Michael Schumacher

Born in 1969 in Hürth to a working-class family, Schumacher started karting at four in a pedal kart built from scrap, won the 1987 European Championship, then tore through junior formulae to land at Jordan for one race in 1991 before Benetton snapped him up mid-season. He took his first two titles with them in 1994 and 1995, the former ending in a collision with Damon Hill that settled the championship. Moving to a struggling Ferrari in 1996, he spent years battling Häkkinen and Villeneuve - disqualified in 1997, runner-up in 1998, sidelined by a broken leg in 1999 - before finally delivering Ferrari their first title in 21 years in 2000. What followed was dominance: five straight championships through 2004, including an 11-win season in 2002 and 13 wins in 2004, both records at the time. He retired in 2006, returned with Mercedes from 2010 to 2012 to lay groundwork for their later dynasty, then suffered a traumatic brain injury in a December 2013 skiing accident that left him in a six-month coma and has kept him from public life since.