On January 3, 1969, a boy named Michael Schumacher was born in the small town of Hürth, Germany – a boy, who would go on to become the most successful Formula One driver of all times. For his 50^th birthday, the entire team of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport tips their hat to Michael Schumacher and wishes him all the very best!

Very few names are so synonymous with Formula One as that of Michael Schumacher. With 91 race wins and seven FIA Formula One Drivers’ World Championships, he is an absolute icon of the sport who has dominated the series like no one else.

2012 European Grand Prix Michael Schumacher

“Michael has had a tremendous impact on Formula One,” said Toto Wolff. “Not only did he set an incredible record – a record that is yet to be beaten – but he also shaped and changed the sport forever. As a driver, Michael took Formula One to a whole new level with his attention to detail and his technical knowledge. He did everything with great determination, from his engineering debriefs to his physical training, and was always searching for new ways to improve his on-track performance.”

Michael took some of his first steps as a professional racing driver with Mercedes when he joined the brand’s junior programme in 1990, racing in Group C sports cars and DTM. Together with Karl Wendlinger, he won the last race of the season in sports car racing– Michael’s first and only victory with Mercedes. He moved to Formula One in the following year, racing for Jordan before joining Benetton with whom he went on to win the Drivers’ World Championship in 1994 and 1995. One year later, Michael switched to Ferrari, where he laid the foundations for one of the most successful eras in Formula One. He stayed with the team from Maranello for a decade and won five consecutive Drivers’ (2000-2004) and six consecutive Constructors’ (1999-2004) Championships with the Scuderia.

Michael retired from Formula One after the 2006 campaign; however, when Mercedes re-joined Formula One as a works team in 2010, he made his return to the series as a driver. Working with the team in Brackley, Brixworth and Stuttgart, Michael played an important role in developing the long-term capabilities of the team that were the foundation of our future success in F1.

“I remember when I first met Michael back in 2012, it was on a flight from Zürich to Singapore,” said Toto. “He was sitting next to me and asked me if I was up for a game of backgammon. I think that I’m a decent backgammon player, but he absolutely crushed me in the first two rounds because I was so star-struck. Once I was over that, my game improved, and we ended up playing and talking for the entire flight. We had a really good and honest conversation and when we landed it felt like I had known him for much longer than I actually did.”

At that point, Michael only had a handful of races with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport left before he retired from Formula One at the end of 2012. He never won an F1 race in a Mercedes, but he played an important role in the success the team would enjoy in subsequent years.

“Michael is one of the founding fathers of the success we have had in the last five years,” said Toto. “There is no other driver like him and his vast experience contributed tremendously in the development of our team. He played a crucial role when we re-joined F1 and was one of the people who laid the foundation for our future success. We’re extremely grateful for everything he did for us. Today, we all tip our hats to you – happy birthday, Michael!”

Up until his tragic accident that left him in a coma, Michael Schumacher was still one of the highest-paid Formula One drivers in the world… even though he was no longer actively competing. That came down to the numerous lucrative personal sponsorship arrangements that the seven-time world champion retained even after retirement. But while some of his sponsors have been canceling their arrangements with Michael as he fights to recover, Mercedes is reportedly committed to standing by its former driver and brand ambassador.

Speaking with German newspaper Bild am Sonntag, Daimler chairman Dieter Zetsche said “We have given no thoughts to changing something in his contract,” wishing the retired F1 driver the best of luck in his recovery.

Via: Autoblog

Michael Schumacher is drifting “in and out of consciousness” and is still unable to talk, revealed a source close to the family.

It had previously been reported by German newspaper Bild that the F1 driver,who emerged from his coma this week after six months, was communicating with his family and was able to respond to his wife’s voice.

However, the communication is reportedly not yet verbal. Schumacher was transferred to University Hospital Lausanne on 16 June, close to his family home, where he will continue his rehabilitation.

He is expected to stay at the facility for a long period of time, according to Darcy Christen, head of media at CHUV Lausanne.

“It won’t be days. It could be for the long-haul,” he said.

However, the move from Grenoble hospital to Switzerland was a “big step mentally” for his family.

“The transfer doesn’t mean that his condition improved markedly in the last few weeks. But he no longer needed to be in intensive care and a programme of rehabilitation is now under way,” a source close to the family said.

“He is still going in and out of consciousness but he is having more moments of consciousness more regularly than in April.

“He certainly can’t talk but there is some degree of communication.

“His doctors and family speak to him but he gets tired very quickly and needs a lot of rest. So this is kept to a minimum.”

The F1 driver suffered severe head injuries during a skiing accident on 29 December in the French resort of Meribel.

Medical experts have warned that he has only a one in 10 chance of making a full recovery, despite coming out of the coma and his former doctor, Gary Hartstein, says that he could only be “minimally conscious”.

Via: Independent.co.uk

It’s being reported that Michael Schumacher, former Mercedes F1 driver and current Mercedes-Benz brand ambassador, is currently at a hospital in Grenoble, France after suffering a critical head injury over the weekend from a skiing accident.  The director at the Meribel resort where Schumacher fell on Sunday said he had fallen and hit his head on a rock, with Schumacher wearing a helmet at the time of his fall. According to chief anesthesiologist Jean-Francois Payen, “He is in a critical state in terms of cerebral resuscitation. … We are working hour by hour.”

We’ll keep you up-to-date on Schumacher’s condition, and to Michael and his family, our thoughts and prayers are with you.

UPDATE 1/2/14: Michael Schumacher is currently in stable yet critical condition which is both good news and bad. Doctors have refused to give a prognosis for Schumacher and said they are trying to currently trying to reduce swelling in his brain by keeping him in a coma and keeping his body temperature between 93.2 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit.We will continue to keep him and his family in our thoughts and our prayers.

UPDATE 2/12/14:  Michael Schumacher is still in a coma after his skiing accident that occurred in France on Dec. 29.  He is now reportedly suffering from pneumonia, which is common among coma patients due to being on a ventilator and not being able to swallow and cough.  Doctors have been trying to wake Schumacher up for 2 1/2 weeks but have reportedly put the process on hold while they treat his lung infection with antibiotics.

UPDATE 4/4/14: It will still take a miracle for a full recovery but Michael Schumacher is making progress.  “Michael is making progress on his way. He shows moments of consciousness and awakening. We are on his side during his long and difficult fight, together with the team of the hospital in Grenoble, and we remain confident,” Sabine Kehm said in a statement.

Last week, Formula 1 legend and now brand ambassador for Mercedes-Benz, Michael Schumacher tested the safety systems of the new C-Class at the Mercedes Technology Center in Sindelfingen dubbed SimCity. SimCity is a secluded test site where new assistance systems can be tested, and smartly so – can you imagine the spy videos that would pop up on teh web if Schumacher crashed a car do to a failed system. Think back to the reporter that crashed the S-Class while testing the brake assist, the web blew up with failed crash photos.

Michael Schumacher tests the new C-Class

“Nobody is able to give 100% concentration all the time over a longer period to cope with the car and traffic situation. Sometimes just a moment of inattention is enough. And that is precisely why I support intelligent assistance systems for passenger cars,” Schumacher says about Intelligent Drive. “Assistance systems are never distracted and never get tired. Assistance systems have no delay for reaction time. They can save lives.”

“With Mercedes-Benz Intelligent Drive we have ushered in a new era of active safety, and are once again confirming our position as a safety pioneer,” says Jochen Hermann, chief engineer responsible for assistance systems and active safety at Mercedes-Benz. “Preventing accidents and minimising their consequences: this is the holistic approach taken by the Mercedes-Benz safety philosophy, which the company refers to collectively as ‘Real Life Safety’.”

Mercedes-Benz is consistently pursuing this strategy with the C-Class, which has numerous new assistance systems and significantly extended functions. Comfort and safety are enhanced at the same time. The new functions use the same sensor system – a new stereo camera and multi-stage radar sensors.

Michael Schumacher tests the new C-Class

The central focus of Schumacher’s test drives with the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class was on assistance systems such as:

COLLISION PREVENTION ASSIST PLUS. At speeds of 30 km/h and above, it issues a visual warning if the gap between the driver’s vehicle and the vehicle ahead is too small, with an additional acoustic warning at 7 km/h and above if there is a danger of collision, and provides an adaptive braking assistance function which, depending on the situation, can boost braking if the driver is not braking hard enough. If the driver does not react, now, for the first time in a series-production system, a collision with slower or stopping vehicles ahead when driving at speeds of up to 200 km/h can be prevented or at least minimised by automatic, autonomous partial braking. The system also brakes in response to stationary vehicles at a speed of up to 50 km/h, and is able to prevent rear-end collisions at speeds of up to 40 km/h.

DISTRONIC PLUS with Steering Assist and Stop&Go Pilot helps the driver to maintain a suitable distance, even in stop-and-go traffic. The steering assistance feature is new and helps the driver with lateral control of the vehicle, even on gentle bends, and offers a traffic jam vehicle following function.

The PRE-SAFE® Brake provides autonomous braking in the absence of a driver reaction. In typical urban driving scenarios, it can prevent collisions with pedestrians or stationary vehicles at speeds of up to approx. 50 km/h; or, at speeds of up to approx. 70 km/h reduce the impact of such collisions.

Brake Assist PLUS with Cross-Traffic Assist can, depending on the situation, boost the braking strength applied by the driver, if necessary up to full brake application and, for the first time, can also react to crossing traffic and pedestrians.

Active Blind Spot Assist issues a visual and – if the indicator is activated – an acoustic warning of the presence of a vehicle in the blind spot area; and can prevent a potential side-on collision by applying the brakes unilaterally at the last moment.

Active Lane Keeping Assist warns against unintentional drifting across a lane through vibrations of the steering wheel; and if the vehicle actually crosses a lane marking, corrects the vehicle’s position through unilateral brake application. It also applies the brakes unilaterally if the vehicle drifts across a lane marking and the neighbouring lane has, for example, oncoming traffic, overtaking or overtaken vehicles in it.

For Jochen Hermann, the tests with Michael Schumacher are a useful supplement to the millions of test kilometres in the simulator, on the roads and on test tracks around the world. “It is enormously enjoyable to work with Michael Schumacher. He is not only sensationally good at manoeuvring cars, he has an extraordinary understanding of technology and driving physics combined with the ability to identify potential solutions precisely and rapidly. I think this cooperation will bear a great deal of fruit in the future. Our shared aim is more safety for all road users.”

“What I personally find very good is this: it is not necessary to buy an S-Class to obtain the latest systems; instead Mercedes-Benz is rapidly making this technology accessible to many car drivers now – in the new C-Class, for example; or even, in the case of COLLISION PREVENTION ASSIST and ATTENTION ASSIST, as standard equipment right from the A-Class upwards. This is an approach I can only applaud – safety must be made available to everyone,” Schumacher said after concluding the test drives.

Former Mercedes AMG F1 driver and seven-time Formula 1 World Champion Michael Schumacher recently got behind the wheel of the 6.3-liter V8 SLS AMG GT3 at the Hockeneheim race track for a test drive.  Schumacher looked at the test drive as an opportunity to not only drive the Mercedes AMG race car but also to give feedback and share his expertise with engineers.

While most of us will never have the chance to get behind the wheel of the SLS AMG GT3, there’s always Gran Turismo 6.

Mercedes-Benz and Michael Schumacher today announced a long-term partnership which will extend far beyond motorsport and Formula 1. Michael Schumacher will mainly be involved with topics relating to the future, in particular the further development of the Mercedes-Benz safety and comfort systems “Intelligent Drive”, and represent them as an ambassador. For many years now the seven-times Formula 1 World Champion has been working on road safety; as a partner he will from now on be supporting Mercedes-Benz’s involvement in this field.

As a racing driver Schumacher’s motto was “If you don’t go forwards, you go backwards”. Again and again he motivated himself and his team throughout his incomparable career to achieve new developments and top performances. Now he is actively placing his expertise at the service of road users by searching for the best solutions for safety on the roads together with Mercedes-Benz.

