Michael Schumacher is one of the greatest Formula 1 champions in the history of the sport and one of the most beloved by the series’ fanatics too. The German legend won seven World Drivers’ Championships in his career, and he is tied with Lewis Hamilton for the all-time Formula 1 record.
By winning five of his seven World Drivers’ Championships with Ferrari, his legacy became even larger considering the title drought the Maranello-based team was enduring before his arrival (when he won in 2000, the team’s most recent title has been won in 1979). Seven titles, 91 victories, 155 podiums, and many records will always be in the mind of Formula 1 fans when analyzing or discussing the sport’s golden history. At the time of his retirement, his number of championships, wins, Pole Positions (68) and podiums were all Formula 1 records that have been tied or broken by Lewis Hamilton recently.
After a successful career in the lower formulas, winning the German Formula 3 championship, Macau GP and even winning races of the World Sportscar Championship for Team Sauber Mercedes, he started his Formula 1 career in 1991 with Jordan. He entered F1 as a mid-season replacement for Bertrand Gachot, who had been imprisoned.
His debut in the World Championship came in the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix, and after a solid impression, he drove for Benetton in the final races of the season. Jordan and Benetton had some issues regarding Schumacher’s signing, but he stayed with Benetton to end 1991. In 1992, his first full season, Schumacher won the 1992 Belgian Grand Prix in the same track in which he made his debut.
Another victory in 1993 at Portugal preceded two successful years in 1994 and 1995, winning his first two World Drivers’ Championships. In 1996, Schumacher made his debut for Ferrari and won his first race for the team at the 1996 Spanish Grand Prix with a masterful drive on wet conditions. Then, he won at Belgium and Italy to finish third in his first season with the team.
He fought for the WDC in 1997 against Williams’ Jacques Villeneuve and lost in the final race of the season, before being disqualified from the championship due to his attempt to crash into Villeneuve during the race (with a retirement from the Canadian, Schumacher would’ve won the title).
Another championship fight presented in 1998, against McLaren’s Mika Hakkinen, and Schumacher again lost the title in the final race of the year. The 1999 season saw a great car for Ferrari, but Schumacher suffered a leg injury at the British Grand Prix and was unable to fight for the title. The 2000 F1 season saw Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen fighting for the title again, and the German finally won the crown at the 2000 Japanese Grand Prix with a win.
He followed it up by dominating F1 in 2001 and 2002, with nine and 11 wins, respectively. Then, Schumacher won his then record-breaking sixth championship in 2003 in the final race, after a long fight with Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya (who had options until the second-to-last race of the year).
In 2004, Schumacher was again dominant, winning 12 of the first 13 races of the season and a record 13 overall to win his seventh Formula 1 World Championship clearly. He won just one race in 2005, the controversial 2005 US Grand Prix, and then fought against Renault’s Fernando Alonso for the 2006 F1 title, but had to settle with second place in the year of his first retirement.
Schumacher returned to F1 in 2010 with Mercedes, and stayed with the team until 2012, achieving one podium at the 2012 European Grand Prix.
On December 2013, Schumacher suffered a skiing accident which left him with severe brain injury. His family decided to maintain treatments and his condition as a private matter.
Formula 1 fans will always have respect for Schumacher, who is regarded as definitely one of the best drivers ever, and the greatest in the eyes of many.
The German is certainly a legendary person in the sport’s history and we honor his racing legacy by having more than 40 of his helmet designs on our site. Also, allusive bottles and flags are part of the Schumacher collection. His most iconic helmet was the red design he wore during his greatest years with Ferrari. He started wearing that red design (with the German flag on the sides in the early years) at the 2000 Monaco Grand Prix, mainly to have a different design to the one of his new teammate for that year, Rubens Barrichello.
Moreover, his first two titles came with an iconic white helmet that had the German flag on the sides and a blue circle at the top of the helmet with his characteristic white asteroids.
