How He Got There

Who knew that the son of a bricklayer would grow up to be the most successful driver in Formula 1 history?

Legend has it (source) that the Schumacher parents had to peel young Michael off a lamp post after crashing his newly modified pedal cart, and set him on the path to proper karting.  A star was born.

In his native Germany, a young man must be fourteen years of age to obtain a karting license, so Michael high tailed it to Luxembourg at the age of 12 to get his license.  A successful karting career followed.  He even quit school to focus on karting and become a mechanic to help fund his career.

Schumacher would eventually make his Formula 1 debut at the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix.  He would retire during the first lap of the race with clutch problems.  Good thing he didn’t give it up after lap one.

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