Michael Schumacher: Age, Biography, and Wiki
Michael Schumacher was born on January 3, 1969, in Hürth, West Germany. He is the son of Rolf and Elisabeth Schumacher and is widely regarded as one of the most successful Formula One drivers in history. Schumacher's entry into racing began at a young age, with his father installing a small motorcycle engine in his pedal kart when he was just four years old. He won his first karting championship at the age of six and continued to excel in karting throughout his childhood and teenage years.
| Occupation | Sports |
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| Date of Birth | 3 January 1969 |
| Age | 56 Years |
| Birth Place | N/A |
| Horoscope | Capricorn |
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Height, Weight, and Measurements
- Height: 5 feet 8.5 inches (174 cm)
- Weight: Approximately 67 kg (147 lbs)
- Measurements: Not publicly detailed
At the start of the season the Sauber team, planning their Formula One debut with Mercedes backing for the following year, invoked a clause in Schumacher's contract that stated that if Mercedes entered Formula One, Schumacher would drive for them. It was eventually agreed that Schumacher would stay with Benetton; Peter Sauber stated that "[Schumacher] didn't want to drive for us. Why would I have forced him?" The year was dominated by the Williams FW14B of Nigel Mansell and Riccardo Patrese, featuring powerful Renault engines, semi-automatic gearboxes, and active suspension to control the car's ride height. In the conventional Benetton B192, Schumacher took his place on the podium for the first time, finishing third in the. Through what has been described as a tactical masterstroke, he went on to take his first victory at the, in a wet race at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, which by 2003 he would call "far and away my favourite track". That also marked as the last Formula One car to win a Grand Prix while sporting a H-pattern manual gearbox.
| Height | 174 cm |
| Weight | 147 lbs |
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Dating & Relationship Status
Michael Schumacher is married to Corinna Betsch, whom he wed in 1995. They have two children together, Mick and Gina-Marie Schumacher.
When Schumacher was four, his father modified his pedal kart by adding a small motorcycle engine. After he crashed it into a lamp post in Kerpen, his parents took him to the karting track at Kerpen-Horrem, where he became the youngest member of the karting club. His father built him a kart from discarded parts; at the age of six, Schumacher won his first club championship. To support his racing, Schumacher's father took on a second job renting and repairing karts, while his mother worked at the track's canteen. Nevertheless, when Schumacher needed a new engine costing 800 DM, his parents were unable to afford it; he was able to continue racing with support from local businessmen.
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Net Worth and Salary
As of 2025, Michael Schumacher's net worth is estimated at approximately $600 million. During the peak of his career, he earned between $80 million and $100 million annually, making him one of the highest-paid athletes in the world. His income came from a combination of racing salaries, endorsements, and business ventures. Schumacher notably earned $10 million annually for wearing a Shell hat during public appearances and $8 million more for promoting Deutsche Vermögensberatung.
In, Schumacher joined Ferrari, a team that had last won the Drivers' Championship in and the Constructors' Championship in , for a salary of $60 million over two years. He left Benetton a year before his contract with them expired; he later cited the team's damaging actions in 1994 as his reason for opting out of his deal. In 1997, Schumacher lured Benetton employees Rory Byrne (designer) and Ross Brawn (technical director) to Ferrari. Ferrari had previously come close to the championship in and. The team had suffered a disastrous downturn in the early 1990s, partially as its famous V12 engine was no longer competitive against the smaller, lighter, and more fuel-efficient V10s of its competitors. Various drivers, notably Alain Prost, had given the vehicles disparaging labels, such as "truck", "pig", and "accident waiting to happen". Furthermore, the poor performance of the Ferrari pit crews was considered a running joke. At the end of 1995, although the team had improved into a solid competitor, it was still considered inferior to front-running teams like Benetton and Williams. Schumacher declared the Ferrari F310 good enough to win a championship, although afterwards his teammate Eddie Irvine labelled the F310 "an awful car", a "piece of junk", and "almost undriveable", while designer John Barnard admitted that the car "wasn't very good". Irvine also later commented: "The '96 [Ferrari] car was a disaster and was nearly undriveable. Only someone of Michael Schumacher's ability − and maybe Senna – could have driven it."
Career, Business, and Investments
Michael Schumacher's career spanned from 1991 to 2006 and then again from 2010 to 2012. He won a record seven World Drivers' Championships with Benetton and Ferrari before retiring from Ferrari. Schumacher returned to racing with Mercedes but officially retired in 2012. His career was marked by incredible success, including 91 Grand Prix wins.
After his first retirement, Schumacher continued to earn significant sums from endorsements and business ventures. However, his life took a dramatic turn after a severe skiing accident in December 2013, which left him with serious brain injuries.
Born in Hürth to a working-class family, Schumacher started his career in kart racing aged four. He won his first karting title two years later in a kart built from discarded parts. After having enjoyed success in karting—such as winning the direct-drive Karting European Championship in 1987—and in several single-seater series, Schumacher made a one-off Formula One appearance with Jordan at the. He was signed by Benetton for the rest of the season, winning his first and second drivers' titles consecutively in and with the team. Schumacher moved to the struggling Ferrari team in. During his first few years with the team, Schumacher lost out on the title in the final race of the season in and, and suffered a broken leg from a brake failure in. He and Ferrari won five consecutive titles from to, including unprecedented sixth and seventh titles, while breaking several records. After finishing third in and second in, Schumacher retired from the sport, although he later made a brief return with Mercedes from to.
