Michael Schumacher

German Formula 1 driver and record seven-time World Champion who also holds outright records for race wins (91) and fastest laps (77) accumulated across spells with Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes.

Michael Schumacher won seven Formula One World Championships — five consecutively with Ferrari between 2000 and 2004, including 13 wins from 18 races in 2004 — and accumulated 91 Grand Prix victories and 68 pole positions, records that stood until Lewis Hamilton surpassed them in 2020 and 2017 respectively. He drove for Jordan (1991, debut), Benetton (1991–1995) and Ferrari (1996–2006), with a comeback for Mercedes (2010–2012). He won 91 Grand Prix — a record that stood until Lewis Hamilton surpassed it in 2020. He set 68 pole positions — a record until Hamilton in 2017. He scored 155 podiums across 306 race starts, accumulating 1,566 career championship points. His 5 consecutive titles from 2000 to 2004 represent the most dominant sustained period in the sport's history — he won 13 of 18 races in 2004. He secured the 2002 championship with 6 races remaining. His technical feedback to engineers, tyre management and wet-weather ability were considered the defining qualities of his skill set beyond raw pace. He won his first 2 championships with Benetton in 1994 and 1995 before joining Ferrari — at the time a struggling team — and transforming them into the dominant force of the early 2000s. In December 2013 he suffered a severe traumatic brain injury in a skiing accident. Details of his condition have been kept private by his family since.

Aggressive, precise, exceptional in wet conditions

Most successful F1 driver of his era, revolutionized racing professionalism

• F1 World Champion 1994, 1995 (Benetton), 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 (Ferrari)
• 91 race wins (record until Hamilton 2020)
• 68 pole positions (record until Hamilton 2017)
• Ferrari's most successful driver era
• Youngest double champion at the time (1994–95)