The Formula For Winning

by James Yin

Formula 1 racing is ranked above the Indy 500 and Daytona as the most challenging form of auto racing. The drivers guide their vehicles through incredible turns on one of several circuits around the world. Spain, Great Britain, Monaco, Japan, and recently, the United States represent just some of the many international fronts on which these race car drivers are challenged.

In addition to the left hand turns and pit stops experienced by the American public used to Nascar racing, Formula 1 involves complex shicanes, u-turns, speed adjustments and harsh left and right bends. The skill and concentration needed to participate in this vigorous sport is nothing short of amazing. One good move could allow you to gain a better position. At the same time, one wrong action could cost you the race and the car.

At the heart and pinnacle of this sport is Ferrari driver and three time world champion Michael Schumacher. From the day he started racing karts to the present, Michael has been stunning the world around him. Asked what he would have done had he not become involved in racing, he told TeenSpeak, "Something else with four wheels around me. I am born for that. I would maybe not be as popular or rich as I am now, but I would have the same amount of fun I’m sure."

Michael was born on January 3rd, 1969 in Hurth, near Cologne, Germany to Rolf and Elisabeth Schumacher. At the age of four, he was already racing karts, and at the age of sixteen, he was the runner up in the Junior World Championships. Two years later, he became the European Champion. After fifteen years of kart racing, he switched to cars, and in 1989, Michael raced in the German Formula 3. He won the championships in 1990 and became part of the Mercedes Junior Team in the World Sports Prototype Series.

His Formula 1 debut occured in 1991, when he was the replacement driver for the Jordan Team. He won his first Grand Prix and placed third the next year. In 1993, he placed fourth, but won the World Title in 1994. That year was supposed to be dominated by Ayrton Senna (whom he had first met when he was eight years old at a kart race in the Netherlands), however, Michael won.