Michael Schumacher celebrates his 55th birthday, a look back at his younger years

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Like many young guns, Michael Schumacher enters motor sports through the karting. But unlike the majority of his peers, the child will have to fight to compensate for modest social origins. This accelerated learning of life will serve him throughout his career.

Michael Schumacher in 1976 © Panoramic

As the 1968 end-of-year holidays quickly approach, Rolf and Elisabeth Schumacher are impatient, and a little anxious. However, New Year's Eves risk ending long before the alcohol gets to your head; the young woman has no right to excess. Her pregnancy is coming to term. She wanted a little girl, she will have a little boy. Michael was born on January 3, 1969 in the Hürth-Hermülheim clinic, on the outskirts of Cologne in North Rhine-Westphalia. Very quickly, the new parents understand that the narrow two-room apartment they share in the neighboring town of Fischenich is not likely to be sufficient for the toddler's development.

The clan then moved 40 kilometers and settled in Kerpen. The wink makes you smile in hindsight, but the Schumachers chose to live... where the automotive legend Wolfgang von Trips grew up. Catholic and with a conservative upbringing in industrialized West Germany, Michael Schumacher will allow himself a comment on the two-time Grand Prix winner, who disappeared following an accident on the second lap of the 1961 Italian Grand Prix , while he wore the crest of the Team Ferrari: “ I grew up hearing about him often. So much so that I feel a connection between us », he declared after his first coronation in 1994 in our columns.

Michael Schumacher will form a strong relationship with his brother Ralf © Panoramic

Michael Schumacher patiently forged this link, initially without being aware of it. Like all children who try karts, the idea is first and foremost to have fun; in the case of the future seven-time world champion, to benefit from a gift offered for his fourth birthday. Michael then receives quite an upgrade on his pedal machine. The legend, because every mythical route hides its share of more or less plausible stories, has it that Rolf, a mason by trade and above all a skilled handyman, fished out a moped from a nearby lake to extract the used engine, dry it, and patch it up. and place it in the son's kart. In an interview for German television, Michael Schumacher will give a more plausible version. “ Dad adapted an engine from one of our old mopeds, which went 40 km/h. From the start, I really liked it. » As the brakes are absent, Rolf places a rope and turns Michael in a circle, like a horse lunging exercise.

Cafeteria and precocity

This ride ends when Michael runs straight into a lamp post. Here again, Rolf doesn't know it, but he is faced with a choice that will dictate his son's entire life. Should he divert him from these machines that are clearly too dangerous for a kid or take him to a more appropriate environment, like a racetrack? He takes the second option. So head for the Kerpen-Horrem track about ten kilometers away. The father became a regular at the place and even took a part-time job there. It is his responsibility to rent the karts and keep the equipment in running condition. The Schumachers will even move to a more decent house located next to the track. You have to redo almost everything. While Elisabeth gives birth to a second boy, named Ralf, Rolf transforms the place into a huge café. “ Michael was to take over the garage and Ralf the cafeteria », had predicted the father.

Youngest member of the Kerpen Karting club, Michael Schumacher wins his first trophy at 5 years old © Panoramic

In the meantime, Elisabeth prepares “currywurst”, the popular sausage dish across the Rhine, while keeping an eye on Michael, who keeps running away at full speed. He is the youngest member of the club and quickly becomes the darling of the club. While his rivals were young teenagers, he won his first race at just five years old. A few months later, more for fun than for any implication of the highest importance, Rolf still puts his manual talents to good use. “ It was probably the cheapest kart I have ever seen, Schumi would recall later. It had a 100cc engine and my dad built it from parts thrown out by other club members, like bad tires. He actually had to cut the chassis because it was too long for me, but it still worked. » So much so that he won his first championship at just six years old! The local press dedicated a first article to him entitled: “ Michael, klein aber schnell » (Michael, small but fast).

It's time for carefree living. Yes, this kid has something extra: a gift. But rather than making him believe in a glorious life as a racing driver, the parents are struggling to make the most of the present moment. Because the finances are not in good shape, which reflects on the kid's lack of dreams, and will result in a keen sense of pragmatism later. “ I never planned to go to Formula 1 at this age », he explained to the English journalist James Allen in his biography “The Edge of Greatness » (untranslated). “ I didn't think about anything other than karting, for the simple reason that we weren't rolling in gold. I didn't have any career goals, I never expected anything in particular. I would have accepted that my career would not take off, even if I had given the best of myself. There was a sort of calculated pessimism in all this. » In 2003, he even wrote on his website that he “did not never been a dreamer ».

Patronage, pillar of progress by Michael Schumacher

As he grew up, Michael complied with his parents' demands. If he wants to continue having a good time on his karts, he must first pass the school exams. Not really a hard worker, he was nevertheless interested in English lessons, judo and mathematics, until he left high school at 17 to train as a mechanic in a BMW and Volkswagen garage, which he validates without much enthusiasm. His thing is driving, not changing the clutch of a Golf.

In life, talent or desire are not enough. You also have to count on relationships and a bit of luck, which some will call destiny. Unable to pay for a new engine (worth 800 Deutsche Marks) in order to progress in national junior competitions, the parents categorically refuse to go into debt for their son. Eventually, Michael crosses paths with two patrons. The first is, literally, a carpet salesman; Gerhard Noack came to Kerpen to rent a kart. The one who becomes one of the largest kart dealers in the country will take him under his wing and teach him some life lessons.

