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Widely regarded as the best driver of his generation, Michael is also one of Formula One's most controversial figures.
The talented German made his F1 debut with Jordan at the 1991 Belgian GP after convincing team boss Eddie Jordan that he had experience of the Spa circuit (in fact he had only driven around it on a bicycle!). Having qualified an impressive eleventh, Michael's F1 debut lasted just a few hundred yards before his clutch gave out, however this was more than enough to impress Benetton boss Flavio Briatore who promptly snatched the German driver from the Irish team.
His first victory came at Spa, exactly a year after his debut, and Michael went on to claim his first world title in 1994. A second title came the following year, and Michael moved to Ferrari for 1996 relishing the challenge of making the Italian team world champions again.
Despite his success, controversy has never been far from Schumacher's door, with accusations of bad sportsmanship dating back to his championship battle with Damon Hill in 1994. Michael was involved in a number of incidents during the season, and a collision with Hill in the Australian GP secured him his first world title.
A similar incident in 1997 involved Jacques Villeneuve, but this time Schumacher was forced to retire from the race and the Canadian went on to take the title for Williams. Michael was heavily penalised by the FIA, enduring a one-race ban and losing his second place in that year's championship.
1998 saw Michael again battling for championship glory, this time with McLaren's Mika Hakkinen. The pair took the fight down to the wire at Suzuka, but the German's chances of victory were destroyed when he was forced to start the race from the back of the field having stalled on the grid.
It was clear Ferrari was getting closer to the title however, and high hopes were pinned on Schumacher for the following season. A first lap accident at the British GP put Michael out of contention however, as he was forced to sit out the following six races as he nursed a broken leg.
Michael finally delivered in 2000, winning the Drivers' title in Japan before completing the double a fortnight later. Ferrari were world champions for the first time in 21 years, and Schumacher had finally achieved what at times he must have felt was impossible.
Things got even better the following year, with Michael taking a total of nine victories. The title was wrapped up in Hungary in August, and he went on to break Alain Prost's record for the most number of Grand Prix wins, as well as records for scoring the most victories and points in a single season.
For several years the fear had been that Ferrari would finally produce the best car on the grid and hand it over to arguably the best driver, Michael Schumacher. If this wasn't the case in 2001 then it most definitely was in 2002.
The F2002 was without doubt the class of the field allowing Schumacher, Barrichello and Ferrari to set records that might never be broken.
The German was at one with his car and in return his machinery never let him down, indeed the German not only finished in every race, he completed every lap of every race and finished in the points in all 17 events.
It was a tour-de-force and Schumacher relished every moment of it.
Unfortunately as has so often been the case throughout his career there were blemishes on the German's record. In Austria just yards before the finish line, race leader Barrichello slowed to allow Schumacher to take the victory and thus extend his championship lead. The public backlash rocked the sport to its very core.
Then at Indianapolis Schumacher slowed in an effort to recreate the Ferrari finish at Daytona in 1967 when all three cars crossed the line together. Unfortunately Barrichello misread the situation and took the victory.
Despite taking his fifth title, Schumacher and indeed Ferrari appeared to be toying with the public, manipulating the results at will. With the Championship settled mid-season fans found better ways of spending their Sunday afternoons and consequently deserted the sport, seemingly taking the sponsors with them.
In a clear attempt to stifle another runaway season for Michael and Ferrari the FIA introduced a number of controversial new rules for 2003, including a complete overhaul of the points system.
Ferrari described its F2003-GA as the best car it had ever built, but it was soon clear that the Italian team had a serious fight on its hands. At first it was McLaren that challenged the supremacy of the red cars, then, as the season progressed, it was the WilliamsF1s that seemed to be the class of the field.
Schumacher too was under pressure, not only from his brother Ralf and Juan Pablo Montoya in the BMW powered WilliamsF1s but also young pretenders Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso. Furthermore Bridgestone was clearly struggling against its French rivals resulting in an embarrassing performance in Hungary when Schumacher was lapped by Alonso who went on to become the youngest race winner in F1 history.
The new points system meant that although Kimi Raikkonen had only won one race compared with Michael's six victories, the title fight went down to the wire.
Despite a lacklustre performance Schumacher brought his car home in eighth and thus became the most successful driver in the history of the sport having won six World Championship titles, a feat we are never likely to see equalled.
Pre-season testing suggested that Michael and Ferrari faced another long struggle in 2004. However, from the opening practice session in Melbourne, it was clear that neither the German nor his team had lost 'the edge'.
Formula One didn't know what had hit it as Michael and Ferrari launched a tour de force that resulted in five straight wins - split by a hiccup in Monaco - and then another seven successive wins.
Once the championship had been wrapped-up, the German eased off - in China alarmingly so, and to a lesser extent in Brazil - however, he took another win in Japan just to prove it could still be done.
It might not have been good for TV viewers, fans of rival teams and drivers, or the British media, but what we were witnessing in 2004 was a phenomenon.
