Interesting facts about Michael Schumacher

The hospital where Michael Schumacher is located has severely restricted access to the press. At the moment, only doctors and family know about the state of Michael's health. The hospital management decided to change the regime - there will no longer be daily press conferences, and media access to the clinic is seriously limited.

Recall: Michael Schumacher suffered a severe head injury while skiing in France. The athlete was saved by his helmet, which split in half after the impact. At the moment, the rider is in the Grenoble hospital, where he has already undergone 2 operations.

In the meantime, the fate of the great racer is being decided, we present to your attention a selection of interesting facts from the life of Michael.

(Total 19 photos)

1. In 2008, the Swiss Football Association selected Schumacher as the Swiss Ambassador for the 2008 European Football Championship. The list of Euro 2008 ambassadors also includes soccer player Stéphane Chapuisat, tennis player Roger Federer, skier Bernhard Russi, former Formula 1 team owner Peter Sauber and twenty-time world orienteering champion Simon Niggli-Luder.

2. On June 21, 2009, Schumacher appeared on Top Gear as The Stig. Host Jeremy Clarkson later hinted that Schumacher was not the permanent Stig. The BBC later confirmed this fact: Schumacher was the Stig, as Ferrari would not allow anyone from Top Gear to drive the Ferrari Fxx shown on the program.

3. On November 14, 2010, at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Schumacher had an accident on the first lap. In a dense stream of fireballs, his car turned around and a few seconds later Liuzzi ran into him, the car flew very close to the German's head. Fortunately, there was no direct impact and the rider was not injured.

4. In Ukraine and Russia, the surname Schumacher has become a household name - Schumachers are called virtuoso or risky drivers who love fast driving, or sarcastically drivers who consider themselves virtuoso drivers, but are not.

5. Jean Todt and Michael Schumacher starred in the film "Osterix and Obelix at the Olympic Games." Michael played a chariot driver. Naturally champion and in red.

6. After the final round of Formula 1 in the 2003 Japanese Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher marked his record-breaking sixth championship title by crushing the Suzuka circuit's VIP zone.

According to eyewitnesses, after the cups were awarded to the winner and prize-winners of the Japanese Grand Prix, as well as after all the press conferences and interviews, six-time world champion Michael Schumacher, his brother Ralf Schumacher and driver Olivier Panis decided to relax a bit.

The following picture appeared before the mechanics and journalists who accidentally entered the VIP zone: among the fragments of empty bottles, puddles of spilled champagne, Michael Schumacher stubbornly pushed the refrigerator with a cigar in his mouth until it fell on its side. Meanwhile, his younger brother Ralph was doing his best to throw the TV out the window. The next window was pounded with a chair by Olivier Panis.

7. In general, Schumacher smokes cigars not only at parties in his honor. He is a great lover to relax without fail with this attribute of success.

8. Helmut Karel, a sports journalist, recalling his first meeting with Michael, argues that by the way Schumi relates to racing easily, without tension, one can not say that this driver is capable of winning races. Hellmuth went to cover the 1990 Macau Grand Prix (f-3, WTS Championship).

And then, for the first time, I ran into Michael near the paddock. He played football, in racing overalls. Boys aged 14-15 played with him, and Michael did not stand out in any way: he kicked the ball with the same passion as the others. Karel learned that the boy's name was Michael Schumacher, as the German newspapers wrote - the future star of motor racing.

9. “How can he calmly play football when tomorrow is such an important start?” Karel thought.

“And this is the main hope of German motorsport? All the pilots are preparing for the race, analyzing their behavior on the track, studying the opponents, and he is playing football…”

Karel changed his mind when he saw this pilot the next day on the track - he could not expect such a mature and confident aerobatics from a young man. All the fun dissolved, Michael was collected and confidently took turns like never before. Schumacher won the prestigious race, ahead of serious rivals (one of them was Mika Hakkinen), and after that he sincerely rejoiced at his victory, like a child, just as happy as he was the day before , on the football field.

Michael plays football for the F1 driver team.

10. From his first season in Formula 1, Schumacher showed everyone that exercising on the eve and after the Grand Prix can be fun.

The German is a big fan of playing tennis, jogging in the morning, in company with someone or riding a bike. Young Schumacher playing tennis (in company with Flavio Briatore (co-owner of the then Benetton, and later stable manager of the Renault factory team)

11. The 1994 European Grand Prix was notable for the fact that there were people on the podium who at that time did not have a single title. In the future, the three of them will win 10 titles. D. Hill - (1996), M. Schumacher - (1994-1995, 2000-2004), M. Hakkinen - (1998-1999).)

12. US Grand Prix 2002 at the Indionapolis circuit. Michael Schumacher, having led the entire race, kindly waited at the finish of the very last lap of his partner Rubens Barrichello.

As a result, Rubens was ahead of the German by 0.011 seconds. This season has gone down in the history of the Royal races. On the track, Michael broke all sorts of records. The most impressive record is Michael's podiums. He was on the podium in all 17 races of the season.

13. After returning in 2010, Schumacher was only able to climb the podium once. In Valencia 2012, starting from 12th place, Michael was able to finish in third place.

Well, Schumacher showed his main achievement on the track in qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix 2012. Having outstripped all competitors, Michael showed the best time, but received a penalty of 5 positions at the start due to a collision at the previous Grand Prix.

14. Michael Schumacher's first car was the FIAT 500, although he had previously raced in karting.

15. One of Michael's favorite hobbies is skydiving.

16. The most famous driver-champion of Formula 1 is Michael Schumacher. As of July 2013, he has competed in 308 Grands Prix (only Rubens Barrichello has more Grands Prix) and ranks first in the world in terms of wins (91).

17. In addition, Michael Schumacher has the highest win percentage per season (72% in 2004 and 65% in 2002).

18. Michael signed an agreement with an insurance company, insuring his life for 90 million euros. According to the terms of the agreement, if Michael Schumacher becomes disabled, he will receive $20 million, in the event of his death, his family - his wife and two children - will be paid $10 million.

19. In 1999, the news spread around the world - Michael Schumacher had an accident, he had a double fracture of his right leg, which means that he is unlikely to ever participate in the Formula. But Michael returned and managed to prove that his career is not over yet. At that moment, he was supported by his family - his parents and his wife and daughter.

True, Corinne then panicked and said that with such a constant risk, she refuses to talk about the second child. But these were emotions that Corinna showed very rarely. She had been boiling in the cauldron of the race for a long time and knew perfectly well that her husband's success, his successes and failures largely depended on her.