Michael Schumacher
The need for speed is inherent in some. I once broke my ankle in a few places in a racing car accident, and I was just doing it as a hobby, mind you! And then there is Formula 1….
The world of sport has seen some real prodigies. There’s tough competition in every sport and some people have managed to shine brighter than the rest with their performance. These are the chosen few with a stupendous streak of the extraordinary. For some people the pace of living is just not enough. Their hearts look for more speed and zeal to revive their soul. One such man is Michael Schumacher. Schumi, as the world fondly calls him, was born in the fall of 1969. Right from an early age, he showed great affinity towards the racing track. His father, Rolf Schumacher was a bricklayer and took several small jobs like repairing and renting karts to support Schumi’s love for racing. Little did he know then, that this little kid will have the world at his feet one day.
When he was just four, his father modified his pedal kart by adding a small motorcycle engine. But, he crashed it into a lamp post. Then his parents took him to the karting track, where he became the youngest member of the club. At the age of six when most kids barely start proper schooling, Michael had started his winning streak with club championships. Throughout his career, this prodigal driver has shown extraordinary accuracy, committing very few mistakes especially in tough conditions when tracks get wet. In 1991, the racing world saw the debut of Michael Schumacher with Jordan-Ford. Later he shifted to Ferrari for the rest of the decade. With his Midas touch, Schumi turned the once struggling Ferrari into a winning machine. The wheels never stopped rolling since then.
At one point in his career, Michael was the highest paid racing driver in the world and second highest earning sportsman in the world, earning a reported million US in 2004 (m of which was his salary from Ferrari). In year 2004, he was listed by the Forbes magazine as the second highest paid athlete in the world. Taking his glory further, in 2005, ‘Eurobusiness’ magazine identified Schumacher as the world’s first billionaire athlete! A huge chunk of his earning also came from advertising. In 2006, he surprised the world with his announcement of retirement from Professional Formula 1 racing. His fans thought that the fairy tale had ended but nah. He came back to the F1 circuit in 2009. Michael holds the records for most career wins (91), most wins in a season, most career pole positions, most points during a season (148 in 2004), most consecutive world championships (5), most consecutive race
