Formula One = Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher is a former Formula One driver, seven-time world champion, and current test driver for Ferrari. According to the official Formula One website, he is “statistically the greatest driver the sport has ever seen”. He is the first German to win the Formula One World championship, and is credited with popularising Formula One in Germany. In a 2006 FIA survey, Michael Schumacher was voted the most popular driver among Formula One fans.

After winning two championships with Benetton, Michael Schumacher moved to Scuderia Ferrari in 1996 and won five consecutive drivers’ titles with them from 2000-2004. Schumacher holds many records in Formula One, including most drivers’ championships, race victories, fastest laps, pole positions, points scored and most races won in a single season. Schumacher is the only Formula One driver to have an entire season of podium finishes. His driving sometimes created controversy: he was twice involved in collisions that determined the outcome of the world championship, most notably his disqualification from the 1997 championship for causing a collision with Jacques Villeneuve. After the 2006 Formula One season Schumacher retired from race driving.

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. He is the elder brother of former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher, currently racing in Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters.  He is currently acting as advisor and special test driver for the 2008 Scuderia Ferrari F1 Team.

Very Personal Life

He has always been very protective of his private life and is known to dislike the celebrity spotlight, preferring a simple life. In August 1995, Michael married Corinna Betsch. They have two children, Gina-Maria and Mick . The family currently lives in Switzerland. Their home is a 7000 ft² mansion with its own underground garage and petrol station, situated on a private beach on Lake Geneva. The family has two dogs – one stray that Corinna fell in love with in Brazil, and a German Shepherd “Ed” whose entrance to the family made headlines after Schumacher personally drove a taxi through the Bavarian town of Coburg so that the family could catch a return flight to Switzerland,for which both Schumacher and the taxi driver would be reprimanded.

In 2005 Eurobusiness magazine identified Schumacher as the world’s first billionaire athlete. His 2004 salary was reported to be around US$80 million. Forbes magazine ranked him 17th in their “The World’s Most Powerful Celebrities” list. A significant share of his income came from advertising. For example, Deutsche Vermögensberatung paid him $8 million over three years from 1999 for wearing a 10 by 8 centimetre advertisement on his post-race cap.!!! The deal was extended until 2010. He donated $10 million for aid after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. His donation surpassed that of any other sports person, most sports leagues, many worldwide corporations and even some countries.

One of his main hobbies is horse riding, and he plays football for his local team FC Echichens. He has appeared in several football charity games and organised games between Formula One drivers. In 2008 it was reported that he might play football for San Marino champions S.S. Murata in the European championship.

Schumacher is a special ambassador to UNESCO and has donated 1.5 million Euros to the organization. Additionally, he paid for the construction of a school for poor children and for area improvements in Dakar, Senegal. He supports a hospital for child victims of war in Sarajevo, which specialises in caring for amputees. In Lima, Peru he funded the “Palace for the Poor”, a centre for helping homeless street children obtain an education, clothing, food, medical attention, and shelter. He stated his interest in these various efforts was piqued both by his love for children and the fact that these causes had received little attention. While an exact figure for the amount of money he has donated throughout his life is unknown, it is known that in his last four years as a driver, he donated at least $50 million.

Since his participation in a FIA European road safety campaign, as part of his punishment after the collision at the 1997 European Grand Prix, Schumacher has continued to support other campaigns, such as Make Roads Safe, which is led by the FIA Foundation and calls on G8 countries and the UN to recognise global road deaths as a major global health issue.

Formula  One

Schumacher was noted throughout his career for his ability to produce fast laps at crucial moments in a race, to push his car to the very limit for sustained periods. Motor sport author Christopher Hilton observed in 2003 that “A measure of a driver’s capabilities is his performance in wet races, because the most delicate car control and sensitivity are needed,” and noted that like other great drivers, Schumacher’s record in wet conditions shows very few mistakes: up to the end of the 2003 season, Schumacher won 17 of the 30 races in wet conditions he contested.

Some of Schumacher’s best performances occurred in such conditions, earning him the title “Regenkönig” (rain king) or “Regenmeister” (rain master). He is known as “the Red Baron”, due to his red Ferrari and in reference to the German Manfred von Richthofen, the famous flying ace of World War I. Schumacher’s nicknames include “Schumi”,”Schuey” and “Schu”.

