The Red Baron - Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher drove in his first kart race at the age of five. Although father Rolf was not enthusiastic about his son's expensive kart ambitions, the boy was able to pursue his career because from time to time he received financial support from local sponsors. Rolf had built his first kart and registered him in the Kart-Club Kerpen-Horrem.
His enthusiasm for kart-driving continued to grow. Michael was still too young for championship races and he had to wait until 1983 for his German kart licence. In 1984, he promptly became German Junior Champion. In 1985 he won the German Junior Championships again and also came second in the Junior World Championships in Le Mans.
In 1988, Michael Schumacher embarked on his first season in a Formula racing car. Finally he was able to show what he had learnt in his kart days. However, the step-up proved to be difficult, he had to turn down an offer of a test drive in a Formula Ford, because he didn't have the necessary DM 500 required to start.
At the next test opportunity, he signed a contract with the Euphra Formula Ford team. Team manager Jurgen Dilk also secured Michael Schumacher a place in Formula Konig. Here Michael showed his natural talent and easily won nine races out of ten, which also assured him of the championship.
At the end of 1988, Michael Schumacher drew the attention of Willi Weber, who was looking for up-and-coming talents. During a Formula Ford race on the rain-soaked Salzburgring, Michael stormed from 7th to 1st place during just one lap.

Weber invited him to a test drive in his WTS (Weber Tuning Stuttgart) Formula 3 team. At the test drive, Schumacher was at once a sensational 1.5 seconds faster than the established team member. A two-year contract for 1989 and 1990 was signed.

And then, as we know, things really got going Nowadays, Michael Schumacher is a five-times World Champion F1 driver and tops the list of most Grand Prix wins in the history of Formula One.

Michael Schumacher got his nick name "Red Baron", when he started his work with Ferrari. Undoubtedly those years which he had spent with Ferrari were the brightest pages not only in his life, but in history of Formula. His 2004 year is now legendary: he won 13 races in 18 tries, and claimed an unprecedented seventh overall championship. Michael Schumacher is a seven-times World Champion F1 driver and tops the list of most Grand Prix wins in the history of Formula One.
In 2006 he retired, but he couldn't imagine his life without Formula One, so he returned back, but know he is in Mercedes Team.
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 and donated tens of millions of dollars to charity. Michael and his younger brother Ralf Schumacher are the only brothers to win races in Formula One, and they were the first brothers to finish 1st and 2nd in the same race, in Montreal in 2001, and there again (in switched order) in 2003.