Happy Birthday to Michael Schumacher, the Formula One phenomenon
The name Michael Schumacher is enough for any Formula One fan. We find out more about what makes him a phenomenon.
Michael Schumacher is a legend whose name is known to everyone who has been remotely active on any sort of media. He is a Formula One legend having won the title seven times – five with Ferrari and two with Benetton.
The man broke into Formula One after Jordan driver Bertrand Gachot was imprisoned. Michael impressed everyone with a qualifying grid slot of seven and was snapped up by Benetton for the following race.
This was just the start. In 1994, he won the first of his two world championships with the Benetton team. In 1996, Michael moved to Ferrari, where he won another five championships in succession until his departure in 2006.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the man changed the way Formula One functioned. Michael was one of the first Formula One drivers to focus on fitness. He would practise whenever possible to make better his skills.
In fact, he used to get a doctor to check his blood samples during his testing and used to try to reach the same levels of blood oxygen at the gym during his workouts to teach his body to cope better with F1 loads. Things like these made Michael stand out.
On the track, he was ruthless. A good example of this is the Silverstone 1998 Grand Prix. Michael had been given a stop-go penalty after he passed Alexander Wurz under ‘safety car’ conditions, but the penalty was issued after the 25-minute stipulation, and Ferrari decided to take on the FIA and chose to serve the penalty during the final lap of the race. This meant that Michael crossed the finish line before he served the penalty, and was declared the winner.
His dominance was broken only by the new rules introduced in 2005. Michael left Formula one in 2006 only to return with Ross Brawn and Mercedes in 2010 for three years.
While his fans were very happy, he could not add to his tally of 91 wins and left just before Mercedes exploded, helping Hamilton and Rosberg win six drivers and constructors championships in succession.
In 2013, Michael met with a skiing accident, which left him in an induced coma. The Formula One driver is yet to recover from it.
As he turns 51 today, fans all over are waiting for a miracle to bring him back on his feet.
Happy Birthday, Michael!
(Edited by Saheli Sen Gupta)