During 1990, along with his Formula Three rivals Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Karl Wendlinger, Schumacher joined the Mercedes-Benz junior racing programme in the World Sportscar Championship. This was unusual for a young driver, as most of Schumacher's contemporaries competed in Formula 3000 on the way to Formula One. Weber advised Schumacher that being exposed to professional press conferences and driving powerful cars in long-distance races would help his career. In the 1990 World Sportscar Championship season, Schumacher won the season finale at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in a Sauber–Mercedes C11, and finished fifth in the Drivers' Championship despite only driving in three of the nine races. He continued with the team in the 1991 World Sportscar Championship season, winning again at the final race of the season at Autopolis in Japan with a Sauber–Mercedes-Benz C291, leading to a ninth-place finish in the Drivers' Championship. He also competed at the 1991 24 Hours of Le Mans, finishing fifth in a car shared with Wendlinger and Fritz Kreutzpointner. He further competed in one race in the 1991 Japanese Formula 3000 Championship, finishing second.
In his debut, Schumacher impressed the paddock by qualifying seventh; he did so in a midfield car, the Jordan 191, which he drove half a day of testing and at a track he had never raced at. This also matched the team's season-best grid position, and Schumacher outqualified veteran de Cesaris. Motor Sport journalist Joe Saward reported that, after qualifying, "clumps of German journalists were talking about 'the best talent since Stefan Bellof. Schumacher retired on the first lap of the race with clutch problems.
In, Schumacher successfully defended his title with Benetton, which now had the same Renault engine as Williams; according to Motor Sport magazine, Benetton had the better team, while Williams had the superior car. Schumacher accumulated 33 more points than second-placed Hill. With Herbert as teammate, he took Benetton to its first Constructors' Championship, breaking the dominance of McLaren and Williams, and became the youngest two-time World Champion in Formula One history. The season was marred by several collisions with Hill, in particular an overtaking manoeuvre by Hill took them both out of the on lap 45, and again on lap 23 of the ; it also saw one of his career's best overtakes, with the one over Jean Alesi giving him the win at the, after he reduced the half a minute gap in the final dozen laps. Schumacher won 9 of the 17 races, including the, and finished on the podium 11 times. It was only once that he qualify worse than fourth; at the, he qualified 16th but nevertheless went on to win the wet-dry race, finishing 16 seconds ahead of Hill, with whom he had ferocious wheel-to-wheel racing and involved some crucial strategic calls. His bad qualifying was a result of a crash he had in the final free practice, and by the time his car was rebuilt, it had started to rain; this ended his 56-race streak of outqualifiyng his teammates that started in 1992, after he missed a gear in qualifying in Adelaide in 1991 and was outqualified by Nelson Piquet.
In 1996, Schumacher finished third in the Drivers' Championship and helped Ferrari to second place in the Constructors' Championship ahead of his old team Benetton. During the season, the car had reliability problems; Schumacher did not finish in 7 of the 16 races. At the, Schumacher took pole position but suffered engine failure on the formation lap. He won three races, more than the team's total tally for the period from 1991 to 1995, despite a poor chassis. He took his first win for Ferrari at the, where he lapped the entire field up to third place in the wet. After a bad start, which saw him dropping from third to sixth plac
Social Network
Michael Schumacher is not active on social media platforms, as his family has maintained a low public profile for him since the accident.
Education
Michael Schumacher's educational background is not extensively detailed. His focus from a young age was on racing, and he began competing professionally in karting at a very early age.
In summary, Michael Schumacher's remarkable career and enduring legacy have made him one of the wealthiest athletes in the world, despite his absence from the public eye in recent years.
In December 2013, Schumacher suffered a severe brain injury in a skiing accident. He was placed in a medically induced coma until June 2014. He left the hospital in Grenoble for further rehabilitation at the Lausanne University Hospital, before being relocated to his home to receive medical treatment and rehabilitation privately in September 2014. He has not made a public appearance since.
Regulations in Germany require a driver to be at least 14 years old to obtain a kart license. To get around this, Schumacher obtained a license in Luxembourg at the age of 12. In 1983, he obtained his German license, a year after he won the German Junior Kart Championship. Schumacher joined Eurokart dealer Adolf Neubert in 1985, and by 1987 was the German and European kart champion, then he quit school and began working as a mechanic.
The week before the race, Schumacher impressed Jordan designer Gary Anderson and team manager Trevor Foster during a test drive at the Silverstone circuit. Schumacher's manager Weber assured Jordan that Schumacher knew the challenging Spa-Francorchamps circuit well, although in fact he had only seen it as a spectator. During the race weekend, teammate Andrea de Cesaris was meant to show Schumacher the circuit but was held up with contract negotiations. Schumacher then learned the track on his own, by cycling around the track on a fold-up bike he brought with him.