Like this day when he pretends to have resold the machine he bought because of his student's negligence. “ He came after his classes to practice. But as he didn't take care of the kart, I pretended to have parted with it. He started crying, went back to his father and then promised me he wouldn't make that mistake again. » In reality, the merchant had already acquired another, more efficient kart! Perhaps this is how the seed of a die-hard work ethic was instilled in the budding pilot. The second providential man was Jürgen Dilk, a businessman at the helm of several slot machines. His son, Guido, was soundly beaten by the new Germanic nugget. The two young boys have nevertheless formed a friendship, and when Michael admits to Guido that his pockets are empty to finish the season, Jürgen comes to the rescue: in exchange for a small monthly income (enaround 340 euros today), he will collect the cups and trophies won. The shelves will be full. “ Without the help of these people, I certainly would not be where I am today. »

For their part, his parents let him become independent every weekend. Contrary to the cliché of the father transposing his fallen desire for a career onto his son, Rolf does not even accompany Michael on the circuits. “ We couldn't afford to travel together », Says the future star, who copes very well with it. “ When parents are too close, they can influence the child in a bad way », he will rewind in front of Michel Drucker during a broadcast of Looking forward to Sunday, broadcast in February 2004. They were very supportive, letting Ralf and I have our own experiences, while also telling us that there would always be a place for us at home, no matter what. This is one of the reasons why we are so mentally strong, my brother and I. »

A rare exception to the rule, the World Championships organized in Nivelles (Belgium) in 1980, where the father and his son watched as spectators the blossoming of a future legend and an adversary around ten years later: Ayrton Senna, who will place second. “ He was a little crazy, very impressive. » Otherwise, Michael walks with Jürgen who introduces him to the relevance of physical training for his 15th birthday by hiring a former football player. If this sponsor is deeply disinterested, this is not the case for other sponsors, attracted by the small reputation of the offspring in the region to make their business flourish. “ They disrespected my family, my friends, and were sneaky in business. »

Cascading rewards for Schumacher

An anonymous teenager during the week, Michael Schumacher becomes a young adult on the weekends and will build a protective bubble for himself, but we still remain far from a Dickensian childhood. “ It was a great time, we were driving in a caravan from circuit to circuit “, he declares in a video broadcast at Motorworld, his free museum in Cologne. The future Red Baron also showed mischief, as when he decided at the age of 13 to race under a Luxembourg license, a country bordering Germany and less than 200 km from Kerpen. No fiscal purpose behind this curious choice, but always financial concerns. “ Qualifying races in Germany cost money. And if we are eliminated, we do not qualify for the World Championship. But in Luxembourg, we are practically the only competitors, it costs nothing and we qualify easily. »

With his number 33, he won the German junior championship in 1984 © Panoramic

What Michael hides is his inability to ride in Germany, the legislation prohibiting any young boy under the age of 14 from racing! The first notable laurels came in 1984. Michael was then 15 years old and could therefore compete in the German Junior Championship. Titled, he doubled the stakes the following season, despite recalcitrant reliability. “ Michael started to have a problem in the second round, remembers Jürgen Dilk in the book “ Michael Schumacher, journey of a gifted person“, written by Luc Demenjoz. “ I saw him put his hand on the carburetor, and left it there for the entire ordeal, driving with one hand. He won, and explained to me that two screws were gone, requiring him to hold the carburetor himself. There he showed his sensitivity to mechanics. »

The ascent continues, with a horrifying rank of CIK-FIA Junior world vice-champion at Le Mans behind Andrea Gilardi and ahead of Allan McNish in 1985. But the path almost stops due to death, in the Raidillon de Spa -Francorchamps, of rising star Stefan Bellof at the wheel of a Porsche 956B. Jürgen Dilk is afraid, he does not want to take his foal towards such a tragic fate. “ I wanted him to stop. This was without taking into account his ambition and his mule-headed character. “, he concedes to German journalist Karin Sturm in “ Michael Schumacher, Mensch and Mythos“. Third in the National Elite Championship in 1986, he reached full maturity in 1987. Having come of age, the one who is not yet nicknamed the “Kaiser” will win the German championship, but it is above all a distinction won in a meadow Swedish which will sanction a promising course in karting.

Qualified in the German delegation to travel to Gothenburg during the European Championships, Michael Schumacher will take advantage of a new string to his bow: opportunism. “ It started around the 6^e or 7^e place, behind our group of French people, remembers Olivier Couvreur, then one of the best French hopes. I suffered an ignition failure and gave up. Emmanuel Collard also had a mechanical problem and had to retire while he was ahead of Michael. And to top it all off, Jean-Christophe Bouillon suffered the same fate! »

Income in 3^e At the start of the final sprint, Michael Schumacher sees from afar the duel between two Italian representatives, Alessandro Zanardi and Massimiliano Orsini. It's certain, the Boot will bring the trophy home, there's only one lap left to go. But Orsini attempts a desperate maneuver and the two compatriots fly into the background! “ He won by leading only one lap, but only the result counts, summarizes Olivier Couvreur. Everyone wondered where it came from (Laughter). He was a good outsider, because in this competition there were no bad drivers. But from there to what he could win, there was a small margin. I remember that he had long hair that fell to the back of his neck; it was fashionable at the time, well, especially across the Rhine, less so in France. The podium took place behind the stands, which consisted of three wooden pallets. » It is high time to taste the more opulent podiums of promotional formulas. It will start very quickly with Formula Ford…

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