Formula 1 fans and teams alike descended upon South Florida last weekend for the Miami Grand Prix, which Lando Norris captured for his first career win. Among the attendees was artist Cody Sabol, who used his bare hands to paint an incredible portrait of seven-time champion Michael Schumacher.
Sabol, who specializes in live painting sessions, posted a video of the process on his Instagram. He started by throwing paint onto a blank canvas. He then used his fingers to bring the portrait to life.
The result was a painting of Schumacher’s head hovering above a red F1 car. A fitting color based on Schumacher’s years of success with Ferrari.
Sabol was not yet finished. He headed to Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins, and put on another live painting performance. Sabol recreated an F1 car with a pink and teal livery.
The second painting also featured a racer wearing a stylized “Miami” helmet, which fully tapped into the festive atmosphere of the Grand Prix weekend.
Schumacher enjoyed a legendary career
F1 has seen nearly three dozen drivers win a World Drivers’ Championship since 1950. Only two drivers have won the title more than five times — Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher.
Schumacher won his first World Drivers’ Championship in 1994 while racing for Benetton. He successfully defended his title in 1995.
Schumacher, who won 91 Grands Prix in his career, missed out on the title in 1996-1999. He then kicked off a historic run in 2000.
Schumacher won 48 times between 2000-2004 while driving for Ferrari. He won the World Drivers’ Championship five consecutive times, becoming the first driver in F1 history to achieve this feat.
Schumacher continued competing in F1 until 2012. Though he was inactive between 2007-2009 after originally retiring.
Schumacher ultimately left F1 with 91 wins, a record at the time. Hamilton has since surpassed Schumacher with 103 career wins.
Sunday’s race featured a first-time winner
Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix marked only the third time that F1 has competed in South Florida. 2022 marked the inaugural event.
Max Verstappen won in 2022 en route to claiming his second consecutive World Drivers’ Championship. He then repeated in 2023 while teammate Sergio Perez finished second. Fernando Alonso rounded out the podium.
The 2024 Miami Grand Prix featured a first-time winner. Lando Norris took advantage of a safety car and held the lead for the final restart.
Norris left the field behind on the restart and went on to win for the first time in his F1 career. Verstappen finished second while Charles Leclerc finished third.
Before Sunday’s Grand Prix, Norris held the F1 record for the most podium finishes (15) without a win.