Michael Schumacher celebrates 20 years of F1 excellence
The first Formula race after the European summer break will take place this weekend with Round 12 of the 2011 Formula One World Championship at the Belgian Grand Prix at the historic Spa-Francorchamps Circuit. For the sport’s most accomplished driver, Michael Schumacher, the race will mark his 20th anniversary in Formula One, having made his debut at the Belgian Grand Prix on August 25th of 1991.
“The race in Spa will certainly have a special touch to it this time, as this is where I drove my first ever Formula 1 race 20 years ago. It is hard to believe that this is such a long time. A lot has changed in those 20 years, but one thing has not: the track still is sensational. I just love this great nature and the resulting layout with all the ups and downs. To me, Spa remains my ’living room’, because it has been the stage for so many things that have been remarkable for my sporting career. This is why this time I would like to specifically send a big thank you to all my fans for their loyalty and support that I was happy to receive in those 20 years and also since my comeback. Talking about the sporting side prior to Spa, we are all returning from the summer break with fresh motivation and energy and will try to set an exclamation mark to the Belgian GP,” said Schumacher.
Long time F1 compatriot and team boss Ross Brawn, his Team Principal had this to say about Schumi: “Congratulations to Michael who marks his 20th anniversary in Formula One this weekend. It has been an honor and a privilege to work so closely with him for 17 of those 20 years, and I look forward to more good times ahead together.”
Born in Hurth-Hermulhein, West Germany, in 1969, his father managed a go-kart track in the town of Kerpen, where he won the German junior karting championship in 1984 and 1985 and the German and European championship titles in 1987. By 1988, he began racing on the Formula Three circuit, and after winning the German Formula Three championship in 1990, he made his Formula One debut at the Spa the following year, racing for Irish businessman Eddie Jordan’s team. Even if he retired during the first lap of that race due to clutch problems, he earned the attention and a successful five-year contract with the Benetton team, including a driver’s world championship title in 1994.
He signed up with Ferrari 1997, figuring in a controversial racing incident when he tried in vain to ram the car of his top rival, Jacques Villeneuve, during the final race at Jerez in Spain. Stripped of his second-place finish because of this incident, he figured in another crash with his Ferrari during the 1999 British Grand Prix where he had a broken leg, the only injury of his career to date. In the pivotal millennium year, Schumacher won the 2000 drivers’ world championship, Ferrari’s first since 1979 and went on to bag the championship another four years in a row. His sixth driver’s championship in 2003 broke the previous record held by the Argentine driver Juan Manual Fangio. In 2004, Schumacher won 13 out of 18 total GP races held that year, bagging his last and seventh championship. By the age of 37, Schumacher retired from racing as the winningest driver in Formula One history. He came out of retirement in 2010 racing for the Mercedes GP team.