“The future interests me much more than the present and past. During my Formula 1 time I always believed that you must not allow yourself to rest on your laurels, but that you must continuously try to improve. In so doing I was very often able to rely on the help of all the technologies available to me in the car and use them to my advantage. That is why I am a declared supporter of driving assistance systems both in the racing car and in the road-going car”, said Schumacher of the new partnership.

Dr. Joachim Schmidt, Executive Vice President Mercedes-Benz Cars, Sales and Marketing, added “We are proud that Michael Schumacher, the most successful and best-known racing driver in the world, is again joining us as our partner. Right from the time when he was a Mercedes-Benz junior and of course in the last three years as a driver in our Formula 1 team, Michael Schumacher has always been committed to our company’s projects. This is why it is only logical for both sides to pool their expertise and know-how and to use them, for instance, for enhancing driver assistance systems and thus improve safety on the roads within a partnership.”

Michael Schumacher will be making his first appearance as a partner of Mercedes-Benz together with Dr. Dieter Zetsche on 1 May 2013 at ‚Handelsblatt PATHFINDER – The future starts today.’. “I wanted to have a clearly defined remit within the new partnership and I find it very exciting to be able to contribute towards further developments and the optimisation of safety together with the inventor of the car”, said the record Formula 1 World Champion of this future working relationship.

The Mercedes AMG Petronas team had a dramatic rain soaked Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos on Sunday that saw Michael Schumacher end his Formula One career battling and finishing in seventh place, while teammate Nico Rosberg finished in 15th position.

Race Overview:

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel may have finished only sixth at the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prixo, but it was enough to make him the first triple world champion since Michael Schumacher.

Light rain made the start difficult, but then Vettel was spun through 180 degrees in Turn Four as he was hit by Bruno Senna’s Williams, which then took out Sergio Perez’s Sauber.

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton led Button in the early stages as Massa boiled through to snatch third place and then handed the place to Alonso on the fifth lap. But soon the conditions were bad enough for some to consider switching their slicks for Pirelli’s intermediates.

Button began to press Hamilton, and as Alonso ran wide in Turn One, Nico Hulkenberg took third in his Force India. Button led the sixth lap by a hair from Hamilton, who quickly repassed, but by lap eight Button was back in control and on the tenth Hamilton pitted, together with Alonso and Vettel, for the intermediates.

As mayhem reigned in the pits, Button and Hulkenberg – both still on slicks – pulled out a 40s lead, and on the 18th lap the German moved ahead. But their advantage was negated by a safety-car intervention between laps 23 and 29 to clear away debris, handing their pursuers a lifeline.

On the restart on Lap 30 Hulkenberg pulled away, but Button had grained his front tires and was repassed by Hamilton. The latter then set about reeling in Hulkenberg and snatched the lead on the 48th lap when the Force India twitched sideways. The conditions were beginning to worsen with more rain, however, and as the two leaders come across Raikkonen on the 54th lap, rejoining after a spin, and lapped runners Heikki Kovalainen and Timo Glock, Hulkenberg grabbed the opportunity to dive inside Hamilton as they crossed the line to start the 55th lap.

Unfortunately he then spun under braking for the Senna S, and hit Hamilton’s left-front wheel. The Briton’s last race for McLaren thus ended badly, and as Button resumed the lead Hulkenberg dropped back after being awarded a drive-through penalty for the incident.

There was more drama. Vettel pitted for medium tires on the 52nd lap, then came back in on the 54th for intermediates, but the second time around the tyre warmer on the new right-front wheel proved reluctant to come off, costing him precious time.

So with 11 laps to go Button was 16s ahead of Massa, who had driven a heroic race in which he helped Alonso at every opportunity. He duly handed his second place to the Spaniard on the 62nd lap, as Vettel worked his way up to sixth behind team mate Webber, who’d lost time earlier with a half spin, and Hulkenberg.

When Vettel subsequently overtook Schumacher on the 64th lap, the points situation became 281 to 278. There was to be no miracle for Ferrari, after all. Vettel was the triple consecutive world champion.

But there was one more drama to be played out. It came when Paul di Resta crashed his Force India heavily in the final sector on the 69th lap, bringing the safety car out again. Di Resta was okay, and as the safety car pulled in again before the 71st lap was over, in accordance with the rules, the field crossed the line for the last time under the yellows.

Button was delighted with a book-end victory, while Alonso was philosophical in defeat and Massa emotional on his home ground in another race in which he could have outpaced his team leader.

Ferrari thus stayed ahead of McLaren for the runner-up slot in the constructors’ championship. Webber was fortunate to be fourth after his adventures, as was Hulkenberg to be fifth. Vettel beamed from ear to ear, no longer caring that his damaged Red Bull had been bog slow in a straight line.

Behind Schumacher, seventh on his 306th and final outing, Jean-Eric Vergne drove a great race to eighth for Toro Rosso as Kamui Kobayashi’s yo-yo race yielded Sauber ninth ahead of Raikkonen, who never recovered from the off in Turn 12 where he had much trouble getting back on to the track after a trip up an escape road.

Eleventh was the subject of a massive fight between Caterham and Marussia. In the end Vitaly Petrov atoned for a spin while fighting with Charles Pic to catch and repass the Frenchman. That one move was worth 10th in the constructors’ standings to Tony Fernandes’ team, as they moved back ahead of Marussia.

Daniel Ricciardo was 13th after a late tyre stop in his Toro Rosso, but was comfortably ahead of the fight for 14th between Caterham’s Heikki Kovalainen, Nico Rosberg who had an appalling day in his Mercedes, and Marussia’s Timo Glock.

Kovalainen’s late pass on both was the icing on the cake for Caterham. Pedro de la Rosa headed Narain Karthikeyan home in the HRTs, and Di Resta was classified 19th as Hamilton, Senna and Perez were joined on the retirement list by Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado who also spun out.

Mercedes AMG Petronas team thoughts and tire info for the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix

• Both drivers suffered a puncture from debris in the early stages of the race which compromised their afternoons
• Michael stopped four times on laps 5, 8, 17 and 54, with a prime/prime/inter/prime/inter tire usage
• Nico also came into the pits four times on laps 9, 18, 20 and 50, using option/inter/prime/prime/inter tires

Michael Schumacher

What an exciting and eventful Grand Prix! Strangely enough, my last ever Formula One race began with a puncture which pushed me down the running order. But it’s always been my philosophy to never give up – there’s always a chance, you just have to keep going and seize it when it comes. It’s a strange sort of coincidence that I’ve ended my Formula One career now in P7, which was my first ever qualifying result at Spa-Francorchamps 308 races ago. It also occurs to me that I was driving with the number seven on my car today and that I have seven world championship trophies in my cabinet. Congratulations to Sebastian Vettel on claiming his third world title in a row. I’m very proud of Sebastian and really thrilled for him. As early as the first lap, I suddenly found him blocking the track facing the wrong way, but then the two of us both staged great comebacks in the race. His performance also showed that you just have to keep plugging away. Even under these difficult conditions, my final Formula One race was tremendous fun, and I would once again like to thank the team and all my fans for their support over the past years. I’ve enjoyed the time we’ve spent together very much indeed.

Nico Rosberg

That was definitely the longest race of my life today! The start was pretty good, and I was running in the top eight. After the puncture however, there was damage to the floor and I lost a lot of performance. So unfortunately I had no chance to fight back from there. It must have been a fantastic race for the fans here in Interlagos and watching on the TV and I hope they enjoyed the show. Congratulations to Sebastian on the world title which is very well deserved. For myself, I am now looking forward to next year and the chance to attack again. Many thanks to the team for all of their efforts this year which saw our first win together, and we can look forward to making further progress and a better 2013.

Ross Brawn

We saw a very dramatic race today and a fitting finale to a great season for Formula One. From our perspective, the two punctures early on put us in a difficult position with both cars. Nico’s car suffered a lot of damage and that made his race very difficult. Michael’s puncture wasn’t as severe and the team did a good job to recover, with some help from the safety car. Michael showed all of the skills that we know he has today to salvage his race; considered overtaking, good decisions on tire strategy, and he kept the car on the road to bring us home some points. It was a nice way to finish the season and his career with us. In terms of results, his second spell in Formula One hasn’t been as special but it has been so for all of us who have had the privilege of working with him. It has been a real honour for all of the boys and girls at our team, and working alongside Michael gives you a real understanding of why he is so special and has achieved seven world championships. He will be missed and we all wish him the very best for the future. Congratulations to Sebastian on achieving his third world title today, a very impressive achievement.

Norbert Haug

What an incredibly dramatic way to round off a long championship season! Michael and Nico had to make unplanned stops for punctures caused by debris on the track, losing a lot of time in the process. Both cars sustained damage to their underbody as a result, which affected downforce and pushed up lap times, with Nico’s car suffering more than Michael’s. In his final race, Michael mastered the difficult, damp conditions on the track in impressive style, battling his way through to seventh place. It was great to see Michael overcoming all these problems to finish among the points in his last ever Formula One race. We thank Michael not only for his tremendous dedication and his racing achievements for our team, but also for those great personal qualities that he manifested at all times. The three seasons he spent with us will always serve as a model of team play at its best. Congratulations to Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull Racing on wrapping up the world championship hat-trick. To become world champion three years in succession is a remarkable feat that has been achieved by only two previous drivers – Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher.

Michael Schumacher was born January 3,1969 and is known to many of us as a German Formula One driver, racing for the Mercedes team. But, did you know Schumacher is a seven-time World Champion and is considered to be one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time.

Schumacher has set several F1 records throughout his career: most championships, race victories, fastest laps, pole positions, points scored and most races won in a single season (13 in 2004). In 2002 he became the only driver in Formula One history to finish in the top three in every race of a season and then also broke the record for most consecutive podium finishes. According to the official Formula One website he is “statistically the greatest driver the sport has ever seen”. In a survey of 217 F1 drivers, Schumacher was voted the second greatest driver of the world championship era (which began in 1950), behind the late Ayrton Senna.

After beginning his race career with karting, Schumacher won German drivers’ championships in Formula König and Formula Three before joining Mercedes in the World Sportscar Championship. After one Mercedes-funded race for the Jordan Formula One team Schumacher signed as a driver for the Benetton F1 team in 1991. After winning consecutive championships with Benetton in 1994/1995, Schumacher then moved to Ferrari in 1996 and won another five consecutive drivers’ titles with them from 2000 through 2004. Schumacher retired from Formula One driving in 2006, but stayed on with Ferrari as an advisor. Schumacher agreed to return for Ferrari part-way through 2009, as a substitute for the injured Felipe Massa, but was prevented by a neck injury. He later signed a three-year contract to drive for the new Mercedes GP team starting in 2010.

Schumacher’s career has not been without controversy though. He was twice involved in collisions in the final race of a season that would determine the outcome of the world championship. First with Damon Hill in 1994 in Adelaide, and again with Jacques Villeneuve in 1997 in Jerez.

Away from the track, Schumacher is an ambassador for UNESCO and a spokesman for driver safety. He has been involved in numerous humanitarian efforts throughout his life and donated tens of millions of dollars to charity. Michael and his younger brother Ralf Schumacher are the only brothers to win races in Formula One, and they were the first brothers to finish 1st and 2nd in the same race, in Montreal in 2001, and there again (in switched order) in 2003.

Schumacher’s Early Years

Schumacher was born in Hürth, North Rhine-Westphalia, to Rolf Schumacher, a bricklayer, and his wife Elisabeth. When Schumacher was four, his father modified his pedal kart by adding a small motorcycle engine. When Schumacher 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 soon built him a kart from discarded parts and at the age of six Schumacher won his first club championship. To support his son’s racing, Rolf Schumacher took on a second job renting and repairing karts, while his wife worked at the track’s canteen. Nevertheless, when Schumacher needed a new engine costing 800 DM, his parents were unable to afford it; Michael was able to continue racing with support from local businessmen.

