Formula 1 Michael Schumacher
“His fighting spirit, his work ethic and sometimes ruthlessness”
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Ten years ago, Michael Schumacher had an accident while skiing. The fate of the former racing driver still fascinates people
Source: dpa/Harry Melchert
This month marks the tenth anniversary of Michael Schumacher’s skiing accident. The ARD is dedicating a five-part documentary to him. What is the fascination with the ex-Formula 1 superstar so many years after his disappearance from the public?
Even almost ten years after his fateful skiing accident, Michael Schumacher continues to fascinate people. The ARD is dedicating the Bavarian Radio documentary “Being Michael Schumacher” to the soon-to-be 55-year-old racing idol, which can be seen in the media library from this Thursday and on December 28th (11:25 p.m.) on ARD. The following day marks the tenth anniversary of the day of the skiing accident that dramatically changed Schumacher’s life.
“If an athlete manages to have his name almost synonymous with the sport he practices, then that’s no longer possible,” said Sabine Kehm, Schumacher’s manager, about the former racing driver’s fascination. “Someone hears Michael’s name and immediately thinks of ‘Formula 1’. Only the really big ones have managed that. Ultimately, Michael personifies Formula 1.”
Schumacher entered the premier class of motorsport in the middle of the 1991 season and shaped it for a long time like no other driver before him. After two world championships in Benetton-Renault (1994 and 1995), he led Ferrari back to glory. He won the World Championship five times in a row with the Italians from 2000 onwards and became the most successful driver at the time with a total of seven titles, 91 race wins and 68 poles.
Michael Schumacher won seven world championship titles in his career, five of them with Ferrari
Source: dpa/Oliver Weiken
Lewis Hamilton has now collected just as many titles, as well as 103 race wins and 104 poles. The 38-year-old Brit replaced Michael Schumacher after his three-year comeback at Mercedes after the 2012 season.
Fatal accident
At the end of the following year, Schumacher suffered serious head injuries in a fall while skiing in Méribel, France. He has since disappeared from public view and details about his condition are unknown. Son Mick drove in Formula 1 for Haas in 2021 and 2022, but did not get a new regular cockpit after that.
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In addition to the values that Formula 1 also conveys, such as the pursuit of excellence, perfection, belief in the future and progress, there is the human side “and that he always stayed with himself,” said Kehm about Michael Schumacher. “His fighting spirit, his work ethic, his need for harmony, but also his toughness and stubbornness and sometimes ruthlessness. It all creates a very special mix, which I believe is the basis for the fascination that it triggers.”
