The return of Michael Schumacher to F1 in 2010 was an amazing prospect. For 3 years, the 7-time champion raced with the younger champions on the grid. While he did not achieve the heights of his peak prime era, Michael gave some really good battles with several drivers. Schumacher going wheel-to-wheel with Lewis Hamilton at Monza in 2011 was an epic sight to watch. The German driver even contested his teammate Nico Rosberg closely at Mercedes. Although, these battles were not the first time Michael raced with Lewis and Nico.
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Back at his peak at Ferrari, Schumacher was the top gun of F1. Having secured the first world championship for the Italian team since 1979, the German driver was dominating the grid post-2000. As per Daily star, Michael tried competitive racing in karts again for fun during the Karting championship finale of 2001.
FILE PHOTO: McLaren Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain (L) overtakes Mercedes Formula One driver Michael Schumacher of Germany during the Monaco F1 Grand Prix May 29, 2011. REUTERS/Max Rossi (MONACO – Tags: SPORT MOTOR RACING)/File Photo
This was the season when 16-year-olds Hamilton and Rosberg were both racing in karts. After the final race moved to Schumacher’s family-owned kart track in Kerpen near Cologne, the German driver also wished to race in the event. Amid all the marketing spotlight, Michael lined up alongside Lewis and Nico who were going to be future F1 stars.
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Though, Schumacher’s return to karting did not go as planned. He slipped back to 16th after some technical issues at the start. While Michael surged back again to 3rd, he also battled with Lewis and Nico on the way. But the legend faltered and slid off the track in wet conditions, ending the race embarrassingly. Yet, it must have been a nice time to roll back the years for Michael.
Still, it was the Ferrari legend’s mastery as he redeemed his first race retirement to get 3rd in the last race of the weekend. His future teammate Rosberg finished 4th while Hamilton was 8th. Nonetheless, these odd blips have never eclipsed the numerous glory moments of Schumacher’s career to date.
How Michael Schumacher Jumped the Ladder from Karting to F1
Michael Schumacher always revered Formula 1 as the top-tier racing category. He even once snubbed other motorsport series like IndyCar to justify F1 as the pinnacle of motorsport. But, how did he reach this pinnacle from his early karting days?
SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, BELGIUM – AUGUST 30: 1992 BELGIAN GP, Spa; Ayrton SENNA, WINNER Michael SCHUMACHER/GER – BENETTON FORD – (Photo by Bongarts/Getty Images)
According to an exclusive F1 TV documentary, the young aspiring German racer started karting at the age of 4. Michael smashed the karting scene at local, national, and European levels to make his way up the ladder of motorsport. Schumacher was damn fast and consistent and got into car racing.
Surprisingly, it was the Mercedes Sportscar team that have Schumacher a break in car racing. During the 1989-91 period, Michael races for the Silver Arrows in their Sportscars and was quite impressive. This drew the attention of many in F1. Several people stated how Schumacher had all the ingredients for an F1 driver.
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This attention got converted to a one-off race opportunity for the Jordan team in Belgium in 1991. Michael surprised everyone to qualify 7th for the Belgian GP. Before that Spa weekend, he had never driven an F1 car at a GP circuit. While the race ended in a DNF for him, it already set in motion his F1 destiny.
After a bunch of contractual hustle, Michael Schumacher became an F1 driver for the Benetton F1 team. Meanwhile, Jordan was trying to retain the talented German, but to no avail. Rarely, anyone had seen such a rise up the ranks in F1 for a driver. And within 3 years, Schumacher took the glory of becoming a World Champion.
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WATCH THIS STORY: Inside Michael Schumacher’s Car Collection
The kind of waves Michael Schumacher made from his karting days to F1 were phenomenal. Comparatively, Lewis Hamilton too had a similar route to F1. Both drivers made their name in F1 by the age of 22. Yet, with only a few battles of 2010-12 and the only karting weekend together, there is little to compare that who is better among the two.
