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.