Michael Schumacher is a famous 'Formula One' racer who developed a passion for the sport at a very young age. Though his parents were not well-off, they did everything they could to support him financially and emotionally. By the age of fourteen, the young boy showed an innate talent for racing, competing and winning in numerous junior championships. By the age of twenty-two, he had proved his mettle, and was signed on by the 'Jordan Grand Prix' racing team, to compete in the prestigious 'Formula One' championship. For almost 15 years, the driver had participated in the championships, carving a niche for himself in the racing circuit. He has teamed up big names like 'Benetton Ford', 'Mercedes', and 'Ferrari', being the face of the latter for more than ten years. He has won the 'Formula One' championship on seven occasions, scoring high points in almost all the races of each season. After 15 years of racing, he retired for a brief period before making a short-lived reappearance. After his second retirement he settled down in Switzerland with his family. Recently, he suffered a massive head injury while skiing, resulting in paralysis and memory loss, and was put into an externally induced coma to help him cope with the trauma. According to reports, he has regained consciousness, but is still recovering.
Fernando Alonso Díaz (born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish Formula One racing driver and a double World Champion who is currently racing for McLaren F1 team. He is often regarded as one of the greatest Formula One drivers in the history of the sport.He took part in the 2017 Indianapolis 500 and in the 2018 24 Hours of Daytona. He is also a member of Toyota Gazoo Racing and will take part in the FIA World Endurance Championship for the upcoming season and will race in 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Born in Oviedo, the capital of the autonomous region of Asturias, Alonso started in karting from the age of 3. He won three consecutive karting championships in Spain from 1994 to 1997, and he became world karting champion in 1996. He made his Formula One debut in the 2001 season with Minardi, and then moved to the Renault team as a test driver the next year. Starting in 2003 Alonso then became one of the main drivers of the team. On 25 September 2005, he won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship title at the age of 24 years and 58 days, at the time making him the youngest Formula One World Drivers' Champion. After retaining the title the following year, Alonso also became the youngest double Champion at the time. He joined McLaren in 2007, before returning to Renault for two seasons in 2008 and 2009.
For the 2010 season, he joined Scuderia Ferrari. Although Alonso did not reach his goal of winning a third title while at Ferrari he managed to finish runner up on three occasions (2010, 2012 and 2013) as well as winning eleven Grands Prix with the team and clearly beating his teammates for points in all five seasons. His strongest title challenges were in 2010 and 2012, finishing both seasons just adrift of title winner Sebastian Vettel. He left Ferrari at the end of the 2014 season, two years prior to the original expiry of his contract.
Rubens "Rubinho" Gonçalves Barrichello,(born 23 May 1972) is a Brazilian racing driver who competed in Formula One between 1993 and 2011, scoring 11 Grands Prix wins and 68 podiums.
Barrichello drove for Ferrari from 2000 to 2005, as Michael Schumacher's teammate, enjoying considerable success including finishing as championship runner-up in 2002 and 2004. He also finished third in 2001 and 2009. Barrichello holds the record for most races in Formula One (322) and has scored the eleventh highest points total in Formula One history. Schumacher's retirement at the end of 2006 made Barrichello the most experienced driver on the grid, and at the 2008 Turkish Grand Prix he became the most experienced driver in F1 history. He became the first driver to reach 300 Grand Prix entries and 300 starts, doing so in 2010.
During his six years with Ferrari, Barrichello was involved in winning five constructors' titles, as Schumacher won five drivers' titles in a row between 2000 and 2004. At the end of 2005 Barrichello left Ferrari to sign a contract with Honda. In 2009, he finished third in the Drivers' Championship for Brawn GP, as his teammate Jenson Button won the title. This meant Barrichello was involved in a sixth Constructors' title. He was also appointed chairman of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association in 2010, but after losing his seat in Formula One, he was replaced by Pedro de la Rosa.
Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda (born 22 February 1949) is an Austrian former Formula One driver and a three-time F1 World Drivers' Champion, winning in 1975, 1977 and 1984. He is currently the only driver to have been champion for both Ferrari and McLaren, the sport's two most successful constructors. He is considered by some as one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time. More recently an aviation entrepreneur, he has founded and run two airlines (Lauda Air and Niki). He is also Bombardier Business Aircraft brand ambassador. He was also a consultant for Scuderia Ferrari and team manager of the Jaguar Formula One racing team for two years. He is currently working as a pundit for German TV during Grand Prix weekends and acts as non-executive chairman of the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team. Lauda owns 10% of the team.
Lauda was seriously injured in a crash at the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, during which his Ferrari burst into flames and he came close to death after inhaling hot toxic fumes and suffering severe burns. However, he survived, and recovered enough to race again just six weeks later at the Italian Grand Prix.
