In the ancient times, heroes were gods (or sons of gods) who possessed great strength and power; they fought against monsters and evils and protected people on the earth. Later heroes became great kings and emperors who were brave, wise and farsighted; they built powerful countries where common people could live and work in peace and contentment. In the past 100 years, mankind has suffered two world wars and heroes became soldiers on the battlefield. They either gained illustrious battle achievements or faced death unflinchingly and gave lives as a sacrifice for their country. And now, we have entered a new era and the definition of hero has changed. In the past, we attached more importance to the moral aspect. Heroes faced death unflinchingly and when necessary, they can die for loyalty and justice. Heroes in the past were solemn and stirring. Today’s hero has diverse standards. As long as a person makes great contribution to society, either material or spiritual and cultural, and is approved and worshiped by many others, he is possible to be called a hero. The person I am going to write about in this paper is just someone like that. 

“They say he is a legend in his own lifetime. A phenomenon. A kind of extra-terrestrial superhero, never letting up in his urge to battle it out, to duel, to win. They call him names: Rain God, King of the Road, the Master, Schuminator.”(Sabine Kehm, Driving Force) And his name is Michael Schumacher. 

Statistics 
This is an era of statistics. Statistics are the most direct and efficient way of proving most time. Let us just look at some records that are held by Schumacher: 

Schumacher has won 7 times world championships among which 5 times successively from 2000 to 2004. He has won 83 grand prix victories among which 7 were got successively in 2004. He has got 63 times pole positions. His total points in his career reach up to 1192 up to now which are high than any other racer. 
Michael Schumacher is undoubtedly one of the finest drivers in F1. His shrewd racing mind and awesome driving ability, especially in the rain, has brought him deserved praise and respect. Either you love him or you hate him, he is the hero in F1. 

Qualities 
Then let’s look at some qualities that shape Schumacher into a hero: 

COURAGE 
F1 is a sport full of excitements and dangers. Driving a car with a speed of over 300 kilometers per hour itself needs great courage. In order to win the race, Schumacher always tries to use his car up to even exceeding the limit. And several years ago in , he finished the race with dry tyres in the rain, running the risk of sliding out of the road, and finally won the grand prix. All you can do is to admire the man’s fearless. 

TALENT 
Race driving is not merely a test of courage or a feat of strength. Drivers have to be able to tell whether the car can take a particular speed or not. It is up to drivers to know how they take this corner but if they need courage to do it, they have a problem. It is about knowing where the limits lie. Schumacher’s success results from his transcendental skills which overcome the problems of the car itself. Under the same condition, he drives faster than anyone else. No one drives like him——so spectacularly, so safely, so cold-bloodedly, so precisely, so immaculately, and yet with so much enjoyment. He has the talent for driving. 

IRON 
On April 20th, 2003, Schumacher won the grand prix in Imol. It was the Easter day that day and just in the morning his mother left him forever. The unfavorable things in the beginning of the 2003 season had made him received great pressure and just several hours before the race he was informed the death of his mother. Although filled with deep sorrow, Schumacher decided to take part in the race for he believed it was also his mother’s will. No one knew his feeling at that time and no one knew how great pain he was suffering. Only he himself knew what his mother’s death meant to him which could not be understood by others. And he won. He won the race, won the respect and won the world. He wept in front of the whole world and the whole world was touched by the iron hero. 

EFFORT 
Schumacher has devoted more time to work and has made more contributions to his team than any other drivers. This owes to his German character. He usually tests the car early in the morning and does not stop until it becomes dark. After test, he stayed to discuss various data with engineers until every problem is solved. Most drivers leave directly after the race, while Schumacher always talk with his engineers to search for the solution. 

Schumacher spends a lot of time to know and care his engineers. That’s why they love him so much. That’s why when once his car was struck in the practice race his engineers immediately arrived even before he had loosened his safety belt. 
Schumacher makes people know what they should do if they want to get their team’s maximal support. 

LOVE 
Schumacher loves his family. He loves his wife. During their 11 years’ marriage, no one has ever heard any scandal of their marriage. He loves his brother Ralf Schumacher, who is also his rival in F1. Although reports said they did not get along well with each other, the love between them is undoubtedly. On June 21st, 2004 in American, Ralf had a bad accident in the race. His car was out of control at the end of the bend and run up against the concrete wall with a speed of 300 kilometers per hour. Everyone was dumbstruck. But the race had to continue. In the following 20 minutes, every second is torment. Schumacher was anxious yet he could do nothing but only looked back to the cracked car every time passed by it. From the TV, the anxiety and worry in his eyes could be seen clearly. Fortunately, Ralf was not seriously injured and we saw the relieved smile on Schumacher’s face. 

Schumacher also puts in work for charity which shows his love for the world. His charity football team raises a lot of money for good causes. He also helps Max Mosley spread the word on road safety and helped establish the integrity of the Euro ENCAP tests. In 2005, he donated 10,000,000 dollars to the disaster area of the Indian Ocean tsunami which was the biggest donation from individual. 

Cultural values 
A person called hero often creates some cultural values. Michael Schumacher is such an example. He is an existence different from all the other drivers. Even one who does not know F1 knows his name. F1 is one of the games that have the most spectators in the world, so there are innumerable eyes looking at Schumacher. He is the brand of F1; his fame is even greater than F1 itself. In each grand prix, the stand is cover by red banners of Ferrari. And what most fans follow is not Ferrari, only Michael Schumacher. 

No athlete has the same attraction to the public as Schumacher. In the end of last year, Schumacher drove his F2004 along Avenue des Champs-élysées in Paris to collect donation for charity organization. More than 10,000 fans swarmed into the street and made the situation out of control. At last, Schumacher could only leave his car and run away. L’ORÉAL invited him to join their advertisement and in a short time of one month all their stocks prepared for one year were sold out. Even many sports star of other items are his fans. 

Schumacher always says that he can not understand why those who themselves are celebrities also chase him to get his sign like others. The name Michael Schumacher represents perfectness and invincibility. When German football team lost in the European Tournament, some race fans asked why Schumacher did not help them. When failed to win golden medals in the Olympic Games, media began to imagine that they should send Schumacher to take part in the games. They believe he is omnipotent. There is no unsolvable problem as long as they have Schumacher. 

Controversy 
Schumacher is such a controversial person that you either love him or you hate him. There are not too many people sitting on the fence. 

Some people take delight in talking about some of his infamous incidences. For example, after his F1 debut for in 1991 he made rapid progress up the F1 ladder and took his first World Title in 1994. However, along with success has come controversy with race suspensions and accusations of bad sportsmanship that date back to 1994 when he was involved in a series of incidents, culminating in a collision with Damon Hill in the Australian GP, which won Schumacher his first Championship title. Another infamous incident with Jacques Villeneuve ( Jerez 1997) was widely blamed on Schumacher which resulted in a one-race ban and the loss of runner-up status in the Drivers' Championship. 

Those who hate Schumacher consider him as a person good at playing with sleight. His transcendental confidence is regard as arrogance and the desire for victory as making trouble. But he is a hero, a true hero. He uses countless glories to defend his status of overlord. 

It is great fortunate to witness the creator of a myth; it is great fortunate to see a person standing undefeatedly for such a long time, and it is great fortunate to live in the same time with him. 

Michael Schumacher, a hero. A man chases the wind. No! It is the wind that chases him! 

Love him or hate him. When he leaves, we will miss him.