Michael Schumacher is one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time. With 7 World Titles, an amazing driving style, and tons of charisma – he was truly phenomenal.
Throughout his F1 career, he had many massive accomplishments. From record breaking performances to simply driving well, here is a rundown of his career.
Early Days
It began at the extremely young age of 4 when he started karting. His father built him his first kart, and he won his first Championship at age 6. He quickly caught the eye of local motorsport news channels because of the raw talent he was exhibiting at such a young age.
At age 14, he was offered a chance to test drive a Formula Ford car. Needless to say, this was extremely impressive.
Throughout the start of his career, he solidified his future. He did this through the German Touring Car Championship as well as the Formula 3 one too.
F1 Early Career
He made his Formula 1 debut in 1991 at the Belgian Grand Prix with Jordan. He certainly made his mark in the sport and impressed many despite driving a lower performing car.
Soon after this, he signed with Benetton. This is where he began to leave his mark on the sport.
3 years after his debut, he secured his very first championship title. This is where he beat Damon Hill by a tiny 1 point, making it a very intense year. Combined with the tragic and also untimely death of Ayrton Senna, it was both a sad and accomplishing year.
The following season in 1995, he defended his title once again making him the youngest two-time World Champion in Formula One history at that time.
Ferrari Move
In 1996, he left Benetton a year earlier than his contract said so. This was due to the teams scandalous actions in 1994.
He then made the switch to Ferrari, a team that hadn’t seen a Driver’s Championship since 1979 as well as a Constructor’s Championship since 1983.
In a way, he took a gamble that took a few years to pay off. From 1996-1999 he did not manage to secure a World Title. This was for a number of reasons such as technical issues dotted throughout the years.
Multi Year Dominance
From the years 2000-2004, he won 5 out of the 5 world championship titles. This was the Michael Schumacher era where he absolutely ruled the track. Iconic and amazing performances.
In 2005 he didn’t win his 8th title and in the following year was his last season. He retired at the end of the 2026 season however this wasn’t the last we saw of Schumacher in Ferrari.
From 2007-2009, he acted as an advisor for Ferrari. Essentially, he was a high up assistant who helped out lots with the team.
Out Of Retirement
In December 2009, Schumacher told everyone that he would be returning to F1. He would go on to race for Mercedes with Nico Rosberg for 2 years up until 2012.
It wasn’t the best seasons for him during this time unfortunately and one was actually the only time he finished without a race win, pole position, podium or fastest lap.
He announced his 2nd retirement during the 2012 season, for the following year, and he never went back into F1 again.
Post F1
Unfortunately, in 2013 a massive accident happened. During a skiing session with his son, he fell and hit his head on a rock. This gave him a severe head injury that is still affecting him to this very day.
There is little information about the condition of Schumacher as the family want it all private however throughout the years small bits have made their way to the public. He is unable to walk and struggles to
communicate as a result of the accident.
However, sources say that he is improving slowly but surely.
Most recently, his previous bodyguard was given a suspended 2-year sentence for stealing images, videos and medical records and passing them onto someone threatening to upload them to the Dark Web.
Legacy
Despite him not being in the public eye anymore, his F1 legacy remains. He set so many records (and also broke a considerable amount too).
Schumacher is still and will always be one of the greatest and most talented drivers in motorsports history.
Some Records
He currently is tied with Sir Lewis Hamilton for most World Driver’s Championship titles in f1 history. They both hold 7 – an amazing achievement.
He broke the record for most Grand Prix victories and set a new one with 91 in total. Although this has since been broken, it is phenomenal that this is what he left F1 with.
He remains to this day the driver with the most consecutive Championship wins in history.
Overall, he is an amazing driver with an even better track record. Despite his current injury, he is still beyond excellent. What a driver.
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