Driving sports cars in ‘91, Schumacher won at Autopolis. He also debuted in Formula 3000 where he finished second at Sugo, in the Japanese Series. More importantly, 1991 saw Michael explode into Formula One, his first race driving for Jordan in the Belgian GP. Qualifying seventh, He failed to complete the first lap, due to clutch problems. That would be his only race for Jordan, as he was quickly snatched up by the Benetton team.
1992 saw him visit the podium 8 times, including once on the top step for his first F1 victory in Belgium, completing the season third overall with 53 points. Continuing with Benetton, 1993 saw him win a superb race in Portugal, rounding off the season, fourth overall. In 1994, Michael stunned the Grand Prix world, when he was quicker in the Benetton, than Senna was in the Williams. After Sennas death, Michael seemed unbeatable, even though Benetton were swamped with allegations of cheating. They fought through all the disqualifications and bans, and in the end, finally beating Damon Hill to the crown by one point. Nine wins later, he took the crown for a second time, before moving to the Ferrari team in 1996 where he still remains.
In 1996 he pushed the unreliable Ferrari to its limits, bringing home three wins that the car didn't deserve. It was more competitive in ‘97, where he won in Monaco, France, Canada, Belgium and Japan, and he went into the final race in Jerez, with a one-point advantage over Williams's driver, Jacques Villeneuve. Again, the season finished in controversy, after an accident between the two. Villeneuve took the crown, while Michael had his 2nd place in the championship stripped from him by the FIA.
1998 saw a very reliable Ferrari, and a very determined Michael Schumacher. Although McLaren dominated from the start, Michael wouldn't give up, pushing the Ferrari as far as it would go. Winning 6 races for the season, it once again came down to the final race, but a stall from pole position, and a blown tire, saw his chances of taking the title for a third time vanish.
The 1999 season didn't bode well for Michael, with problems in the opening race. However, he quickly took to the lead in the championship and just as it started to appear that he may finally take the title for Ferrari, tragedy struck at the British GP where a first lap accident saw him sidelined for months with a broken leg. He watched helplessly as the season went on without him, but returned for the final two races. Although his teammate, Eddie Irvine, narrowly lost out on the drivers title, between them both they gave Ferrari their first Constructors victory since 1983.
Rubens Barrichello joined Ferrari in 2000 as Irvine moved across to Jaguar in what was undoubtedly the best season of Michael’s career. After winning the first three races of the season, it appeared as if the Ferrari ace was unstoppable on his way to glory. However, although mid-season setbacks saw him lose a lot of his lead over his rivals at McLaren, Michael went on take his third world title and Ferrari's first driver's victory in 21 years at the second last race of the season at Suzuka, wrapping up the constructors crown one race later in Malaysia.
2001 was a dominating year for Ferrari and Michael Schumacher from round one in Australia to the season finale in Japan. During the course of the 17 events, Michael broke numerous records and wrapped up his fourth world title in Hungary with four races left to contest. He is now the record holder of the most Grand Prix victories, surpassing Alain Prost's total of 52 and with Juan Manuel Fangio's record of five world titles in his sights, Schumacher began the 2002 season with a strong determination and an extremely strong Ferrari.
Michael equaled the record at just the eleventh round of the season and throughout the course of 2002, the German star broke record after record. The one tarnished spot on the year came in Austria where team orders saw teammate Rubens Barrichello forced to yield, gifting Michael the win. What followed was an ugly scene with fans booing the world champion on the podium and the move is still debated fiercely today.
With another world championship title in 2004, Michael Schumacher is reaching new heights: 7 championship titles, including 5 consecutive titles in the past 5 seasons.
