Michael Schumacher born 3 January 1969) is a retired German
racing driver. Schumacher is a seven-time
Formula One World Champion and is widely regarded as one of the greatest Formula One drivers of all time. He was named
Laureus World Sportsman of the Year twice. He holds many of Formula One's
driver records, including most championships, race victories, fastest laps, pole positions and most races won in a single season – 13 in
2004 (the last of these records was equalled by fellow German
Sebastian Vettel nine years later). In
2002, he became the only driver in Formula One history to finish in the top three in every race of a season and then also broke the record for most consecutive podium finishes. According to the official Formula One website, he is "statistically the greatest driver the sport has ever seen".
After beginning with
karting, Schumacher won the German drivers' championships in
Formula König and
Formula Three before joining
Mercedes in the
World Sportscar Championship. After one Mercedes-funded race for the
Jordan Formula One team, Schumacher signed as a driver for the
Benetton Formula One team in 1991. After winning consecutive championships with Benetton in 1994/5, Schumacher moved to
Ferrari in 1996 and won another five consecutive drivers' titles with them from 2000 to 2004. Schumacher retired from Formula One driving in 2006 staying with Ferrari as an advisor.
[7] Schumacher agreed to return for Ferrari part-way through 2009, as cover for the badly injured
Felipe Massa, but was prevented by a neck injury. Schumacher returned to Formula One on a permanent basis from 2010 with the
Mercedes team before retiring for a second time at the conclusion of the 2012 season.
]
His career was not without controversy, including being twice involved in collisions in the final race of a season that determined the outcome of the World Championship, with
Damon Hill in
1994 in
Adelaide, and with
Jacques Villeneuve in
1997 in
Jerez. Off the track Schumacher is an ambassador for
UNESCO and a spokesman for driver safety. He has been involved in numerous humanitarian efforts throughout his life and donated tens of millions of dollars to charity. Schumacher and his younger brother,
Ralf, are the only brothers to win races in Formula One, and they were the first brothers to finish 1st and 2nd in the same race, a feat they repeated in four subsequent races.
In December 2013, Schumacher suffered a serious head injury while skiing. He was airlifted to a hospital and placed in a
medically induced coma, having suffered a traumatic brain injury. He was in the coma from 29 December 2013 until 16 June 2014. He left the hospital in
Grenoble for further rehabilitation at the
University Hospital (CHUV) in
Lausanne. On 9 September 2014, Schumacher was brought back to his home for further rehabilitation. In November 2014, Schumacher was reported to be paralysed and wheelchair-bound as a result of the accident.