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. From 1984 on, Schumacher won many German and European kart championships. He joined Eurokart dealer Adolf Neubert in 1985 and by 1987 he was the German and European kart champion, then he quit school and began working as a mechanic. In 1988 he made his first step into single-seat car racing by participating in the German Formula Ford and Formula König series, winning the latter.

In 1989, Schumacher signed with Willi Weber’s WTS Formula Three team. Funded by Weber, he competed in the German Formula 3 series, winning the title in 1990. He won also the Macau Grand Prix. At the end of 1990, along with his Formula 3 rivals Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Karl Wendlinger, he joined the Mercedes junior racing programme in the World Sports-Prototype Championship. This was unusual for a young driver: most of Schumacher’s contemporaries would compete in Formula 3000 on the way to Formula One. However, 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 3 of the 9 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 Le Mans during that season, finishing 5th in a car shared with Karl Wendlinger and Fritz Kreutzpointner. In 1991, he competed in one race in the Japanese Formula 3000 Championship, finishing second.

Formula One Career

Overview

Schumacher was noted throughout his career for his ability to produce fast laps at crucial moments in a race, to push his car to the very limit for sustained periods. Motor sport author Christopher Hilton observed in 2003 that “A measure of a driver’s capabilities is his performance in wet races, because the most delicate car control and sensitivity are needed”, and noted that like other great drivers, Schumacher’s record in wet conditions shows very few mistakes: up to the end of the 2003 season, Schumacher won 17 of the 30 races in wet conditions he contested. Some of Schumacher’s best performances occurred in such conditions, earning him the nicknames “Regenkönig” (rain king) or “Regenmeister” (rain master) even in the non-German-language media. He is known as “the Red Baron”, because of his red Ferrari and in reference to the German Manfred von Richthofen, the famous flying ace of World War I. Schumacher’s nicknames include “Schumi”, “Schuey” and “Schu”. Schumacher is often credited with popularising Formula One in Germany, where it was formerly considered a fringe sport. When Schumacher retired in 2006, three of the top ten drivers were German, more than any other nationality and more than have ever been present in Formula One history. Younger German drivers, such as Sebastian Vettel, felt Schumacher was key in their becoming Formula One drivers. In the latter part of his Formula One career, and as one of the senior drivers, Schumacher was the president of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association. In a 2006 FIA survey, Michael Schumacher was voted the most popular driver of the season among Formula One fans.

Debut

Schumacher made his Formula One debut with the Jordan-Ford team at the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix, driving car number 32 as a replacement for the imprisoned Bertrand Gachot. Schumacher, still a contracted Mercedes driver, was signed by Eddie Jordan after Mercedes paid Jordan $150,000 for his debut. The week before the race, Schumacher impressed Jordan designer Gary Anderson and team manager Trevor Foster during a test drive at Silverstone. His manager Willi Weber assured Jordan that Schumacher knew the challenging Spa track well, although in fact he had only seen it as a spectator. During the race weekend, team-mate 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 had brought with him. He impressed the paddock by qualifying seventh in this race. This matched the team’s season-best grid position, and out-qualified 11-year veteran de Cesaris. Motorsport 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.

Benetton

After his debut, and despite Jordan’s signed agreement in principle with Schumacher’s Mercedes management for the remainder of the season, Schumacher was signed by Benetton-Ford for the following race. Jordan applied for an injunction in the UK courts to prevent Schumacher driving for Benetton, but lost the case as they had not yet signed a contract. Schumacher finished the 1991 season with four points out of six races. His best finish was fifth in his second race, the Italian Grand Prix, in which he finished ahead of his team-mate and three-time World Champion Nelson Piquet.

At the start of the 1992 season the Sauber team, planning their Formula One debut with Mercedes backing for the following year, invoked a clause in Schumacher’s contract which stated that if Mercedes entered Formula One, Schumacher would drive for them. It was eventually agreed that Schumacher would stay with Benetton, Peter Sauber said that “[Schumacher] didn’t want to drive for us. Why would I have forced him?”. The year was dominated by the Williams 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 Mexican Grand Prix. He went on to take his first victory at the Belgian Grand Prix, in a wet race at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, which by 2003 he would call “far and away my favourite track”.He finished third in the Drivers’ Championship in 1992 with 53 points, three points behind runner-up Patrese.

The Williams of Damon Hill and Alain Prost also dominated the 1993 season. Benetton introduced their own active suspension and traction control early in the season, last of the frontrunning teams to do so. Schumacher won one race, the Portuguese Grand Prix where he beat Prost, and had nine podium finishes, but retired in seven of the other 15 races. He finished the season in fourth, with 52 points.

1994–1995: World Championship years

The 1994 season was Schumacher’s first Drivers’ Championship. The season, however, was marred by the deaths of Ayrton Senna (witnessed by Schumacher, who was directly behind in 2nd position) and Roland Ratzenberger during the San Marino Grand Prix, and by allegations that several teams, but most particularly Schumacher’s Benetton team, broke the sport’s technical regulations.

Schumacher won six of the first seven races and was leading the Spanish Grand Prix, before a gearbox failure left him stuck in fifth gear. Schumacher finished the race in second place. Following the San Marino Grand Prix, the Benetton, Ferrari and McLaren teams were investigated on suspicion of breaking the FIA-imposed ban on electronic aids. Benetton and McLaren initially refused to hand over their source code for investigation. When they did so, the FIA discovered hidden functionality in both teams’ software, but no evidence that it had been used in a race. Both teams were fined $100,000 for their initial refusal to cooperate. However, the McLaren software, which was a gearbox program that allowed automatic shifts, was deemed legal. By contrast, the Benetton software was deemed to be a form of “launch control” that would have allowed Schumacher to make perfect starts, which was explicitly outlawed by the regulations. However, there was no evidence to suggest that this software was actually used.

At the British Grand Prix, Schumacher was penalised for overtaking on the formation lap. He then ignored the penalty and the subsequent black flag, which indicates that the driver must immediately return to the pits, for which he was disqualified and later given a two-race ban. Benetton blamed the incident on a communication error between the stewards and the team. Schumacher was also disqualified after winning the Belgian Grand Prix after his car was found to have illegal wear on its skidblock, a measure used after the accidents at Imola to limit downforce and hence cornering speed. Benetton protested that the skidblock had been damaged when Schumacher spun over a kerb, but the FIA rejected their appeal because of the pattern of wear and damage visible on the block. These incidents helped Damon Hill close the points gap, and Schumacher led by a single point going into the final race in Australia. On lap 36 Schumacher hit the guardrail on the outside of the track while leading. Hill attempted to pass but as Schumacher’s car returned to the track there was a collision on the corner causing them both to retire. As a result Schumacher won a very controversial championship, the first German to do so (Jochen Rindt raced under the Austrian flag).

In 1995 Schumacher successfully defended his title with Benetton. He now had the same Renault engine as Williams. He accumulated 33 more points than second-placed Damon Hill. With team-mate Johnny Herbert, he took Benetton to its first Constructors’ Championship 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 British Grand Prix on lap 45 and again on lap 23 of the Italian Grand Prix. Schumacher won nine of the 17 races, and finished on the podium 11 times. Only once did he qualify worse than fourth; at the Belgian Grand Prix, he qualified 16th, but went on to win the race.

Ferrari

In 1996, Schumacher joined Ferrari for a salary of $60 million over 2 years, a team which had last won the Drivers’ Championship with Jody Scheckter in 1979 and which had not won the Constructors’ Cup since 1983 with drivers René Arnoux and Patrick Tambay at the wheel. 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. A year later, ex-Benetton employees Rory Byrne and Ross Brawn, who had been Technical Director at Benetton since 1991, and who was one of the key members behind Schumacher’s title successes with the team in 1994 and 1995, decided to join Schumacher at Ferrari. This increased Schumacher’s motivation to build a more experienced and potentially championship-winning team around him.

Ferrari had previously come close to the championship in 1982 and 1990. The team had suffered a disastrous downturn in the early 1990s, partially as their famous V12 engine was no longer competitive against the smaller, lighter and more fuel efficient V10s of their competitors. Various drivers, notably Alain Prost, had given the vehicles labels such as “truck”, “pig”, and “accident waiting to happen”. The poor performance of the Ferrari pit crews was considered a running joke. At the end of 1995, though the team had improved into a solid competitor, it was still considered inferior to front-running teams such as Benetton and Williams. Schumacher declared the Ferrari 412T good enough to win the Championship.

Schumacher, Ross Brawn, Rory Byrne, and Jean Todt (hired in 1993), have been credited as turning this once struggling team into the most successful team in Formula One history. Three-time World Champion Jackie Stewart believes the transformation of the Ferrari team was Schumacher’s greatest feat. Eddie Irvine also joined the team, moving from Jordan.

1996–1999

Schumacher finished third in the Drivers’ Championship in 1996, and helped Ferrari to second place in the constructors’ championship ahead of his old team Benetton. He won three races, more than the team’s total tally for the period from 1991 to 1995. During the initial part of the 1996 season, the car had had reliability trouble and Schumacher did not finish 6 of the 16 races. He took his first win for Ferrari at the Spanish Grand Prix, where he lapped the entire field up to third place in the wet. In the French Grand Prix Schumacher qualified in pole position, but suffered engine failure on the race’s formation lap. However at Spa-Francorchamps, Schumacher used well-timed pit-stops to fend off the Williams’ Jacques Villeneuve. Following that, at Monza, Schumacher won in front of the tifosi. Schumacher’s ability, combined with the improving reliability of Ferrari, enabled him to end the season, putting up a challenge to eventual race and championship winner Damon Hill at Suzuka.

Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve vied for the title in 1997. Villeneuve, driving the superior Williams FW19, led the championship in the early part of the season. However, by mid-season, Schumacher had taken the Championship lead, winning five races, and entered the season’s final Grand Prix with a one-point advantage. Towards the end of the race, held at Jerez, Schumacher’s Ferrari developed a coolant leak and loss of performance indicating he may not finish the race. As Villeneuve approached to pass his rival, Schumacher attempted to provoke an accident but got the short end of the stick, retiring from the race. Villeneuve went on and scored four points to take the championship. Schumacher was punished for unsportsmanlike conduct for the collision and was disqualified from the Drivers’ Championship.

In 1998, Finnish driver Mika Häkkinen became Schumacher’s main title competition. Häkkinen won the first two races of the season, gaining a 16 point advantage over Schumacher. Schumacher then won in Argentina and, with the Ferrari improving significantly in the second half of the season, Schumacher took six victories and had five other podium finishes. Ferrari took a 1–2 finish at the French Grand Prix, the first Ferrari 1–2 finish since 1990, and the Italian Grand Prix, which tied Schumacher with Häkkinen for the lead of the Drivers’ Championship with 80 points, but Häkkinen won the Championship by winning the final two races. There were two controversies; at the British Grand Prix Schumacher was leading on the last lap when he turned into the pit lane, crossed the start finish line and stopped for a ten second stop go penalty. There was some doubt whether this counted as serving the penalty, but, because he had crossed the finish line when he came into the pit lane, the win was valid. At Spa, Schumacher was leading the race by 40 seconds in heavy spray, but collided with David Coulthard’s McLaren when the Scot, a lap down, slowed in very poor visibility to let Schumacher past. After both cars returned to the pits, Schumacher leaped out of his car and headed to McLaren’s garage in an infuriated manner and accused Coulthard of trying to kill him.

Rumours circulated that Coulthard may be replaced by Schumacher for the 1999 season and beyond and, in a previous edition of the F1 Racing magazine, Ron Dennis revealed that he had approached Schumacher to sign a deal with McLaren. However, peripheral financial issues that tied Schumacher with Ferrari, such as sponsorship agreements and payment, could not be rectified in a move to the rival team and so, no deal came to fruition.