When Ross Brawn announced, at its launch, that the F2005 was the best car that Ferrari had ever built, there was an understandable groan, not merely from the media and race fans, but from almost everyone involved in the sport, for it is doubtful whether F1 could withstand another season of Schumacher/Ferrari domination.
With no disrespect to either Michael or Ferrari, we'll never know how good the F2005 really was, because the new tyre and aerodynamic rules meant that the Italian team struggled.
The F2005 was introduced two races earlier than planned, and at first it looked as though the team had indeed produced another winner, such was its pace at both Sakhir and then Imola. However, these were to prove highlights in a (relatively) poor season.
Yet despite the limitations of the equipment at his disposal, the German gave his all. Yes, there were moments of madness, the attacks on his teammate at Monaco and Indianapolis, not to mention another disastrous weekend in China. However, for the most part, Schumacher was superb, absolutely refusing to surrender.
Whilst McLaren and Renault fought for the titles, Schumacher did his best, with typically superb drives at Imola, Canada, Hungary and Japan, proving that there is life in the old dog yet.
2006 marked Michael's fifteenth full season in F1, and from the outset there was speculation that this might be the year the German finally chose to call it quits. Alonso's move to McLaren in 2007 fuelling talk that Kimi Raikkonen would move to Ferrari, either to replace Schumacher, or, hopefully, form a super-team.
When you are widely regarded as the best it is inevitable that the merest dip in performance will be seen as the beginning of the end, particularly by those within the media who love a sensational headline, or perhaps have a hidden agenda.
Consequently, when Michael could only manage sixth in Malaysia, and spun out of the Australian Grand Prix, despite finishing second at Bahrain, the media decided the writing was on the wall.
The truth is that largely due to the failings of its Bridgestone tyres, Ferrari was struggling. However, clever strategy saw the German win at Imola, reversing the role played out with Alonso in 2005, and again at the Nurburgring.
A sudden change in the weather conditions cost the German victory in Spain, but then, in Monaco, came another of those moments that will forever be used by those who regard him a 'flawed genius'.
Race stewards adjudged Schumacher to have deliberately stopped his car on track in an attempt to bring the qualifying session to an end, thereby preventing Alonso from taking pole position. The German, with the aid of telemetry data, denied this, claiming that his wheels had locked up. Nonetheless, Schumacher was sent to the back of the grid. Once more the German was in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Next day he produced a magnificent performance, finishing second, albeit 18s down on his championship rival. The Spaniard took the next two wins before Michael hit back with a trio of victories, thereby keeping his title hopes alive.
While we looked forward to the prospect of a 'down to the wire' title fight, the media concentrated on the German's future, much to the consternation of Jean Todt, who repeatedly said that no decision had been made about Ferrari's line up for 2007 or whether Schumacher would continue racing.
The Italian team finally revealed that its plans for 2007, including the future of Michael Schumacher, would be made after the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. First there was the little matter of the World Championship to think about.
Sadly, the Italian race was clouded in controversy following Alonso's relegation to the back of the grid for an incident involving Ferrari's Felipe Massa. The Spaniard was adjudged to have hindered Massa during qualifying even though almost everyone other than the Brazilian, Todt, Ferrari and the stewards could see that this wasn't so.
To add extra spice to the Monza weekend Alonso's Renault suffered a rare engine failure while Michael took victory, thereby closing the championship gap to just two points. Bernie Ecclestone couldn't have scripted it better.
Michael had barely crossed the finish line when Ferrari revealed - by means of a well prepared press release - that this was the German's final Italian Grand Prix as he was to retire at the end of the season to be replaced by Kimi Raikkonen. The King is dead, long live the King, as it were.
While some tried to take in the significance of the loss of the German, a GP regular for more than fifteen years, others looked forward with anticipation to the three remaining races.
Though he won in China, an engine failure - the first since Indianapolis 2001 - in Japan seemed to signal the end of the German's hopes of an eighth title. Heading to Brazil Alonso led by ten points and the only way Michael could win the title would be to win the race and for Alonso to fail to score a single point. Hardly likely.
Even his final Grand Prix was controversial, the German suffering a technical failure in qualifying which meant he would start the race from the fifth row.
Nonetheless, Michael gave one of the finest performances of his career, and though he could only manage fourth, it was a drive that typified the German's skill and determination.
Sooner or later every reign has to come to an end however, and despite his age, despite the titles, in 2006 Michael proved he still had the hunger and the ability to win. Up until the final lap of his final race he remained remorseless in his quest not just for victories but for every single point he could grab.
The championship over, Ferrari was clearly keen to keep Michael on board and there was talk that the German wanted a role as assistant to Todt who had just been appointed Ferrari CEO.
In early 2007, with his role at Ferrari still undefined, there was talk of Michael taking over as Team Principal, something denied at the time by all concerned. However, in early January 2008 Todt admitted that the German had been offered the position which he subsequently declined.
There were times during 2007, particularly when Raikkonen was going through his 'bad patch' after Melbourne, when some were openly questioning whether Michael had quit too early, and for much of the year there was continued speculation as to whether the German might return to the cockpit.
