Archive · 4 Sep 2026
How Michael Schumacher Restored Ferrari’s Formula One Glory
Michael Schumacher was a very successful racing driver from Germany.
In 1995, he joined Ferrari, which had not won the Drivers’ Championship since 1979.
Ferrari’s cars were not very good when he arrived.
Schumacher and his team worked hard to improve them.
He won three races in his first Ferrari season.
In 2000, he won Ferrari’s first Drivers’ Championship in 21 years.
From 2000 to 2004, Schumacher won five championships in a row.
Ferrari also won four team championships during that period.
Ferrari is now honoring him 30 years after he joined the team.
Ferrari is marking 30 years since Michael Schumacher joined the team with a special Monza livery.
Schumacher signed with Ferrari in 1995 after winning two Drivers’ Championships with Benetton.
Despite Ferrari’s weak 1996 car, Schumacher won three races and finished third in the championship.
Schumacher helped Ferrari win its first Constructors’ Championship since 1983 in 1999 through teammate Eddie Irvine’s campaign.
From 2000 to 2004, Schumacher and Ferrari won five consecutive Drivers’ Championships and four Constructors’ Championships.
- Who
- Michael Schumacher, Ferrari, and the technical staff led by Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne.
- What
- Schumacher’s Ferrari career and the team’s transformation into a dominant Formula One force are being commemorated.
- When
- Schumacher joined Ferrari in the middle of 1995, raced for the team through 2006, and dominated from 2000 to 2004; Ferrari is marking the 30th anniversary of his arrival this weekend.
- Where
- At Ferrari’s home race at Monza, Italy, and across the Formula One championship.
- Why
- Ferrari signed Schumacher to end a long title drought and restore the team’s competitiveness.
- Ferrari contract
- Schumacher signed a reported $30 million contract in the middle of the 1995 season.
- First Ferrari season
- In 1996, Schumacher won three races, achieved five podiums, and finished third in the Drivers’ Championship.
- First Ferrari Drivers’ title
- Schumacher won Ferrari’s first Drivers’ Championship since Jody Scheckter’s 1979 title in 2000.
- Dominant period
- Schumacher and Ferrari won five consecutive Drivers’ Championships from 2000 through 2004.
- Team championships
- Ferrari won four consecutive Constructors’ Championships from 2000 through 2003.
- Ferrari career totals
- Schumacher started 180 races for Ferrari, winning 72 and taking 116 podiums.
- Tribute
- Ferrari is using a special one-off livery at Monza to honor Schumacher 30 years after he joined the team.