Tributes pour in for Michael Schumacher as F1 world celebrates his birthday

Michael Schumacher's 53rd birthday has seen an abundance of wishes for the German driver. Schumacher nearly died after a skiing accident whilst on holiday in Switzerland in December 2013. He has since been in a medically induced coma.

Fans from all over the world have showered the seven-time world champion with love and good wishes. All F1 fans are uniting in the hope of seeing him return to full health. The hashtag #KeepFightingMichael, synonymous with his ongoing medical battle, was widely shared on social media for his birthday.

Michael Schumacher was not only the best driver of his generation, but arguably one of the best drivers of all time. The German won two world championships with Bennetton before joining Jean Todt and Ross Brawn for Ferrari's fabled rebuild.

His partnership with Ferrari was one of the most dominant in F1 history. Schumacher won five consecutive world drivers' championships between 2000 and 2004, while Ferrari won six consecutive constructors' world championships from 1999 to 2004.

Michael Schumacher was dubbed 'The Red Baron', owing to the color of his crimson Ferrari. It was also a reference to Manfred von Richthofen, a World War I ace who flew for the German Air Force with a similar paint job.

Michael Schumacher's son Mick currently races in F1 with the Haas outfit. The young German was also recently named as Ferrari's reserve driver for the upcoming 2022 season.

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Michael Schumacher shaped a generation like no other, says Toto Wolff

Michael Schumacher's impact on up-and-coming drivers helped shape a generation, according to Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff.

Schumacher's long-standing records in F1 have all been eclipsed one after another by Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton in recent years. Both drivers are now equal in terms of championships won — seven each.

Despite that, Toto Wolff still feels no one will be greater than Schumacher. During an interview with Bild, the Austrian said:

“No one will ever be greater than Schumi (Michael Schumacher). Even if the statistics would see Lewis (Hamilton) in front. But Michael has shaped a generation like no other, he is iconic. You can’t make comparisons across generations. Lewis is the greatest of his generation.”

Toto Wolff joined Mercedes in 2013 alongside Lewis Hamilton after Michael Schumacher's second retirement from F1. Since then, the Austrian executive has taken his team to eight consecutive F1 constructors' championships.

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