Schumacher’s efforts helped Ferrari win the Constructors title in 1999. He lost his chance to win the Drivers’ Championship at the British Grand Prix at the high-speed Stowe Corner, his car’s rear brake failed, sending him off the track and resulting in a broken leg. During his 98 day absence, he was replaced by Finnish driver Mika Salo. After missing six races, he made his return at the inaugural Malaysian Grand Prix, qualifying in the pole position by almost a second. He then assumed the role of second driver, assisting team mate Eddie Irvine’s bid to win the Drivers’ Championship for Ferrari. In the last race of the season, the Japanese Grand Prix, Häkkinen won his second consecutive title. Schumacher would later say that Häkkinen was the opponent he respected the most.

2000–2004: World Championship years

Schumacher driving the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro F2002 at the 2002 French Grand Prix, the race at which he clinched the 2002 Drivers’ Championship, setting the record for the fewest races in locking up the title

During this period Schumacher won more races and championships than any other driver in the history of the sport. Schumacher won his third World Championship in 2000 after a year-long battle with Häkkinen. Schumacher won the first three races of the season and five of the first eight. Mid-way through the year, Schumacher’s chances suffered with three consecutive non-finishes, allowing Häkkinen to close the gap in the standings. Häkkinen then took another two victories, before Schumacher won at the Italian Grand Prix. At the post race press conference, after equalling the number of wins (41) won by his idol, Ayrton Senna, Schumacher broke into tears. The championship fight would come down to the penultimate race of the season, the Japanese Grand Prix. Starting from pole position, Schumacher lost the lead to Häkkinen at the start. After his second pit-stop, however, Schumacher came out ahead of Häkkinen and went on to win the race and the championship.

In 2001, Schumacher took his fourth drivers’ title. Four other drivers won races, but none sustained a season-long challenge for the championship. Schumacher scored a record-tying nine wins and clinched the world championship with four races yet to run. He finished the championship with 123 points, 58 ahead of runner-up Coulthard. Season highlights included the Canadian Grand Prix, where Schumacher finished 2nd to his brother Ralf, thus scoring the first ever 1–2 finish by brothers in Formula One; and the Belgian Grand Prix in which Schumacher scored his 52nd career win, breaking Alain Prost’s record for most career wins.

In 2002, Schumacher used the Ferrari F2002 to retain his Drivers’ Championship. There was again some controversy, however, at the Austrian Grand Prix, where his teammate, Rubens Barrichello was leading but in the final metres of the race, under team orders, slowed down to allow Schumacher to win the race. The crowd broke into outraged boos at the result and Schumacher tried to make amends by allowing Barrichello to stand on the top step of the podium. At the United States Grand Prix later that year, Schumacher dominated the race and was set for a close finish with Barrichello. At the end he slowed down to create a formation finish with Barrichello, but slowed too much allowing Barrichello to take the victory. In winning the Drivers’ Championship he equalled the record set by Juan Manuel Fangio of five world championships. Ferrari won 15 out of 17 races, and Schumacher won the title with six races remaining in the season, which is still the earliest point in the season for a driver to be crowned World Champion. Schumacher broke his own record, shared with Nigel Mansell, of nine race wins in a season, by winning eleven times and finishing every race on the podium. He finished with 144 points, a record-breaking 67 points ahead of the runner-up, his teammate Rubens Barrichello. This pair finished 9 of the 17 races in the first two places.

Schumacher broke Juan Manuel Fangio’s record of five World Drivers’ Championships by winning the drivers’ title for the sixth time in 2003, a closely contested season. The biggest competition came once again from the McLaren Mercedes and Williams BMW teams. In the first race, Schumacher ran off track, and in the following two, was involved in collisions. He fell 16 points behind Kimi Räikkönen. Schumacher won the San Marino Grand Prix and the next two races, and closed within two points of Räikkönen. Aside from Schumacher’s victory in Canada, and Barrichello’s victory in Britain, the mid-season was dominated by Williams drivers Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya, who each claimed two victories. After the Hungarian Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher led Montoya and Kimi Räikkönen by only one and two points, respectively. Ahead of the next race, the FIA announced changes to the way tyre widths were to be measured: this forced Michelin, supplier to Williams and McLaren among others, to rapidly redesign their tyres before the Italian Grand Prix. Schumacher, running on Bridgestone tyres, won the next two races. After Montoya was penalised in the United States Grand Prix, only Schumacher and Räikkönen remained in contention for the title. At the final round, the Japanese Grand Prix, Schumacher needed only one point whilst Räikkönen needed to win. By finishing the race in eighth place, Schumacher took one point and assured his sixth World Drivers’ title, ending the season two points ahead of Räikkönen.

In 2004, Schumacher won a record twelve of the first thirteen races of the season, only failing to finish in Monaco after an accident with Juan Pablo Montoya during a safety car period when he briefly locked his car’s brakes. He clinched a record seventh drivers’ title at the Belgian Grand Prix. He finished that season with a record 148 points, 34 points ahead of the runner-up, teammate Rubens Barrichello, and set a new record of 13 race wins out of a possible 18, surpassing his previous best of 11 wins from the 2002 season.

2005–2006

Rule changes for the 2005 season required tyres to last an entire race, tipping the overall advantage to teams using Michelins over teams such as Ferrari that relied on Bridgestone tyres. The rule changes were partly in an effort to dent Ferrari’s dominance and make the series more interesting. The most notable moment of the early season for Schumacher was his battle with Fernando Alonso in San Marino, where he started 13th and finished only 0.2 seconds behind the Spanish driver. Less than half-way through the season, Schumacher said “I don’t think I can count myself in this battle any more. It was like trying to fight with a blunted weapon…. If your weapons are weak you don’t have a chance.” Schumacher’s sole win in 2005 came at the United States Grand Prix. Prior to that race, the Michelin tyres were found to have significant safety issues. When no compromise between the teams and the FIA could be reached, all but the six drivers using Bridgestone tyres dropped out of the race after the formation lap. Schumacher retired in six of the 19 races. He finished the season in third with 62 points, fewer than half the points of world champion Alonso.

2006 became the last season of Schumacher’s Ferrari career. After three races, Schumacher had just 11 points and was already 17 points behind Alonso. He won the following two races. His pole position at San Marino was his 66th, breaking Ayrton Senna’s 12 year old record.

Schumacher was stripped of pole position at the Monaco Grand Prix and started the race at the back of the grid. This was due to him stopping his car and blocking part of the circuit while Alonso was on his qualifying lap; he still managed to work his way up to 5th place on the notoriously cramped Monaco circuit. By the Canadian Grand Prix, the ninth race of the season, Schumacher was 25 points behind Alonso, but he then won the following three races to reduce his disadvantage to 11. His win at Hockenheim was the last home win for a German as of now. After his victories in Italy (in which Alonso had an engine failure) and China, in which Alonso had tyre problems, Schumacher led in the championship standings for the first time during the season. Although he and Alonso had the same point total, Schumacher was in front because he had won more races.

The Japanese Grand Prix was led by Schumacher with only 16 laps to go, when, for the first time since the 2000 French Grand Prix, Schumacher’s car suffered an engine failure. Alonso won the race, giving himself a ten point championship lead. With only one race left in the season, Schumacher could only win the championship if he won the season finale and Alonso scored no points.

Before the Brazilian Grand Prix, Schumacher conceded the title to Alonso. In pre-race ceremonies, football legend Pelé presented a trophy to Schumacher for his years of dedication to Formula One. During the race’s qualifying session, Schumacher had the best time of all drivers through the first two sessions; but a fuel pressure problem prevented him from completing a single lap during the third session, forcing him to start the race in tenth position. Early in the race Schumacher moved up to sixth place. However, in overtaking Alonso’s teammate, Giancarlo Fisichella, Schumacher experienced a tyre puncture caused by the front wing of Fisichella’s car. Schumacher pitted and consequently fell to 19th place, 70 seconds behind teammate and race leader Felipe Massa. Schumacher recovered and overtook both Fisichella and Räikkönen to secure fourth place. His performance was classified in the press as “heroic”, an “utterly breath-taking drive”, and a “performance that … sums up his career”.

2007–2009: First Retirement

While Schumacher was on the podium after winning the 2006 Italian Grand Prix, Ferrari issued a press release stating that he would retire from racing at the end of the 2006 season. Schumacher confirmed his retirement. The press release stated that Schumacher would continue working for Ferrari. It was revealed on 29 October 2006 that Ferrari wanted Schumacher to act as assistant to the newly appointed CEO Jean Todt. This would involve selecting the team’s future drivers. After Schumacher’s announcement, leading Formula One figures such as Niki Lauda and David Coulthard hailed Schumacher as the greatest all-round racing driver in the history of Formula One. The tifosi and the Italian press, who did not always take to Schumacher’s relatively cold public persona, displayed an affectionate response after he announced his retirement.

2007: Advisor at Ferrari

He attended several Grands Prix during the season. Schumacher drove the Ferrari F2007 for the first time on 24 October at Ferrari’s home track in Fiorano, Italy. He ran no more than five laps and no lap times were recorded. A Ferrari spokesman said the short drive was done for the Fiat board of directors who were holding their meeting in Maranello.

During the 2007 season Schumacher acted as Ferrari’s advisor and Jean Todt’s ‘super assistant’. On 13 November 2007 Schumacher, who had not driven a Formula One car since he had retired a year earlier, undertook a formal test session for the first time aboard the F2007. He returned in December 2007 to continue helping Ferrari with their development program at Jerez circuit. He focused on testing electronics and tyres for the 2008 Formula One season.

2008: Car development

In 2007, former Ferrari top manager Ross Brawn said that Schumacher was very likely and also happy to continue testing in 2008. Michael Schumacher later explained his role further saying that he would “deal with the development of the car inside Gestione Sportiva” and as part of that “I’d like to drive, but not too often.”.

During 2008 Schumacher also competed in motorcycle racing in the IDM Superbike-series, but stated that he had no intention of a second competitive career in this sport. He was quoted as saying that riding a Ducati was the most exhilarating thing he had done in his life, the second most being sky diving.

2009: Planned substitution for injured Massa

In his capacity as racing advisor to Ferrari, Schumacher was present in Budapest for the Hungarian Grand Prix when Ferrari driver Felipe Massa was seriously injured after being struck by a suspension spring during qualifying. As it became clear that Massa would be unable to compete in the next race at Valencia Schumacher was chosen as a replacement for the Brazilian driver and on 29 July 2009, Ferrari announced that they planned to draft in Schumacher for the European Grand Prix and subsequent Grands Prix until Massa was able to race again. Schumacher tested in a modified F2007 to prepare himself as he had been unable to test the 2009 car due to testing restrictions. Ferrari appealed for special permission for Schumacher to test in a 2009 spec car but Williams, Red Bull and Toro Rosso were against this test. Schumacher was forced to call off his return due to the severity of the neck injury he had received in a motorcycle accident earlier in the year. Massa’s place at Ferrari was instead filled by Luca Badoer and Giancarlo Fisichella.

On 23 December 2009 it was announced Schumacher would be returning to Formula One in the 2010 season alongside fellow German driver Nico Rosberg in the new Mercedes GP team. On 16 November Mercedes had taken over the Brawn GP team which was their first majority involvement in an F1 team since 1955. Schumacher stated that his preparations to replace the injured Massa for Ferrari had initiated a renewed interest in F1 which, combined with the opportunity to fulfil a long-held ambition to drive for Mercedes and to be working again with team principal Ross Brawn, led Schumacher to accept the offer once he was passed fit. After a period of intensive training medical tests, it was confirmed that the neck injury that had prevented him driving for Ferrari the year before had fully healed.

