |
| 1997 | Formula One | Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro | 17 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 78 | DSQ |
| 1998 | Formula One | Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro | 16 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 11 | 86 | 2nd |
| 1999 | Formula One | Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 44 | 5th |
| 2000 | Formula One | Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro | 17 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 12 | 108 | 1st |
| 2001 | Formula One | Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro | 17 | 9 | 11 | 3 | 14 | 123 | 1st |
| 2002 | Formula One | Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro | 17 | 11 | 7 | 7 | 17 | 144 | 1st |
| 2003 | Formula One | Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro | 16 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 93 | 1st |
| 2004 | Formula One | Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro | 18 | 13 | 8 | 10 | 15 | 148 | 1st |
| 2005 | Formula One | Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro | 19 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 62 | 3rd |
| 2006 | Formula One | Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro | 18 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 121 | 2nd |
| 2007 | Formula One | Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro | Test Driver | ||||||
| 2008 | Formula One | Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro | Test Driver | ||||||
| 2009 | Formula One | Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro | Test Driver | ||||||
| 2010 | Formula One | Mercedes GP Petronas | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 72 | 9th |
| 2011 | Formula One | Mercedes GP Petronas | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32* | 10th* |
* Season in progress.
- Source: Hilton, Christopher (2006). Michael Schumacher: The Whole Story. Haynes. .
Complete Formula One results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
* Season in progress.
↓ Schumacher was disqualified from the 1997 WDC due to dangerous driving in the European Grand Prix, where he caused an avoidable accident with Villeneuve. His points tally would have placed him in second place in that year's standings.
Formula One records
As of the end of the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher holds the following Formula One records:
| Record | Number |
|---|---|
| Championship titles | 7 (1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004) |
| Consecutive titles | 5 (2000–2004) |
| Race victories | 91 |
| Consecutive wins | 7 (2004, Europe–Hungary) |
| Wins with one team | 72 (Ferrari) |
| Wins at same GP | 8 (France) |
| Wins at different GPs | 22 |
| Longest Time between first and last wins | 14 years, 1 month and 2 days |
| Second places | 43 |
| Podiums (Top 3) | 154 |
| Consecutive podium finishes | 19 (2001 US 2001–2002 Japan 2002) |
| Total races finished in the points | 208 |
| Consecutive points finishes | 24 (2001 Hungary 2001–2003 Malaysia 2003) |
| Laps leading | 4741 (22,155 km) |
| Total pole positions | 68 |
| Front row starts | 115 |
| Fastest laps | 76 |
| Doubles (Pole and win) | 40 |
| Perfect Score (Pole, fastest lap and win) | 22 |
| Career Championship points | 1,469 |
| Most wins in a season for a runner-up | 7 (2006) |
| Wins at Indianapolis (any racing class) | 5 |
| Wins at Monza (Formula One) | 5 |
| Most wins in a season | 13 (72%) (2004) |
| Most fastest laps in a season | 10 (2004) |
| Most podium positions in a season | 17 (100%) (2002) |
| Championship won with most races left | 6 (2002) |
| Largest championship-winning margin | 67 (2002) |
| Consecutive years with a win | 15 (1992–2006) |
| Most races with 1 team | 181 (Ferrari) |
| Consecutive days as champion | 1813 (from 8 October 2000 until 25 September 2005) |
Record shared with Alberto Ascari (1952 Belgian Grand Prix–1953 Argentine Grand Prix). Some sources credit Ascari with nine consecutive wins, disregarding the 1953 Indianapolis 500 race, in which Ascari did not compete. The American race formed part of the world championship, but was not run to the same regulations as the other races and was very rarely attended by world championship drivers.
Record shared with Alain Prost (1984 and 1988) and Kimi Räikkönen (2005).
Record shared with Kimi Räikkönen (2005 and 2008).
2013 skiing accident
On December 2013, Schumacher sustained a head injury after a skiing accident in France.
Images for kids
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Schumacher's title-winning German Formula Three car from 1990
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Schumacher testing the Jordan 191
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Schumacher driving for Benetton at the 1992 Monaco Grand Prix
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Schumacher drove the Benetton B194 to his first World Championship in 1994.
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Schumacher driving for Benetton at the 1995 British Grand Prix
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Schumacher celebrates a second-place finish at the 1997 German Grand Prix
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Schumacher battles with David Coulthard at the 1998 British Grand Prix
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Schumacher at Indianapolis in 2004, where he won the 2004 United States Grand Prix
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Schumacher battling with Kimi Räikkönen during the 2005 Canadian Grand Prix
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Schumacher overtakes Kimi Räikkönen for 4th with three laps to go of his final race for three years at Interlagos, having dropped to 19th early on
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BMW Sauber with "Thanks Michael" messages towards Michael Schumacher on the back of their cars, Schumacher and Peter Sauber worked together in sports cars prior to entering F1 in 1992
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Schumacher at Finali Mondiali celebrations in the F2007
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Schumacher at the 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix
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Schumacher qualified fastest at the 2012 Monaco Grand Prix.
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Schumacher at the 2012 US Grand Prix
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Turns 9–10 of the Nürburgring were renamed after Schumacher in 2007.
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Rubens Barrichello makes way for Schumacher at the end of the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix
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Helmet for the 1994 season (Benetton); Schumacher used the Bell helmet for 9 years in Formula One, from the 1992 Canadian Grand Prix to 2001 Australian Grand Prix.
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Schuberth helmet for the 2006 season (Ferrari); At the 2001 Malaysian Grand Prix, Schumacher switched his helmet from Bell to Schuberth though there was contract with Bell for the 2001 season. From the 2001 season, Schumacher continued to use the Schuberth helmet until his last race in Formula One.
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Schuberth helmet for the 2011 season (Mercedes GP); Schumacher kept using red-coloured helmet at Silver Arrows. Chinese dragon illustration and a Chinese character "力" ("power") are inscribed in back of the helmet.