Michael Schumacher

German racing driver

Seven titles from Hürth

Michael Schumacher won two titles with Benetton and five more with Ferrari, setting records that defined an era of Formula 1.

Michael Schumacher was born in Hürth, West Germany, on 3 January 1969, and grew up around the kart track at Kerpen. By 1987 he was German and European kart champion. He won the German Formula Three title in 1990 and raced sports cars for Sauber in the Mercedes junior program, a less common route toward Formula 1 at the time.

His first Grand Prix came with Jordan in Belgium in 1991, and Benetton signed him for the rest of that season straight away. A year later he went back to Belgium and won there for the first time. With Benetton he took the 1994 championship, settled at the final round after a collision with Damon Hill, and he defended it in 1995 with nine victories.

He joined Ferrari in 1996 and spent four seasons building toward the title before taking it in 2000, the team's first drivers' crown in more than two decades. He then held it every year through 2004. The 2002 season brought 11 wins and a podium at all 17 races, and in 2004 he won 13 of 18 Grands Prix. He finished runner up to Fernando Alonso in 2006 and then retired.

Schumacher returned with Mercedes from 2010 to 2012 and added one more podium, in 2012. Across 306 starts he collected seven world titles, 91 wins, 68 pole positions, 77 fastest laps and 155 podiums, figures that stood as the benchmark of the sport for years afterward.

7 world titles, 91 wins, 68 pole positions, 306 starts.

Teams

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