Ross Brawn had contacted Schumacher over a potential return to F1 with Mercedes involvement in November 2009, seeking a substitute for the possibly outgoing driver Jenson Button. On November 2, Rubens Barrichello had left Brawn GP followed by Button on 18 November with Rosberg announced by Mercedes as the first replacement driver on 23 November. The possible return of Schumacher began being reported in the German press on 13 December and, ten days later, Mercedes confirmed Schumacher’s return completing their line-up. Schumacher signed a three year contract, reportedly worth £20m, with Mercedes who were thought to want 22-year-old German driver Sebastian Vettel as a long term replacement afterwards. In March 2010, The Daily Mail reported that Schumacher’s deal was closer to £21m (€24m, $32m) a year.

Schumacher’s surprise re-entry to the sport was compared to Niki Lauda’s return in 1982 aged 33 and Nigel Mansell’s return in 1994 at age 41. Schumacher turned 41 on 3 January 2010 and his prospects with Mercedes were compared with the record set by the oldest F1 champion Juan Manuel Fangio who was 46 when he won his fifth championship.

2010: Return to Formula One

Schumacher’s first drive of the 2010 Mercedes car – the Mercedes MGP W01 – was at the official test on 2 February 2010 in Valencia. He finished sixth in the first race of the season at the Bahrain Grand Prix. A fortnight later at the Australian Grand Prix Schumacher, after running as high as third on the opening lap, was caught up in a tangle between Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button at the start and had to pit for a new front wing. He came from the back to finish in the points in tenth position after spending 20 laps behind Toro Rosso’s Jaime Alguersuari. In the Malaysian Grand Prix Schumacher retired early in the race with a faulty wheel nut. Schumacher qualified 9th in the Chinese Grand Prix and finished 10th after being passed by several other drivers in the wet conditions towards the end of the race. After the race former driver Stirling Moss suggested that Schumacher, who had finished behind his team-mate in each of the first four qualifying sessions and races, might be “past it.” Many other respected former Formula One drivers thought otherwise, including former rival Damon Hill, who warned “you should never write Schumacher off.” GrandPrix.com identified the inherent understeer of the Mercedes car, exacerbated by the narrower front tyres introduced for the 2010 season, as contributing to Schumacher’s difficulties. Jenson Button shed some more light on Schumacher’s car trouble when he confessed that the Mercedes 2010 car was designed for him, and that his driving style is poles apart from Schumacher.

For the first European race of the season, the Spanish Grand Prix, Mercedes upgraded their car with revised aerodynamics and a longer wheelbase. Schumacher was ahead of Rosberg in qualifying and the race finishing fourth after defending his position from reigning world champion Jenson Button after the pit stops. At the Monaco Grand Prix Schumacher qualified seventh and finished sixth after passing Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso on the final corner of the race when the safety car returned to the pits. However he was penalised 20 seconds after the race by the race stewards dropping him to 12th and thus out of the points. The stewards, advised by former world champion Damon Hill, judged the pass to be in breach of rule 40.13 of the sporting code stating that “If the race ends whilst the safety car is deployed it will enter the pit lane at the end of the last lap and the cars will take the chequered flag as normal without overtaking.” Mercedes GP had interpreted “the race control messages ‘Safety Car in this lap’ and ‘Track Clear’ and the green flags and lights shown by the marshals after safety car line one” to mean that the race would not finish under the safety car. The FIA subsequently outlined plans to clarify the regulations and Mercedes GP dropped their plans to appeal.

In Turkey, Schumacher had his best qualifying session since his return qualifying fifth ahead of team mate Rosberg in sixth. In the race Schumacher finished fourth which was his best race finish since his return. However 2 races later at the European Grand Prix in Valencia, Schumacher finished a lowly 15th – his lowest recorded finish in his career – after being caught up in a controversial safety-car ruling, which also ruined the race of Fernando Alonso. Schumacher was near the front of the field until he was stuck at the end of the pit lane, following the safety car, while the majority of the field passed him. In Hungary, Schumacher finished outside the points in eleventh, but was found guilty of dangerous driving at 180 mph (290 km/h) while unsuccessfully defending tenth position against Rubens Barrichello. As a result he was demoted ten places on the grid for the following race, the Belgian Grand Prix, where he finished seventh, despite starting 21st after his grid penalty.

In the Italian Grand Prix, Schumacher missed out on the top ten in qualifying but managed to finish ninth. A fortnight later at the Singapore Grand Prix, Schumacher finished 13th after the Sauber of Nick Heidfeld collided with him on Lap 36, knocking Heidfeld out of the race. At the Japanese Grand Prix, Schumacher finished sixth before a fourth and seventh in the next two races in Korea and Brazil. At the season finale in Abu Dhabi, Schumacher was involved in a major accident on the first lap, which occurred after Schumacher was spun around by his teammate Nico Rosberg. As Schumacher was trying to maneuver his car back around, Vitantonio Liuzzi’s Force India ploughed into his Mercedes head-on, barely missing his head. Nobody was hurt in the crash, but Schumacher said the crash had been “frightening.”

It was the first season since his début season in 1991 that Schumacher finished without a win, pole position, podium or fastest lap. He finished the season 9th with 72 points.

At the 2011 Wroom meeting in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, Fernando Alonso, the second most successful Formula One driver still racing, said of Schumacher: “He will be always super class; if the car is right, he will be a contender that we will fear most.”

2011

After an unsuccessful Australian Grand Prix, where he retired due to puncture damage, Schumacher had an average race in Malaysia, finishing in ninth place to score his team’s only points, generally battling it out with the midfield of the pack but ahead of team mate Rosberg, who finished 12th. A problem with his movable rear wing, also known as the drag reduction system resulted in Schumacher qualifying only 14th in China, but he worked his way up to 8th place during the race. He added more points with sixth place in Spain, and at the Canadian Grand Prix, Schumacher had arguably his best performance since returning from retirement. He finished in fourth position, but ran as high as second in a race which was almost entirely contested in wet conditions. Schumacher was passed late in the race by both Jenson Button, who went on to win the race, and Mark Webber, by the use of the DRS.

In Valencia, he crashed into the side of Vitaly Petrov’s Renault while exiting the pit lane, breaking his own front wing, meaning he had to pit again the following lap. This incident left him outside of the points, and eventually finished 17th. In Britain Schumacher locked his front tyres while running behind Kamui Kobayashi, attempted to take avoiding action, and again broke his front wing spinning Kobayashi 180 degrees. As well as pitting to replace the wing, Schumacher served a 10 second stop-go penalty for the incident. Although working his way up to ninth, Schumacher was unhappy with the result and described the Kobayashi incident as his misjudgement. He finished eighth at his home race in Germany, and retired in Hungary with gearbox failure.

Schumacher marked the 20th anniversary of his Formula One début at the Belgian Grand Prix. He set the fastest time in the first free practice session, but after a wheel came loose in qualifying, he had start last on the grid. Despite this, Schumacher put in a very strong performance, ending the race in fifth place and ahead of his team mate Rosberg. Schumacher continued his run of form at the Italian Grand Prix, qualifying eighth and finishing fifth. This race saw a notable duel with Lewis Hamilton for fourth place. Schumacher defended expertly against Hamilton’s faster car, but was also criticised for leaving insufficient overtaking space. After a retirement in Singapore due to contact with Sergio Pérez, Schumacher finished in sixth place at the Japanese Grand Prix, having led three laps during the race, the first time he had led a race since the 2006 Japanese Grand Prix. In doing so, he became the oldest driver to lead a race since Jack Brabham in 1970.

In Korea, Schumacher started the race from twelfth, and was well within the points scoring positions when he was hit from behind by Vitaly Petrov, forcing both drivers to retire. In India, Schumacher struggled in qualifying and qualified twelfth, although he moved up to eleventh after Petrov was given a five-place grid penalty for the incident in Korea; Schumacher blamed his lack of pace on tyre vibrations he experienced on his final run.

After making up three places on the opening lap, Schumacher remained in the top ten for the entire race, eventually finishing fifth, ahead of team-mate Rosberg after overtaking him during the final round of pit-stops. At the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Schumacher qualified eighth and had moved up to sixth after a few corners. He was ahead of Rosberg, and the pair battled over the position for the remainder of the first lap. Rosberg’s overtake eventually meant that he finished in sixth and Schumacher in seventh. Schumacher finished the season with a fifteenth place at the season finale at the Brazilian Grand Prix, following a collision early in the race with Bruno Senna which had forced him to pit for repairs. Schumacher finished the season in eighth place in the Drivers’ Championship standings with 76 points; his best result was fourth place at the Canadian Grand Prix.

2012

Schumacher is again driving for Mercedes AMG in the 2012 Formula One season, alongside Nico Rosberg. At the Australian Grand Prix, Schumacher qualified in fourth place. He moved up to third place at the start of the race, which he held until he suffered a terminal gearbox failure on lap 11. At the second race in Malaysia, Schumacher qualified third, but only managed to collect one point after being hit from behind on the first lap of the race by Romain Grosjean in wet conditions.

For the third race of the season in China, Schumacher qualified 3rd but started in 2nd place due to Lewis Hamilton being penalised. This was the first time since 1955 that Mercedes occupied the front row of the grid, since his team-mate Nico Rosberg scored the first pole position of his career. A mechanic’s error during the first pit-stop forced Schumacher to retire after 13 laps due to a loose wheel. The fourth race was in Bahrain. Schumacher suffered with a defective DRS mechanism in qualifying, which was compounded by a grid-penalty for a gearbox replacement. He started 23rd on the grid, and finished in 10th position. Schumacher had his third retirement of the season in Barcelona, receiving a five place penalty for Monaco after causing a collision with Bruno Senna.

Schumacher was fastest in qualifying at Monaco. However, owing to the penalty for his incident with Senna at Barcelona, he started sixth on the grid. At the start of the race, Schumacher was hit by Romain Grosjean as he attempted to move down the outside, dropping to eighth, before retiring from seventh position late in the race due to falling fuel pressure. The strain of bad luck continued in Canada where a miscalculation from the team in qualifying meant that he couldn’t make it over the line early enough to start his second flying lap. He qualified in 9th position as a result and then retired from the race after his second pit stop because of a jammed DRS flap.

Journalists and reporters approached Schumacher after the Canadian race talking about his bad luck. As of the 2012 Canadian Grand Prix, Schumacher had only finished twice out of 7 races, 4 of the non finishes due to mechanical/team failure. He had also been unlucky in qualifying in Bahrain, Monaco and Canada, particularly in Monaco where he qualified on pole but was awarded a 5 place grid penalty and therefore started 6th. Even though he only had 2 points at this stage, Michael had qualified extremely well with a 4th, two 3rds and one pole. He was running 3rd when he went out of the Australian Grand Prix and when he was hit in the Malaysian Grand Prix. He was also in 2nd when he retired from the Chinese Grand Prix.

In the European Grand Prix, things appeared to continue as they were with bad luck striking again in qualifying, only this time in a different way. There were no mechanical/team failures or accidents this time, it was just that he got knocked out in Q2 because there were only 0.280 seconds seperating P1 and P12 were Schumacher ended up. 0.280 seconds could have been enough to finish Q2 in 2nd position under normal circumstances. Things changed in the race where he finally got some luck at his side and was able to climb his way up to P3 and gain his first podium finish since 2006. At an age of 43 years and 173 days, he became the oldest driver to climb the podium since Jack Brabham’s second place finish at the 1970 British Grand Prix.

Seven-time Formula One world champion Michel Schumacher has announced that he will be retiring from the sport at the end of the 2012 season during a press conference at the Suzuka circuit in Japan.  For a look back at Michael Schumacher’s illustrious career, click here.

Michael Schumacher

I have decided to retire from Formula One at the end of the season, although I am still able to compete with the best drivers of the world. This is something that makes me proud, and this is part of why I never regretted my comeback. I can be happy with my performance and the fact that I was continuously raising my game during the last three years. But then, at some point it is time to say goodbye.