Schumacher is often credited with popularising Formula One in Germany, where it was formerly considered a fringe sport. In 2006, three of the top ten drivers were German, more than any other nationality and more than have ever been present in Formula One history. Younger German drivers, such as Sebastian Vettel, feel Schumacher was key in their becoming Formula One drivers. In the latter part of his Formula One career, and as one of the senior drivers, Schumacher was the president of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association.

Beijing is ready…….

The 2008 Summer Olympics will be celebrated from August 8, 2008, to August 24, 2008, with the opening ceremony beginning at 08:08:08 pm CST at the Beijing National Stadium in Beijing, People’s Republic of China.

This will be the third time the Olympics are held under the jurisdiction of 2 different National Olympic Committees(NOCs) ,Hong Kong and China.  The Olympic games were awarded to Beijing, People’s Republic of China after an exhaustive ballot of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on July 13, 2001. The official logo of the games, titled “Dancing Beijing,” features a stylized calligraphic character, meaning capital, referencing the host city. The mascots of Beijing 2008 are the five Fuwa, each representing one color of the Olympic rings. The Olympic slogan, One World, One Dream, calls upon the world to unite in the Olympic spirit. Athletes will compete in 302 events in 28 sports, just one event more than was on the schedule of the Athens games of 2004.

The Chinese government has promoted the games to highlight China’s emergence on the world stage, amidst concerns about environmental issues and human rights violations, particularly in Tibet. There have also been growing concerns of major nations boycotting the Olympics in protest of China’s actions in Tibet. Earlier in 2007, former IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch had said that he believes that the Beijing games will be “the best in Olympic history.”

The Beijing government has issued new mandates that require police officers in the city to act more appropriately. The government has circulated pamphlets urging officers to desist from using foul language, being arrogant, and hanging up on people who call to report crimes.  New guidelines are announced  for Beijing police to clean up Beijing’s image ahead of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.

Police officers are under new orders to lose their arrogance, clean up their foul language, and are told not to hang up when citizens call to report crimes.  According to police surveys the common complaint against officers in big cities like Beijing is a bad attitude.  Authorities often respond to calls for help by saying ‘ “it’s nothing to do with me. Go and bug someone else”. Or “no evidence?” Then don’t bother us”.

But now the municipal police authority has circulated a code of conduct pamphlet that shows how to project a “sympathetic and police image”, and beginning in August, officers will be penalized for any infractions. Violators will be subject to penalties including reprimands, fines or disciplinary action.

The code also bans officers from sounding sirens unnecessarily, hanging up on people who report crimes, or responding with indifference to people needing help. Officials said penalties would be based on reports from undercover inspectors and whistle-blowers”.

A drive has also been launched to improve the poor English translations common on Chinese signage and labeling in readiness for the Olympics.  Previous attempts to wipe out Chinglish – the mistranslated phrases often seen on Chinese street signs and product labels – have met with little success.  Emergency exits at Beijing airport read “No entry on peacetime” and the Ethnic Minorities Park is named “Racist Park”. Chinglish has become a running joke among many foreigners in China, and several websites have been set up listing humorous examples of mistranslation. A road sign on Beijing’s Avenue of Eternal Peace warns of a dangerous pavement with the words: “To Take Notice of Safe; The Slippery are Very Crafty”.  Menus frequently list items such as “Corrugated iron beef”, “Government abuse chicken” and “Chop the strange fish”.The mistranslations arise because many Chinese words express concepts obliquely and can be interpreted in multiple ways, making translation a minefield for non-English speakers.  The municipal government in Beijing first tried to stamp out the problem just a month after being awarded the 2008 Olympics back in 2001.

By May 2007, construction of all thirty-one Beijing-based Olympic Games venues had begun.  The Chinese government is also investing in the renovation and construction of six venues outside Beijing as well as fifty-nine training centers. Its largest architectural pieces will be the Beijing National Stadium, Beijing National Indoor Stadium, Beijing National Aquatics Centre, Olympic Green Convention Centre, Olympic Green, and Beijing Wukesong Culture & Sports Center. Almost 85 percent of the construction budget for the six main venues is being funded by US$2.1 billion  in corporate bids and tenders. Investments are expected from corporations seeking ownership rights after the 2008 Summer Olympics. Some venues will be owned and governed by the State General Administration of Sports, which will use them after the Olympics as facilities for all future national sports teams and events.

It was announced on July 8, 2005 that the equestrian events are to be held in Hong Kong because of the “uncertainties of equine diseases and major difficulties in establishing a disease-free zone.” The five venues outside Beijing will be located in Qingdao, Hong Kong, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Qinhuangdao.