Though words cannot explain the greatness of Michael Schumacher, still we can try. Born in Germany, Michael Schumacher is said to be one of the greatest Formula drivers that the world has ever seen. Schumacher became the youngest member of Kerpen Horrem at the age of four and won the first club championship at the age of six. Schumacher is best known for producing the first laps at all the crucial moments during almost all his races and his amazing control over the steering wheel is proved by the fact that he won 17 out of 30 races contested in wet weather conditions. This earned him the nickname of “Regenkoing” which means rain king. Today Schumacher has an estimated wealth of $500 million but he has seen tough days when his father took multiple jobs to support him.
Michael Schumacher
Astonishingly Michael holds quite a number of records including most consecutive world championships, most wins in a season, most career pole positions, most podium finishes(154), most points during a season (148 in 2004), most fastest laps(76), most laps leading and many more. Schumacher was listed as the 2nd highest paid athlete in the world by Forbes in 2004 as well as the first billionaire athlete in the world by the Eurobusiness magazine. Said to demonstrate brilliance on the racing track Schumacher actually made Ferrari the most successful team in Formula 1 history. Ferrari was actually struggling before Schumacher became its official driver. He and his brother Ralf are the only brothers who have won four races at the 1st and 2nd place together.
Schumacher has done remarkable philanthropy and has donated millions of dollars towards social causes and is the member of UNESCO. He has reportedly donated 1.5 million Euros to UNESCO. With respect to his contribution for raising awareness for child education, Schumacher was named as UNESCO Champions for Sport. Apart from appearing in a number of charity football games, Michael Schumacher is also well known for organising a number of games between Formula One drivers. It is only because of Schumacher that Formula One is a rage among the Germans today, before him the fan following of the sport in his home country was very scarce. Though Schumacher and his team Ferrari announced his retirement in 2006 and Ferrari appointed him as the assistant of the company’s CEO’s to select its further drivers but he surprisingly returned in 2010 in the new Mercedes GP team. The races after his return were not as thrilling as his previous ones but watching Schumacher drive is in itself a legendary moment which all his fans were thankful for. He was ranked 13th in the 2012 driver’s championship. Apart from having a record for having the most nominations for a motorsport athlete, he won the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award twice, FIFA Gold Medal for Motor Sport in 2006 and was also honoured with the Officer of Legion d’honneur in 2010 from the French Prime minister. Turns 8 and 9 of Nurburgring racing track have been renamed as Schumacher S since 2009 showing respect to the contribution Schumacher has made to the world of Formula 1 racing. As it is for now, Schumacher has suffered a major accident while skiing in the French Alps and is still in coma. His condition is said to be critical and fans from all over the world are praying for his stable condition.