Already during the past weeks and months I was not sure if I would still have the motivation and energy which is necessary to go on; and it is not my style to do anything which I am not 100% convinced about. With today’s decision I feel released from those doubts. In the end, it is not my ambition to just drive around but to fight for victories; and the pleasure of driving is nourished by competitiveness.

I said at the end of 2009 that I want to be measured by my success, and this is why I had a lot of criticism in the past three years which partly was justified. It is without doubt that we did not achieve our goal to develop a world championship fighting car within those years. It is also without doubt that I cannot provide a long-term perspective to anyone. But then it is also clear that I can still be very happy about my overall achievements in Formula One.

In the past six years I have learned a lot, also about me, and I am thankful for it; for example, that you can open yourself up without losing focus. That losing can be both more difficult and more instructive than winning; something I had lost out of sight sometimes in earlier years. That you have to appreciate to be able to do what you love. That you have to live your convictions. I have opened my horizon, and I am at ease with myself.

I would like to thank Daimler, Mercedes-Benz and the team for their trust. But I also would like to thank all my friends, partners and companions, who over many good years in motorsport supported me. But most of all I would like to thank my family for standing always by my side, giving me the freedom to live my convictions and sharing my joy.

Nico Rosberg

This is a big loss for our sport. Michael did a huge amount to make Formula One so popular in Germany, and lots of fans switched on their TV sets because of him. He achieved so much. It has been and continues to be something special and a great experience for me to drive with him and against him. In the last three years we pushed the team hard together which will help us in the years to come. I wish him all the best for the future.

Ross Brawn, Team Principal – MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS

Having worked with Michael for so many years, it is an emotional day today as he announces his retirement from Formula One for the second, and final, time. We have enjoyed so many experiences together during our time at Benetton, Ferrari and Mercedes, and I feel very proud, honoured and privileged to have had the opportunity to work with Michael so closely. In my opinion, he is the greatest Formula One driver, and the records which he holds in our sport speak volumes for his success and commitment. On behalf of everyone at our Silver Arrows team, we wish Michael all the best with his future plans and extend our sincere thanks to him for his commitment, passion and hard work during our three years together. We have not achieved the results that we would have wished during this time; however Michael’s contribution to our development and the future of our team has been significant. Whatever Michael decides to do next, I am sure that he will be keeping a close eye on our progress in the years to come.

Norbert Haug, Vice President – Mercedes-Benz Motorsport

Our team, Mercedes-Benz and Daimler would like to offer our heartfelt thanks to Michael for all his work, his exemplary commitment and his loyalty. For our brand, he was and remains not just a first-class racing driver and, through his record until 2006, the most successful of all time; but also a global idol and, last but not least, a great company ambassador who is admired across the world. Michael began his professional racing career in 1989 as a member of the Mercedes Junior Team in Group C Prototypes, and he will conclude it at the end of this season with our MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Silver Arrows works team, as he informed first us and then the international media today. Michael did a fantastic job during the build-up phase of our still-young Silver Arrows works team and, although we have not yet achieved our targets in our third season, Michael’s invaluable hard work has established the foundations for future success. For this, we give him our thanks and recognition. All of us in the team – and first and foremost Michael – are working hard to have six more races in which we can show a respectable level of performance together. Thank you, Michael, for everything: it was, and is, a pleasure to work with you.

The MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team announced today that they will be replacing legendary F1 driver Micheal Schumacher with 2008 World Champion, Lewis Hamilton. The agreement with Lewis Hamilton has been signed and is a three-year agreement to race for the team from the 2013 Formula One season on and is worth around 24 million. Leave it to Simon Fuller, who manages Hamilton through his XIX Entertainment, to get the big money for his client.

Lewis’ career has been supported by Mercedes-Benz and McLaren since its earliest days. In 2000, he and Nico Rosberg were team-mates at TeamMBM.com in Formula A karting. Lewis drove with Mercedes-Benz engines during his two seasons in the Formula 3 Euroseries, winning the 2005 championship, and every one of his 104 Formula One starts so far have been powered by the three-pointed star. Lewis is one of four drivers, along with Juan Manuel Fangio, Mika Häkkinen and Jenson Button, to have won the Formula One world championship with Mercedes-Benz power. With 20 Formula One victories, he is equal with Mika Häkkinen as the most successful Mercedes-Benz Formula One driver.

The recruitment of the 2008 world champion marks the start of a new chapter for the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team. Lewis will replace Michael Schumacher, who has contributed significantly to the development of the Silver Arrows works team over the past three years. During this time, the team achieved the milestone of the first victory of the modern era for a works Silver Arrow, when Nico Rosberg won this year’s Chinese Grand Prix, and has scored five further podium finishes to date.

In parallel, Mercedes-Benz has put in place the right technical structure and given the team in Brackley and Brixworth the tools it needs to achieve long-term, durable success in Formula One. In the near future, three-time world champion Niki Lauda will also bring his extensive experience to the role of non-executive chairman of the team’s board of directors, further reinforcing the strength in depth at MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS.

The signing of Lewis Hamilton completes the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS driver line-up for the 2013 season alongside Nico Rosberg. Nico won his first Grand Prix this year in China and will enter his fourth season with our team.

Michael Schumacher

“I have had three nice years with the team which unfortunately did not go as well as we all would have wanted on the sporting side. I wish Lewis well and for the team to achieve the success we worked so hard for in the build-up. I would like to thank the team for their trust and all the guys for their unconditional commitment. I will now concentrate on the next races.”

Lewis Hamilton

“It is now time for me to take on a fresh challenge and I am very excited to begin a new chapter racing for the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team. Mercedes-Benz has such an incredible heritage in motorsport, along with a passion for winning which I share.

“Together, we can grow and rise to this new challenge. I believe that I can help steer the Silver Arrows to the top and achieve our joint ambitions of winning the world championships.”

Ross Brawn, Team Principal – MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS

“On behalf of MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS, I would first of all like to thank Michael Schumacher for the important contribution he has made to the growth of our team over the past three seasons. His energy and commitment have never wavered, even when results have not matched our own expectations, and we are determined to finish the 2012 season together on a high. As always, it has been a pleasure to work with Michael.

“Looking ahead to 2013, I am delighted to welcome Lewis Hamilton to our team. The arrival of a driver of Lewis’ calibre is a testament to the standing of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One and I am proud that Lewis shares our vision and ambition for the success of the Silver Arrows. I believe that the combination of Lewis and Nico will be the most dynamic and exciting pairing on the grid next year, and I am looking forward to what we can achieve together.

“Over the past three years, we have been putting in place the foundations and building blocks that are needed to compete regularly for the world championship. Behind the scenes, we have assembled a team that is technically stronger, more experienced and better resourced, thanks to the support of PETRONAS and all of our loyal team partners. The potential is now there to match any other team on the grid, which is the minimum standard for a Mercedes-Benz works team. Our task is now to translate that potential into on-track performance for next season and beyond.”

Norbert Haug, Vice President – Mercedes-Benz Motorsport

“Mercedes-Benz has supported Lewis throughout his career, from karting, to Formula 3, to our successful partnership with McLaren, and it will be a very nice moment for all of us in the team to see him at the wheel of a works Silver Arrow next season, following in the tradition of British Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix drivers Sir Stirling Moss and Richard Seaman.

“Of course, it takes a great driver to replace such a legendary and successful one as Michael Schumacher. Over the past three years, Michael has been a great driver and an exemplary ambassador for MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS. His experience has been an important factor in guiding the development of our team in Brackley and we extend our sincere thanks to Michael for his loyalty, team play and commitment. We will be working very hard together in order to achieve the best possible results in the remainder of the 2012 season.

“The central task of any racing team is to deliver a car that allows the drivers to fully express their talents. In the 52 races for our works team, we have achieved a number of important milestones, including an historic victory for Nico Rosberg in China this year. We know that it is now time to take the next step, in order to deliver consistent front-running performances in the tradition of the Silver Arrows. Every single person in our team is working with total commitment and focus on achieving this ambition.”

Round 12 of the 2012 Formula One World Championship, and the first race after the sport’s summer break is set to take place at the historic Spa-Francorchamps Circuit in Belgium this weekend. The Belgian Grand Prix will be a special weekend for the team, specifically Michael Schumacher, as it marks the 300th Grand Prix for Schumacher and the circuit where he made his debut in 1991.

For those of you unfamiliar with the track, Belgium’s Spa-Francorchamps circuit is among the most historic on the Formula One calendar, having hosted a (non-championship) Grand Prix as long ago as 1924, and remains one of the most popular venues with drivers and fans alike.

Run on narrow public roads, the original Spa layout was an amazing 14.9 kilometres long and notoriously dangerous. The lap distance was reduced slightly over the years, with some corners eased, but when the ‘old’ circuit staged its final Grand Prix in 1970 it still measured just over 14 kilometres and remained staggeringly quick – Chris Amon set that year’s fastest lap at an average speed of just under 245 km/h.

Spa did not return to the calendar until 1983 and then in drastically revised form, with lap distance cut to 4.3 miles.

Track Facts:

• The first and third sectors include straights where the cars exceed 315 kph, the second features ten of the 19 corners

• The full throttle period from T1 to T5, including Eau Rouge, is the longest of the season and lasts over 23 seconds

• Four of the last ten races at Spa have been won from pole position and a total of seven of ten from the front row

• The Safety Car has been deployed at least once in the past three Belgian Grands Prix and in six of the last ten races

Jordan's Bertrand Cachot's replacement driver Michael Schumacher, qualified 7th for his first race at the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa on August 25, 1991

Michael Schumacher

Spa is like my living room; for me, it´s clearly the number one race track in the world. It´s uncanny how I always seem to have special moments there – my debut, my first win, a world championship victory and many great races. The fact that I will also take part in my 300th Grand Prix at Spa was somehow almost inevitable and we will have to celebrate it in the right way. I´m proud to be just the second driver in the history of the sport to reach this milestone and there´s no question that we are looking to have a particularly nice weekend. We delivered a good performance in Spa last year; I´ll be doing everything possible to drive a strong race.

Nico Rosberg
I always look forward to racing at Spa; it’s one of the highlights of the season and definitely one of my favourite tracks. The circuit itself is outstanding, with of course the most exciting corner of the calendar in Eau Rouge. It’s been nice to have a break over the last month and for everyone at the team to have some time to relax with their families, but we’re all looking forward to the action starting again in the second half of the season. There’s a lot of hard work ahead to make sure we are competing where we want to be and challenging towards the front of the field.

Ross Brawn
The summer break has given everyone at our factories in Brackley and Brixworth some time to relax and recharge the batteries before the intense second half of the season begins. Although there have only been a few working days to make improvements around the shutdown period, we have been working hard towards our aim of an improved performance in the second half of the season. Spa is one of the real classic circuits which is much loved by drivers, engineers and the fans. It’s a great circuit to watch the cars, and you’re almost guaranteed an exciting weekend with varied weather thrown into the mix. For the second year in succession, Spa will be a special occasion for Michael and the team as we follow his 20th anniversary last year by celebrating his 300th Grand Prix this time around. It is a fantastic achievement which has so far only been matched by one other driver, and we look forward to celebrating with him, and hopefully a strong weekend.

Norbert Haug
Spa is a traditional circuit that sets the drivers and teams big challenges, and demands a complete range of performance from both the chassis and the engine. On a qualifying lap, the engines spend 23 seconds and nearly two kilometres at full throttle between La Source hairpin and turn five at Les Combes – the highest value of the season. On the other hand, the second sector contains ten of the circuit´s 19 corners, so good levels of medium and high-speed downforce are required. Experience shows that the typical Ardennes weather almost inevitably plays a role during the weekend and, when it does, the circuit usually ranges from damp to very wet. Around the two-week summer shutdown that every team observed, our team has been hard at work since the last race in Hungary in order to prepare as well as possible for Spa. Spa 2012 is also a special race for our team because Michael will take part in his 300th Grand Prix weekend. In 1991, Michael started his first race in Spa; in 1992, he won the first of 91 victories so far in Spa; and last year, on the 20th anniversary of his first start, he finished in fifth position after starting last on the grid. Everybody in our team will be working in a focused way to help Nico and Michael score the best possible results next weekend.