In November of that year, Patrick Head admitted that he wouldn't be surprised to see McLaren make a shock move for Michael, teaming him with Lewis Hamilton for 2008. Therefore, surely it wasn't entirely co-incidence that saw Ferrari announce - less than 48 hours later - that the German was to test the F2007 at Barcelona.
As the debate continued, Michael proved he had lost none of his flair or pace when he dominated the first two days of testing, subsequently finishing runner-up in the Race of Champions.
While the speculation continued, with Michael insisting that he would not return to F1 as a racer, in December 2007 Pitpass pointed out this didn't mean he might not pop-up elsewhere, representing Germany in A1 GP for example.
Michael continued with Ferrari in 2008 the German, with the full support of Ross Brawn, helping to test and develop the F1car and also doing a lot of work in terms of the company's road cars.
It was around this time also that Michael started racing on two-wheels, contesting a number of rounds of the IDM Superbike series. While keen to play down speculation that he might do a John Surtees in reverse, win a world championship on cars and bikes, Michael admitted that riding a Ducati was the most exhilarating thing he had ever done.
In early 2009, while still performing various tasks for Ferrari, including that of 'racing advisor', Michael also stepped up his efforts on two-wheels, though members of the media and former (F1) rivals remained sceptical. By some any mishap was greeted with undisguised glee however, when the German fell from his bike during a test at Cartagena in Spain in early Ferbruary few paid any attention far less realised the significance of the incident.
In his role as racing advisor Michael was present at the Hungaroring when Felipe Massa crashed into the tyre barriers during qualifying. Once the full extent of the Brazilian's injury was known, and it was clear that he would not be able to contest the forthcoming race at Valencia, Ferrari turned to the man with whom it had enjoyed so much success just a few years earlier.
What happened next has already been well chronicled, but only Pitpass has published the true story.
According to the official line, Michael began testing in a modified 2007 car but suffered pain in his neck after just a few laps, the German and his team pointing to the incident at Cartagena. Consequently, veteran tester Luca Badoer partnered Kimi Raikkonen in the European GP, the Italian's first F1 race in ten years.
The Pitpass version is slightly different however. According to our sources Michael took part in a secret (illegal) test at Mugello when he drove the 2009 car. Climbing out of the car at the end of the session he told the team; " If you think I'm risking my reputation in that piece of s**t you've got to be joking!" Believe who you will, but surely subsequent events bear this out.
Even though Michael was ruled out for any racing role in 2009, for some odd reason later in the year Luca di Montezemolo started talking of the possibility of the German returning to racing were the team allowed to enter three cars. With four new teams due to enter the sport in 2010 nobody really understood where the FIA president was coming from. Nonetheless, it was clear the Scuderia saw Michael as part of its long-term plan.
On November 16, Mercedes announced that it had purchased a major stake in the Brawn GP team and that the Brackley outfit would be changing its name to Mercdes GP. Exactly one week later it was announced that the German team had signed Nico Rosberg.
All manner of drivers were linked with the second Mercedes seat however, nobody took it too seriously when Michael's name started to get tossed about. As time went on however, the speculation continued and more and more people began to wonder if the highly improbable might in fact become reality.
On December 23, as most of us wound down and prepared for the Christmas holiday, Mercedes announced that it had persuaded Michael to come out of retirement, thereby reuniting the German with the company that brought him into F1 - having paid for his Jordan drive back in 1991 - and the man (Ross Brawn) with whom he won all seven of his titles.
Straight after the Christmas break Michael was given special dispensation to test the GP2 Series car due to be used in the 2011 championship. During the three days of the test the only problem the German experienced was in terms of the weather.
"The after-effects of that accident are long gone," he said when asked about his neck, "that's why I was sure that it would not cause any problems. This was one year ago, that's over. Now, I am practising since December physically, very carefully and feel extremely fresh and fit.
"That was one of the reasons why I felt so good in the car in Jerez," he added. "But then, Formula 1 is another thing, the g-forces are higher, that's not really comparable. That is why I look forward so much to testing in February. Only then will the old feeling be completely back. I can't wait to be back there."
Over the years Michael has made it clear - to the disgust of some - that he has no interest in statistics, then again it's easier to talk about great racers than be one. However, the fact is that he has already made history he has nothing left to prove.
Though his return surely excites us all one cannot help but feel that while its win-win for F1 it could be lose-lose for Michael. Only time will tell.
There are many, particularly within the British media who dislike him, who seem unable to talk of his achievements without referring to a perceived dark side. However, the fact remains that though there were moments of madness, there were far more moments of inspired genius. It remains to be seen whether that magic is still there, looking back to that sensational 'finale' in Brazil 2006 one certainly hopes so.
Statistics - before the 2010 Season
Drivers' Titles: 7
Seasons in F1: 15
Grand Prix: 250
Wins: 91
Points: 1369
Poles: 68
Fastest Laps: 76
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