Having risen through the ranks of karting, Formula Ford and Formula Three in Germany, the 'wunderkind' first showed his real mettle as part of Sauber-Mercedes' Junior Team in the World Sportscar Championship. But it was when he made his F1 debut at Spa in His blend of raw speed, shrewd racecraft, superb wet-weather skills and supreme tactical acuity marked him out from the start as the man most likely to challenge Senna. And like the Brazilian, Schumacher exhibited a willingness to commit the on-track prof That season he won his first Grand Prix, at Spa, and in 1993 he won more. But it was that tragic 1994 season which saw him rise to the top. He won the opening two races, and was chasing Senna at Imola when the Brazilian crashed fatally. But thereafter, th Armed with the same Renault engine as Hill in 1995, he made a much cleaner job of his second title, but then dismayed Benetton by switching to Ferrari for 1996. A third title eluded him that season, but after a poor start to 1997 he clawed back Jacques Vi Since then Ferrari has struggled against McLaren, but Schumacher ran Hakkinen close for the 1998 championship and was challenging again in 1999 when he crashed on the opening lap of the British GP at Silverstone and broke a leg. Sidelined for much of the Schumacher soon put pay to those critics by wining the 2000 World Championship, Ferrari's first since Jody Scheckter in 1979.

The following year, in Hungary, he equalized Alain Prost's record of 51 GP victories and gained his fourth World Championship title. He then scored his 52nd race victory in Belgium. With still some years of motor racing ahead of him, Schumacher's next aim