It was a tough weekend for Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula 1 team, as Nico Rosberg finished the Hungarian Grand Prix in 10th place.   Rosberg did, however, manage to move up three spots from his less than ideal starting position – one of the few positives on the day.

Michael Schumacher fared far worse, retiring from the race after 58  laps.  His troubles began before the race began, when Schumacher switched his engine off during the yellow lights when he noticed experienced very high engine temps.  He subsequently started the race from the pits, then picked up a penalty, then suffered from a tire puncture.  All of this, paired with ongoing engine temperature problems, led Michael to retire with 11 laps left, to avoid any engine damage that could impact the next race.

Hopefully the next race at Spa will see different results for the Mercedes AMG Petronas team.

As for the results, Lewis Hamilton of Vodafone McLaren took the top spot, followed by Lotus drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean.

Michael and Nico recently completed a whirlwind tour of the Mercedes-Benz facilities near the company headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany. After visiting the production facilities for the new A-Class and B-Class compact models in Rastatt, the drivers tried their hand at assembling the pistons and cylinder heads of a high-performance AMG engine at Mercedes-AMG in Affalterbach.

The 5.5 litre twin-turbo V8 engine will power the new Mercedes-Benz CLS 63 AMG Shooting Brake, which will be given its world premiere at the “Night of the Stars” on 21st July in Hockenheim.

The Rastatt production facility in Baden celebrates its twentieth anniversary this year and is the centre of competence for production of Mercedes-Benz compact class vehicles. Daimler has invested around €1.2 billion for the production of the new compact vehicles in Rastatt. 500 new jobs will be created this year, and the factory will employ around 6,600 people by the end of 2012. The B-Class has enjoyed record sales in the first half of 2012, while the first models of the brand new A-Class rolled off the production lines in July 2012. Next year, will see production of a third model – the compact SUV – begin in Rastatt.

During their visit, Michael and Nico entered their names into the ‘Golden Book’ of Rastatt in the presence of Oberbürgermeister Hans Jürgen Pütsch, then took part in the personalised delivery process at the factory’s Customer Centre, handing over the key of two brand new B-Class vehicles to two lucky customers. The opportunity to exchange a few words with their colleagues was a priority for the day – and both drivers entertained their colleagues with an extended Q&A session on an outdoor stage.

Lucky winners were then treated to high-speed rides on the Rastatt test track at the wheel of two Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG super sports cars before the drivers got a look at the state-of-the-art production line for the all-new A-Class.

“You can never fail to be amazed when you get a chance to see behind the scenes of a facility like Rastatt,” commented Michael. “The scale of the factory and the high technology here are very different to what we know in Formula One – but it is clear that here, just like in our world, Mercedes-Benz is aiming to set the standard. We had the chance to drive the new A-Class earlier this year and it’s a great car – the design promises performance, and the chassis delivers exactly that.”

“There are over 6000 people working here in Rastatt,” added Nico. “That’s probably the same number as all the Formula One teams put together! As a works Silver Arrow driver, it’s always a great feeling to visit our colleagues in the rest of the company – it’s not only a boost ahead of our home Grand Prix, but also reminds me that we carry their hopes and represent them every time we take to the track. That’s a big responsibility – and we want to make sure we do them proud this weekend in Hockenheim.”

Formula One stars turn master engine builders at Mercedes-AMG

After seeing the heart of the production facilities for the Mercedes-Benz compact class, the drivers then headed to Mercedes-AMG for a taste of something completely different – the world of refined high performance at the Affalterbach production facilities. The drivers then put their own mechanical skills into practice as they followed the traditional AMG production philosophy of “one man, one engine” with a unique twist – “one team, one engine”, assisting with assembly of the new highly efficient M 157 V8 engine.

This unit develops 410 kW (557 PS) and will be used in numerous AMG high-performance vehicles such as the new GL 63 AMG, the ML 63 AMG and the E 63 AMG as well as the all-new Mercedes-Benz CLS 63 AMG Shooting Brake.

The drivers were accompanied by an AMG master engine builder as they installed pistons and assembled the cylinder heads. The completed V8 engine for the CLS 63 AMG Shooting Brake will carry an AMG engine plate signed by Michael, Nico and, as per AMG tradition, the master engine builder. The experts from the AMG Performance Studio then began installing the 5.5 litre twin-turbo unit in the CLS 63 AMG Shooting Brake that will get its world premiere at the “Night of the Stars” in Hockenheim.

“It’s fascinating to see behind the scenes of the ultra-modern facilities here at Mercedes-AMG,” enthused Nico. “We met a lot of true Formula One fans among the people here. Like us, they work to the highest levels of precision and can really show the art of engineering, as they develop the highest performance Mercedes vehicles. It was an interesting challenge to help assemble the AMG V8 engine – and an interesting comparison to when I did the same with our Formula One engine last year. It gives me even more respect for all the people who work in the AMG engine build facility.”

“It’s amazing to see how AMG has developed since I last visited in the 1990s, when I made a guest start in the DTM,” commented Michael. “The people at AMG are incredibly enthusiastic, and have real spirit for performance and passion for motorsport. I was impressed by the ultra-modern AMG engine assembly facilities, where they produce the most powerful but also most efficient V12 and V8 engines in the world.”

“It’s fantastic to be able to welcome our MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS drivers Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg as our guests at Mercedes-AMG,” commented Mercedes-AMG GmbH Chairman Ola Källenius. “Michael and Nico did a perfect job as build technicians for the AMG M 157 power unit! And I am sure that they got a real insight into what our AMG brand promise ‘driving performance’ really means. On behalf of Mercedes-AMG GmbH, I would like to thank both drivers for visiting Affalterbach and wish them every success at this weekend’s German Grand Prix in Hockenheim!”

An insight into the wide world of Mercedes-Benz

Following their experiences in the engine build workshops of Mercedes-AMG, the drivers will head to the inaugural German FOTA Fan Forum in the Mercedes-Benz Niederlassung Stuttgart, where they will be joined by Formula One colleagues Nico Hülkenberg and Timo Glock for a Q&A session in front of 300 members of the public and Daimler employees. This event, held for the first time in Germany, will round off the drivers’ preparations for the German Grand Prix, just a stone’s throw from Daimler headquarters in Untertürkheim.

“The German Grand Prix is a highlight for our MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Silver Arrows works team,” commented Norbert Haug, Vice President, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport. “The drivers have been given a real insight into what Mercedes-Benz is all about today – from the exciting new compact class models produced in Rastatt, to the exclusive high-performance world of Mercedes-AMG. It is always a fantastic boost to feel how much support our motorsport programmes enjoy from within the company. That enthusiasm only strengthens our determination to deliver a strong performance this weekend in Hockenheim to reward our fans and colleagues.”

At the end of an exciting European Grand Prix in Valencia, Michael Schumacher stood on the podium with Fernando Alonso (1st) and Kimi Räikkönen (2nd) after finishing in third place Sunday. Team-mate Nico Rosberg finished in sixth place after jumping up from 13th with ten laps left. Sunday’s finish marked the 155th podium finish of Schumacher’s career and his first podium finish since the 2006 Chinese Grand Prix.

Shumacher and Rosberg both made two pit stops with Michael stopping on laps 19 and 41, and Nico on laps 20 and 46. So far this season, Nico has scored 75 points in six races, starting with his win and first points in China, the second highest total after Fernando Alonso (76).

Michael Schumacher

“Wow, I did not even think of getting on the podium for any second in the race today, so what a wonderful result! Finally it happened! After such a long time waiting and for jumping on the podium so unexpectedly, I feel extra happy. I think that was the best answer to give to everybody who started doubting our work: get the car together and fight back; never give up, as anything can happen. A big thank you to the team and to everybody who kept on believing we would get on the podium again. That’s what team work is about. A special word for my mechanics and engineers who have done a fantastic job this weekend after some difficult races this year. I didn’t think a podium was possible – not even at the end of the race, because it was pretty busy in the last laps and I had lost count of where I was. Then when I crossed the line, I asked the guys where I was and they said “Third – on the podium!” It’s one of those moments that you enjoy deeply as a driver. We were close a couple of times but it was great for it to happen in a spectacular race like this, through strategy and lots of passing on a circuit where overtaking is difficult.”

Nico Rosberg

“That was a really exciting race. I had a bad first few laps and lost positions, then the Safety Car came out at a bad moment for me. After the restart, I thought I would end up finishing out of the points, because I had the oldest tyres and therefore no grip, which made it very hard to defend. We had planned to try a one-stop strategy but had to convert to two stops, and thanks to the strategy guys, we were on fresh tyres when everybody else was struggling. I was in P12 on lap 47 and P6 at the end, so it clearly worked and we are very happy with a good team result after such a chaotic race, with two cars in the top six. A great result for Michael with his podium and I am happy to score some more nice points.”

Ross Brawn

“Congratulations to Michael and the team on a fantastic and well-deserved podium finish. Michael demonstrated today that if we can give him the opportunities, he will get a great result. And well done to Nico as well. He was in quite a difficult position at one stage but came back and gave the team a really strong points score today. The early part of the race was quite difficult for us, and our early strategy did not come together as the tyres behaved differently to our pre-race predictions. So we had to react, and we did so extremely well, leaving our stops as late as possible to give our guys fresh rubber at the end. It was such an exciting end to the race, and I am very proud of both of our drivers, everyone here in Valencia, and back at our factories in Brackley and Brixworth today.”

Norbert Haug

“A marvellous race from Michael with the right speed and the right strategy. Coming from 12th on the grid to third on the podium is a good achievement, which Michael truly deserves and he achieved that with a great drive. Nico started sixth and lost five places during the first lap, which was a big handicap – so to climb back to sixth place was a good recovery. Since his win in China, Nico has scored one point less than Fernando Alonso, who brought home the most points in the last six races. As for the rumour spread by another team that Michael used his DRS flap where he should not have done, I can confirm that this was not the case, as our data proved and the stewards of the meeting confirmed. I am really pleased for Michael and the team. We always believed in each other and today was the first of hopefully more podiums to follow.”

MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS driver’s Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher both scored points in the Bahrain Grand Prix Sunday as the pair finished the 57-lap race inMERCEDES AMG PETRONAS driver’s Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher.

Michael Schumacher qualified to start 18th, but dropped to 17th after Williams’ Pastor Maldonado took on a penalty, however after a late gearbox change was dropped five places to start the race in 22nd.  Schumacher managed to climb 12 positions through the field over the course of the race to finish in 10th, a very respectable position after such a difficult start the the weekend. Michael made three stops on laps 9, 23 and 37, also running an option/option/prime/prime strategy.  In the pits, the team averaged 22.216 seconds over six pit stops, Michael Schumacher had the day’s fastest three-stopper in the pits.

Though Rosberg found himself under investigation from the stewards after two aggressive-looking moves in which he swept from one side of the track in defence of position and in turn put Hamilton, and then Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso in the dirt, he was found to have done nothing wrong and finished the race in 5th.  It was a very hard fought race for Rosberg, running in P9 through the opening stint, then gaining places as the race went on.

Victory in Sunday’s 2012 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix went to Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, followed by Kimi Räikkönen in 2nd, Romain Grosjean and Mark Webber in 3rd and 4th.

Nico Rosberg

“I had a pretty bad first lap today, but after that I was able to recover and get the most of our race. We had a good strategy and the pace of the car was pretty strong compared to the start of the season, although it was difficult to make progress as there were a lot of cars fighting for the same positions. Overall I’m happy with our weekend as fifth place gives me a few more points and I can see that we are making progress. Now we have a short break where we can work hard in the factory ready for the start of the European season. Before that, I’m looking forward to visiting the DTM opening race in Hockenheim next Saturday. It’s my first chance to return to Germany after two good weekends, particularly of course the win in China, and I look forward to celebrating that together with our fans.”

