Michael Schumacher - Family and Off-track Life

Family and Off-track Life

Schumacher's younger brother Ralf was a Formula One driver until the end of 2007. Their stepbrother Sebastian Stahl has also been competing as a race car driver. In August 1995, Michael married Corinna Betsch. They have two children, Gina-Maria (born on 20 February 1997) and Mick (born on 22 March 1999). He has always been very protective of his private life and is known to dislike the celebrity spotlight, preferring a simple life. The family moved to a house near Gland, Switzerland in 2007, a 650 m2 mansion with its own underground garage and petrol station, situated on a private beach on Lake Geneva. The family has two dogs – one stray that Corinna fell in love with in Brazil, and an Australian Shepherd named "Ed" whose entrance to the family made headlines. Schumacher personally drove a taxi through the Bavarian town of Coburg after collecting the dog, enabling the family to catch their return flight to Switzerland. Both Schumacher and the taxi driver were reprimanded by local police.

One of his main hobbies is horse riding, and he plays football for his local team FC Echichens. He has appeared in several football charity games and organised games between Formula One drivers. He is a fan of FC Koln.

On 23 June 2003, Schumacher was appointed as an Ambassador at Large for the Most Serene Republic of San Marino.

Schumacher is a special ambassador to UNESCO and has donated 1.5 million Euros to the organization. Additionally, he paid for the construction of a school for poor children and for area improvements in Dakar, Senegal. He supports a hospital for child victims of war in Sarajevo, which specialises in caring for amputees. In Lima, Peru he funded the "Palace for the Poor", a centre for helping homeless street children obtain an education, clothing, food, medical attention, and shelter. He stated his interest in these various efforts was piqued both by his love for children and the fact that these causes had received little attention. While an exact figure for the amount of money he has donated throughout his life is unknown, it is known that in his last four years as a driver, he donated at least $50 million. In 2008 it was revealed that he had donated between $5M and $10M to the William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park of Bill Clinton.

Since his participation in an FIA European road safety campaign, as part of his punishment after the collision at the 1997 European Grand Prix, Schumacher has continued to support other campaigns, such as Make Roads Safe, which is led by the FIA Foundation and calls on G8 countries and the UN to recognise global road deaths as a major global health issue. In 2008, Schumacher was the figurehead of an advertising campaign by Bacardi to raise awareness about responsible drinking, with a focus on communicating an international message 'drinking and driving don't mix'. He featured in an advertising campaign for television, cinema and online media, supported by consumer engagements, public relations and digital media across the world.

On the eve of the 2002 British Grand Prix, on behalf of Fiat, Schumacher presented a Ferrari 360 Modena to legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar at Silverstone.

On 21 June 2009, Schumacher appeared on the BBC's motoring programme Top Gear as The Stig. Presenter Jeremy Clarkson hinted later in the programme that Schumacher was not the regular Stig. The BBC has since confirmed that this is the case; Schumacher was there on that occasion because Ferrari would not allow anyone else to drive the one-of-a-kind black Ferrari FXX which was featured in the show. The FXX was presented to Schumacher upon his retirement at Monza in 2006.

When Schumacher appeared on Top Gear in 2009, he told Clarkson during his interview that the road cars that he drives are a Fiat 500 Abarth, and a Fiat Croma which is his family car.