Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher was born in Hurth, Germany on 3 January 1969, to Rolf and Elisabeth Schumacher. He won his first club championship when he was 6.

Michael Schumacher in a file photo. (Image credit: Twitter)
By Niranjan Shivalkar | May 17, 2022 | 3 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Michael Schumacher is a German former racing driver who competed in Formula One for Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes. He was born in the West German town of Hürth, on 3 January 1969, to working-class parents Rolf, a bricklayer who later ran the local kart track and Elisabeth Schumacher, who operated the track’s canteen. When Schumacher was four, his father modified his pedal kart by adding a small motorcycle engine. After Michael crashed it into a lamp post in Kerpen, his parents took him to the karting track at Kerpen-Horrem, where he became the youngest member of the karting club. His father built him a kart from discarded parts and, at the age of six.

Schumacher won his first club championship when he was 6. Schumacher has a joint-record seven World Drivers’ Championship titles with Lewis Hamilton and, at the time of his retirement from Formula one in 2012, he held the records for the most wins, pole positions, and podium finishes which have since been broken by Hamilton. But Schumacher still maintains the record for the most number of fastest laps, among others. 

Michael Schumacher before f1 

Schumacher started karting at the age of 6, To support his son’s racing, Rolf took on a second job renting and repairing karts, while his wife worked at the track’s canteen. Nevertheless, when Michael needed a new engine costing 800 DM, his parents were unable to afford it; he was able to continue racing with support from local businessmen. In karting, Schumacher enjoyed success in several junior single-seater series. Schumacher joined Eurokart dealer Adolf Neubert in 1985 and by 1987, he was the German and European kart champion, then he quit school and began working as a mechanic. In 1988 he got into single-seat car racing by participating in the German Formula Ford and Formula König series, winning the latter. 

In 1989, Schumacher signed with Willi Weber’s WTS Formula Three team. Funded by Weber, he competed in the German Formula Three series, winning the title in 1990. During 1990, along with his Formula Three rivals Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Karl Wendlinger, he joined the Mercedes junior racing programme in the World Sportscar Championship. In the 1990 World Sportscar Championship season, Schumacher won the season finale at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in a Sauber–Mercedes C11, and finished fifth in the Drivers’ Championship. He also competed at Le Mans during that season, finishing fifth in a car shared with Wendlinger and Fritz Kreutzpointner.

F1 Debut and Team

Schumacher made his Formula One debut with the Irish Jordan-Ford team at the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix, driving car number 32 as a replacement for the imprisoned Bertrand Gachot. Schumacher, still a contracted Mercedes driver, was signed by Eddie Jordan after Mercedes paid Jordan $150,000 for his debut. Following his Belgian Grand Prix debut, and despite an agreement in principle between Jordan and Schumacher’s Mercedes management that would see the German race for the Irish team for the remainder of the season, Schumacher was engaged by Benetton-Ford for the next race. Jordan applied for an injunction in the British courts to prevent Schumacher driving for Benetton, but lost the case as they had not yet signed a final contract. 

Formula 1 Career Stats

Races307
Wins91
Poles68
Podiums155
Points1566

Michael Schumacher Net worth

Schumacher’s net worth is reportedly said to be of $600 million. His annual salary was $50 million when he worked for Ferrari, and this increased to $75 million when working for Mercedes-Benz. Michael is one of just a handful of athletes who earned more than $1 billion during their career. At the peak of his career he made $80-$100 million per year. Of that, he earned $10 million a year to wear a Shell hat during public appearances. 

Michael Schumacher’s Wife 

Corinna Schumacher is married to former German former racing driver Michael Schumacher. She was born 2 March 1969 is a German animal rights activist and accomplished horse rider. Corinna is a keen horsewoman, in 2010 Schumacher won the European Championship in western style horse riding. She met Michael back in 1991 through a mutual friend, and in 1995 got married, and has been by his side through thick and through thin. In 1997 she gave birth to Gina-Maria, who is also interested in horse back riding, and later in 1999 gave birth to Mick; who followed his father’s footsteps in Formula One.

Brand Endorsements

Shell

Marlboro

Vodafone

Deutsche Vermögensberatung

Mercedes Benz

CS Ranch