Michael Schumacher is universally regarded as the most talented driver of his generation, with wages at Ferrari which are allegedly more than twice those of the next best-paid driver. He made his Grand Prix debut in 1991 with Jordan, driving one race before being snapped up by Benetton.

The following year he won his first race in Belgium and finished third overall. In 1994 he won his first Drivers' Championship title and successfully defended it the following year. In 1996 he joined Ferrari, finishing third overall despite ever-present aggravation from the car. A year later he was stripped of second place after an incident with Jacques Villeneuve in the last race of the season.

His supreme self-confidence, which is sometimes interpreted as arrogance, and extreme will to win occasionally means that he courts trouble. The most notable incidents being several on-track tangles with Damon Hill during 1995 and 1996, the 1997 event in Jerez with Villeneuve and being prevented from punching David Coulthard in the Spa pitlane during the 1998 Belgium Grand Prix.

1998 and 1999 proved frustrating seasons for Schumacher. In 1998 he battled against Mika Hakkinen for the drivers' title right up to the last race in Japan. He stalled on the starting grid and, in accordance with FIA regulations, had to begin the race from the very back. However, he put in a stunning drive and soon worked his way up to third place, but it was not to be. A shard of debris from an earlier accident punctured his tyre and left him sitting by the side of the track while the Finn collected the title of World Champion.

In 1999 an accident at the British GP left him with a broken leg, and unable to compete in a race until the Malaysian GP. He then faced the worrying prospect of team mate, Eddie Irvine, taking home the crown after he had worked so hard to be the first Ferrari driver to win the championship since 1979. The German returned from his recuperation period in Malaysia vowing to help Irvine, and put in a strong drive to prove his point, but once again the title slipped from Ferrari's grasp at the last race in Japan.

2000 was different, however. He won the first three races of the season, and continued to battle hard for his chance at a third championship crown. A mid-season slump in fortune looked worryingly like it may prevent him, yet again, from taking home the spoils, but an emotional win in Italy, followed by two straight victories in the USA and Japan saw him crowned World Champion for the third time, and the first with Ferrari. His win in Malaysia then helped them retain the constructors' title. The jubilation across Italy reached immense proportions, and Schumacher quickly became a national hero.

This year he is vowing that he will fight for a fourth crown, and that he is fitter and stronger than ever.