Michael Schumacher’s name continues to resonate with greatness in the racing world. This German driver was a titan on the F1 circuits, amassing an impressive 91 wins during his prime in the 1990s. Upon his retirement in 2006, he held the record for the most wins, pole positions, and podium finishes, and still holds the record for the most fastest laps (77). However, his illustrious career was abruptly halted in 2013 due to a life-altering brain accident. Since then, Schumacher has remained out of the public eye, with little known about his current health status. Recent reports suggest he was seen at his daughter’s wedding, sparking speculation that he may be ready to return to the public sphere. Here’s everything we know about this legendary racing driver.
Michael Schumacher: The Early Years
Born in the West German town of Hürth on January 3, 1969, Schumacher was raised in a working-class family that nurtured his talent. His father, Rolf, was a bricklayer who later managed the local kart track and modified his son’s pedal kart with a diesel engine when he was just four years old.
After a youthful mishap involving a lamppost, Schumacher’s father enrolled him as the youngest member of the karting club in neighboring Kerpen-Horrem. Rolf built him a kart from spare parts and took on two jobs to support his son’s dreams. At the tender age of six, Schumacher won his first club championship.
His star began to rise, and so did his ambition. German regulations prohibited kart drivers from obtaining their license under the age of 14. To circumvent this, Schumacher obtained his license in Luxembourg at the age of 12 and went on to win the German Junior Kart Championship. A year later, he secured his German kart license.
By 1987, he was the German and European kart champion and dropped out of school to work as a mechanic. Shortly after, he transitioned to racing cars: in 1989, he joined the WTS Formula Three team, before becoming part of the Mercedes-Benz junior racing program in 1990.
The Rise of Schumacher: The Racing Driver
On the track, Schumacher quickly made a name for himself as a formidable competitor.
From Rookie to Racing Legend
Starting his career with Jordan-Ford, moving on to Benetton, and finally landing with Ferrari, he began to accumulate victories from 1990 onwards. In 1992, he finished three points ahead of the esteemed racer Ayrton Senna, who confided to a friend that he saw the German as “the next big threat, way ahead of all the other drivers around at the time.”
He became renowned for his speed and his ability to push his car to its absolute limit, often snatching victory at the last moment with a daring fast lap.
Commitment to Excellence
He was also dedicated to enhancing his racing skills by any means necessary, particularly through fitness. In 2004, Slate magazine dubbed him “the most dominant athlete in the world”, attributing his success to being “quicker, stronger, and fitter than the competition by outworking them in the weight room.” His commitment even extended to a four-hour daily routine to train his neck muscles, to withstand the G-forces he experienced in the cockpit.
The German’s adaptable driving style, combined with his coolness under pressure, earned him the nickname “Regenkonig” or the Rain King, as he won 17 out of 30 races he competed in under wet conditions.
Respect from Peers
In 2023, Giancarlo Fisichella told La Gazzetta dello Sport that his former rival “didn’t even seem to have sweated” in races, adding that he “rewrote the history of Formula One.” Fellow F1 drivers concurred: drivers who followed Schumacher onto the track, such as Sebastian Vettel, cite Schumacher as a key inspiration (Vettel, who retired in 2022, referred to him as an “idol”), while Austrian Niki Lauda hailed him as “the greatest. Nobody will ever beat him, as long as we are alive.”
After a stellar career, Schumacher finally retired in 2012. He did so as the fifth-highest earning athlete of all time, winner of numerous awards – including a Lifetime Achievement Award presented by Pelé – and a holder of multiple records, some of which remain unbeaten to this day.
The Tragic Accident
In 2013, Schumacher was skiing in Grenoble when he suffered a fall and hit his head on a rock. Despite being an experienced skier, he hit an exposed rock as he descended the mountain, was thrown through the air, and struck another rock 10 metres away, cracking his helmet.
Michael Schumacher’s Recovery Journey
Michael Schumacher suffered severe damage to the right side of his head, so severe that medics stated he would have died had he not been wearing protective headgear. He was airlifted to the hospital, where he underwent two surgeries and was placed in a medically-induced coma for seven months.
By April 2014, he was showing moments of consciousness and was brought out of the coma. In November 2014, reports indicated that he was “paralysed and in a wheelchair”, unable to speak. However, Schumacher’s manager, Sabine Kehm, informed the press the following year that he was slowly improving: “I can only say again: There are signs that give us encouragement,” she said.
Further details about his condition remain scarce. In 2023, his former Ferrari manager, Jean Todt, told French daily L’Equipe that “Michael is here, so I don’t miss him. [But he] is simply not the Michael he used to be. He is different and is wonderfully guided by his wife and children who protect him. His life is different now and I have the privilege of sharing moments with him. That’s all there is to say. Unfortunately, fate struck him ten years ago. He is no longer the Michael we knew in Formula One.”
Since the accident, Schumacher has been living at his home in Lake Geneva, with his wife Corinna fiercely protecting his privacy. Reportedly, only three family members and a team of medics are regularly in contact with Schumacher, who is said to require round-the-clock care.
“‘We’re together. We live together at home. We do therapy,” she said in a 2021 Netflix documentary. “We do everything we can to make Michael better and to make him comfortable. And to simply make him feel our family, our bond.”
Recent Updates on Schumacher’s Life
Despite the near-total silence on Schumacher’s condition, after 11 years, it was reported that the racing driver had attended his first public event. This was the wedding of his 27-year-old daughter Gina to Iain Bethke, at the family’s villa in Majorca. Guests were asked to leave their phones at the door, and Majorcan news site Ultima Hora reported that the ceremony lasted around half an hour, with no media invited.
There could be another appearance on the horizon: Schumacher’s 25-year-old son Mick Schumacher got engaged this week to long-time girlfriend Laila Hasanovic. Mick spoke in 2017 about his dad being an “idol” and “role model”, and has followed in his footsteps by also pursuing a career in racing. With a wedding to attend, perhaps we’ll be seeing more from Schumacher himself in the future.
