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.
