Grapevine: Schumacher: Strength Comes from Family

Ferrari's seven-times World Champion Michael Schumacher believes his family deserve a share of the credit for his success in Formula One.

"I think my family are a very underestimated support for me," Schumacher told a news conference at the team's winter retreat in the Dolomites.

"Ferrari helps us to have time for a private life but obviously you need to have an environment where you enjoy your private life, where you can fill up and recharge your batteries, get your strength from," said the 36-year-old German, who is married to Corinna and with two young children Mick and Gina Maria.

The man who has won the past five World Championship titles is often portrayed as a ruthless professional. However, he showed no reluctance to credit his family with helping him get through the difficult spells in his career.

"When you have tough moments you need to have someone to lean on like Corinna and my kids. When they feel like they need to slow me down they pull the handbrake," he said. "They are there, we are together and we deal with any problems together and take strength out of that.

Strong Partner

"It is like any successful person in life that needs a very strong and good partner and a happy life around him - that's pretty much necessary."

Some have expressed surprise that Schumacher is happy to risk injury by playing in so many charity football matches and spending his winter free-time on the ski slopes but he says such 'off time' keeps him fresh for battle.

"It's not really about skiing, it is about any sport you do. I have to prepare myself and be fit. Skiing is not particularly about being fit, it is something you can have fun with," he said.

"When you do what I have been doing for so long, it is impossible to suffer and sacrifice your personal life completely, that doesn't work because then you lose your motivation very quickly.

"Ferrari is very supportive in every direction because they know us, our abilities our character and they trust us and I think that is the best way of having happy people. And happy people simply perform better."

Schumacher's recent decision to donate $10 million to relief aid for the victims of the tsunami was another sign that he has concerns other than being the fastest man on four wheels.

He says that his initial thought when he picked up his first prize money in his early days in Formula Three was to help out members of his family and so his donation to tsunami projects is nothing unusual.

"I'm very lucky to earn a lot of money from my job... it has always been the case that I have tried to balance out the unevenness we have around the world. Seeing what we have seen, we have all been affected in a way and this is my way of contributing to this situation.

"It's a little bit personal as well in a way, it was tough to see, to deal with and to explain to your children and this is a way to try and help people."