Michael Schumacher

“Considering where I started the race today, it’s a positive that I was able to fight up to 10th place, score a point and finish a dry race this season. The tyres obviously played a large part in the race today, and in the conditions here, we had to adapt the driving style to keep the tyres together. It will be good to have the time now before Barcelona to sort out some issues and prepare our updates for the test days in Mugello. Next weekend, the DTM starts in Hockenheim and I am looking forward to my first visit to a DTM race for twenty years.”

Ross Brawn

“That was a tough but ultimately rewarding race today. Nico didn’t get the best of starts and lost some positions which made the early part of the race difficult, but he had a very good drive to fight his way back up to fifth place. Michael did well to recover a point in 10th place, considering that he started at the back of the grid in 22nd. We saw again today that if you get the car right on the day, it makes a great deal of difference, with Red Bull and Lotus clearly getting their cars in better shape than we did. We will learn more lessons from today, however we made the best of what we had so I’m reasonably happy. Now we can look forward to some time back at the factory to improve the car before the next race.”

Norbert Haug

“Having started fifth, Nico was running in ninth by the end of lap one. More than to recover to fifth place was not possible afterwards. Following Nico’s victory in China, we handled the tyres quite well on this track in hotter temperatures, and we showed that we have a good base to work from. Michael came home in 10th place after starting in 22nd, which is a good result considering the extremely high level of competition this year. We are now looking forward to the next race in Barcelona where MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS will, like most of the teams, introduce upgrades which will be evaluated during the Mugello test.”

The new Mercedes SL 63 AMG had its sneak preview this morning in Barcelona while being tested by Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg. The F1 drivers drove the high-performance SL AMG roadster at the official Formula One test on the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona.

The much anticipated roadster is set to go on sale in North America in July 2012 with power coming from the AMG’s latest M157 engine. The twin-turbocharged 5.5-liter V8, used in the E63, the CLS63, the S63, the CL63 and he ML63, has been tuned to deliver 529 hp.

We can expect to see further details at the Geneva Motor Show next month.

Photo Source: Markus Jordan

Today’s Fomula 1 race marked the first ever Indian Grand Prix at the Buddh International Circuit and it saw strong performances from MERCEDES GP PETRONAS drivers Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg.  The race ended with Schumacher and Rosberg finishing in fifth and sixth places respectively with the winner of the F1 race being Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel followed by McLaren’s Jenson Button, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and Red Bull’s Mark Webber.

• Michael made up three places at the start, and followed a prime/prime/option strategy, stopping on laps 18 and 50

• Nico also stopped twice on laps 17 and 45 with the same prime/prime/option tyre choice

• Staying out five laps longer for his second stop enabled Michael to open enough of a gap to pass Nico for P5

Michael Schumacher

“I am obviously happy about the race today. We achieved the maximum that we could hope for, and as a team we maximised our potential. Fifth and sixth places are a great result for us. On top of that, my car was very nicely sorted for the race and very stable. At the start, everything worked out according to my strategy as I deliberately didn’t want to use KERS in the first two corners and save it for the long straight where I knew that I could make up some positions. In the second stint, I managed to maintain my tyres so I could stay out longer and that was enough for fifth place. What’s really important at the moment is that we keep pushing and trying to improve, and that is what we achieved today. To the organisers of the first Indian Grand Prix, I would like to send a big compliment; I’m sure that I am not the only one to say that this was a very positive debut.”

Nico Rosberg

“We can be happy with a good team result and that’s what the boys in the garage deserved. I’m also pleased to have gained one place on my grid position. However my strategy was not perfect today and I lost some time in the second pit stop which meant that I wasn’t able stay ahead of Michael. I had good pace at the end of the race and pushed very hard but it was impossible to catch him over the last laps. I’m confident that we can repeat this good result in the last two races. All in all, it has been a good Indian Grand Prix debut for us and I hope all the fans enjoyed the race. I’m looking forward to coming back next year.”

Ross Brawn

“A very solid race from the drivers and team today, and we are very pleased to have achieved fifth and sixth places. Michael, Nico and the engineers did an excellent job to focus on getting the car right for the race, and making the best use of the tyres. We certainly got everything that we could out of our current car this weekend. It was an exciting race from our two drivers with Michael coming out on top this time, however you could see just how closely matched they are during the race. Nico’s second set of tyres faded a little bit more on him whilst Michael was able to stay out longer which was enough to take fifth place. It was a very good result for the team today and I’m extremely pleased with how we have worked this weekend.”

Norbert Haug

“A strong result today for our team considering the possibilities that our technical package currently has. It is satisfying for everybody to extract the maximum and to achieve the best possible result. Our lap times looked consistent throughout the race which shows that we handled the tyres well and found a set-up which suited the track. Of course, our drivers did a very good job today. To come home in fifth place after starting in 11th is certainly satisfying for Michael. His start, when he gained three places, and his second long and consistent stint were decisive for him to get in front of Nico. He also did a good job today with both our drivers doing similar lap times throughout the race which shows that they achieved what was possible. This inaugural Indian Grand Prix was a remarkable event. This is a fantastic and challenging race track, and saw packed grandstands and great enthusiasm from the fans. Formula One could not have wished for more during the first race in a new country. So a big thank you to the organisers, the Jaypee Group, and to Bernie Ecclestone and FOM, who have worked very hard to make this new event happen. We now are looking forward to the next Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi, the home of our co-owners and partners Aabar, where we hopefully can achieve a similar result. Fifth and sixth places are not what we are ultimately striving for but it is satisfying to get the best possible results and we can build on that in order to make a good step next year.”

MERCEDES GP PETRONAS Formula One drivers Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg unveiled the new DTM AMG Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupé for the 2012 DTM season at the Frankfurt International Motor Show, alongside Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management at Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars Division, and Norbert Haug, Vice-President, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport.

The new car is based on the Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupé, which was launched worldwide in the summer of 2011, and is the first DTM car from Mercedes-Benz to be built around a new, improved safety concept, developed in collaboration with the ITR e.V, the DMSB (Germany’s motor racing governing body) and the DTM manufacturers. The new car incorporates a state-of-the-art carbon fibre monocoque with a roll cage made ​​of high-strength steel. Moreover, each vehicle is equipped with six energy-absorbing crash structures, giving the driver additional protection to the front, rear and sides.

The DTM AMG Mercedes C-Coupé will succeed the AMG Mercedes C-Class, which is the most successful vehicle in the 27-year history of the DTM, having scored 84 victories in 156 races and five driver’s titles.

Development, design and manufacture of the new car began in June 2010 at HWA headquarters in Affalterbach, near Stuttgart, Germany. HWA is responsible for production of the cars, including engines.

Michael Schumacher: “The new 2012 Mercedes-Benz DTM car looks fantastic, but what I find even more impressive than the car’s visual appearance is the new safety concept with its innovative safety cell and more advanced carbon-fibre crash structures. This safety standard is exemplary and constitutes, in my opinion, the benchmark for touring car racing. I’m looking forward to seeing the new C-Class Coupé in action and hopefully winning lots of races. I’ve got my fingers crossed for everyone in the Mercedes-Benz DTM team.”

Nico Rosberg: “I was pleased to take part in unveiling the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupé for the 2012 DTM season at its Frankfurt Motor Show world premiere. It looks really cool and I particularly like the chrome finish. The car is certainly an important step forward for the DTM, which is a great series – I began my career racing on the same weekends as the DTM, and it will attract even more fans in 2012 when the third manufacturer arrives. Whenever possible, I still follow the races on TV, and always enjoy going to local DTM events. I will of course keep my fingers crossed next year for my Mercedes-Benz DTM colleagues and hope they can bring the title home to Stuttgart with the new C-Class Coupé.”

Gary Paffett: “The first test of a new car is always an exciting moment. After getting a feel for the handling and performance of the DTM AMG Mercedes C-Coupé around the Lausitzring, I can say I’m very pleased with it. Of course, we still have a lot of development work ahead of us before the 2012 season opener at Hockenheim. The driving experience is quite different to that of previous DTM cars. The new Hankook tyres for 2012 are wider and have taller sidewalls, providing more mechanical grip. Also, the gear lever has disappeared for 2012 – we will change gear using paddles on the steering wheel instead – and that’s something I’m already used to from Formula One.”

Norbert Haug, Vice-President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: “This new-generation vehicle, based on our Mercedes-Benz C- Coupé, signals the introduction of an even more spectacular racing car from the start of 2012. I am certain that the spectators will get their money’s worth from the three-way fight between Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz in the DTM next year.”

MERCEDES GP PETRONAS Driver Michael Schumacher finished the Italian Grand Prix in fifth place Sunday on the Autodromo di Monza. Starting from eight position, Schumacher had an exciting drive where he made up three places. Sadly, Nico Rosberg’s race came to an early end on lap one as he was hit by another car that had started from 24th position.

• Michael ran a two-stop soft/soft/medium strategy, stopping on laps 16 and 37, to finish in fifth place

• Nico’s race ended at the first chicane when he was taken out through no fault of his own in an accident caused by Liuzzi

• Michael gained four positions on the first lap, taking his season total of places gained on the first lap to 35

• Michael & Nico will attend the Frankfurt Motor Show on Tuesday to premiere the 2012 DTM AMG Mercedes C-Coupe

Michael Schumacher

“It was an exciting race today, both for me and I think for all of our fans, and that is why I am happy. The fighting against Lewis was big fun, and my mirrors seemed to be very small at times. We are both known for driving on the limit, and that is what we did. I had to make my car as wide as a truck, and had to stretch the possible as much as I could, but in the end, as expected, he was still faster. The start was ideal, I held back on purpose at first in order to use the grip perfectly afterwards, and then the left side was all free. To make the most of your possibilities is the maximum possible at times, and that is why I had fun today, especially knowing that there is more to come in the future, with all the support we have from Mercedes.”

Nico Rosberg

“It was a disappointing race for me today in Monza. I had a difficult start on my prime tyres but still managed to gain a place at the first corner, so it was quite good. Then Liuzzi flew like a torpedo over the grass and put me out of the race. It’s a pity because I had a strong strategy and, as Michael’s good result showed, our car was very strong this afternoon.”

Ross Brawn

“A fantastic drive from Michael today, and I’m sure he really enjoyed his racing out there. The boys have done a great job with our starts this year, and Michael was able to get away well and show his race craft in the first part of the race. Then he settled into a really tough battle with the McLarens, particularly Lewis, which was great racing and vintage Michael. We haven’t quite got a car that’s quick enough yet but we are all pleased with Michael’s fifth place today. For Nico, it was a short and not at all sweet afternoon. We had an exciting strategy starting him on the prime tyres, and looking at how those tyres performed on other cars at the beginning of the race, it would have been very interesting to see how it developed. It’s doubly frustrating that he was taken out by a car starting in 24th position. If you get tangled up at the first corner because you are vying for position, that’s racing, but to be swiped out by someone that far back is hard to take. However, we have shown as a team that when we do have the right car, we will be able to compete at the front, and that’s our inspiration for next year.”

Norbert Haug

“A thrilling drive from Michael again today – the first half of the race delivered probably one of the best television shows of the year and I am sure lots of people at home were standing rather than sitting in front of their televisions, which was the case for us on several occasions today. Michael repeated his Spa result today and everybody realised during his drive how committed and hard-fighting he is – it was a joy to watch, and certainly not just for us. It was a shame for Nico to be in the middle of a first-lap shunt at Turn One. With two fresh sets of option tyres available – which none of the top drivers had today – I am sure he would have been in a good position to fight for a strong result. We all are now looking forward to the Singapore night race where we want to consolidate our recent performances from Spa and Monza.”