Schumacher was born in January 1969 near Cologne, Germany, the son of a bricklayer who also ran the local go-kart track, where his mother worked in the canteen. His younger brother, Ralf, also became a Formula One driver. The four-year-old Michael enjoyed playing with a pedal go-kart but when his father fitted it with a small motorcycle engine, he crashed it into a lamppost. But by 1987, Schumacher was the German and European go-kart champion and... more 

Schumacher was born in January 1969 near Cologne, Germany, the son of a bricklayer who also ran the local go-kart track, where his mother worked in the canteen. His younger brother, Ralf, also became a Formula One driver. The four-year-old Michael enjoyed playing with a pedal go-kart but when his father fitted it with a small motorcycle engine, he crashed it into a lamppost. But by 1987, Schumacher was the German and European go-kart champion and had left school to work as an apprentice mechanic, although he was soon racing professionally. less