Coordinates	34°03′″N118°15′″N
name	Berlin
image photo	Berlin Montage.png
state coa	Coat of arms of Berlin.svg
coa size	70
map	Berlin in Germany and EU.png
map size	270
map text	Location within European Union and Germany
flag	Flag_of_Berlin.svg
area	891.85
population	3468900
pop ref
pop date	31 March 2011
pop metro	4,429,847
elevation	34 - 115
demonym	Berliner
gdp	94.7
gdp year	2010
Gdp ref
website	berlin.de
leader title	Governing Mayor
leader	Klaus Wowereit
leader party	SPD
ruling party1	SPD
ruling party2	The Left
votes	4
divisions	12 boroughs
nuts	DE3
state	Berlin
vorwahl	030
kfz	B (for earlier signs see note)
iso region	DE-BE
plz	10001–14199
coordinates display	displayinline, title
date	September 2010 }}

Berlin (; ) is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union. Located in northeastern Germany, it is the center of the Berlin-Brandenburg Metropolitan Region, which has 4.4 million residents from over 190 nations. Located in the European Plains, Berlin is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. Around one third of the city's area is composed of forests, parks, gardens, rivers and lakes.

First documented in the 13th century, Berlin was the capital of the Kingdom of Prussia (1701–1918), the German Empire (1871–1918), the Weimar Republic (1919–1933) and the Third Reich (1933–1945). Berlin in the 1920s was the third largest municipality in the world. After World War II, the city became divided into East Berlin—the capital of East Germany—and West Berlin, a West German exclave surrounded by the Berlin Wall (1961–1989). Following German reunification in 1990, the city regained its status as the capital of Germany, hosting 147 foreign embassies.

Berlin is a world city of culture, politics, media, and science. Its economy is primarily based on the service sector, encompassing a diverse range of creative industries, media corporations, and convention venues. Berlin also serves as a continental hub for air and rail transport, and is a popular tourist destination. Significant industries include IT, pharmaceuticals, biomedical engineering, biotechnology, electronics, traffic engineering, and renewable energy.

Berlin is home to renowned universities, research institutes, orchestras, museums, and celebrities, as well as host of many sporting events. Its urban settings and historical legacy have made it a popular location for international film productions. The city is well renowned for its festivals, diverse architecture, nightlife, contemporary arts, public transportation networks and a high quality of living.

History

The origin of the name ''Berlin'' is unknown, but it may have its roots in the language of West Slavic inhabitants of the area of today's Berlin, and be related to the Old Polabian stem ''berl-''/''birl-'' "swamp".

The earliest evidence of settlements in the area of today's Berlin is a wooden beam dated from approximately 1192. The first written records of towns in the area of present-day Berlin date from the late 12th century. Spandau is first mentioned in 1197 and Köpenick in 1209, although these areas did not join Berlin until 1920. The central part of Berlin can be traced back to two towns. Cölln on the Fischerinsel is first mentioned in a 1237 document, and Berlin, across the Spree in what is now called the Nikolaiviertel, is referenced in a document from 1244. The former is considered to be the founding date of the city. The two towns over time formed close economic and social ties and eventually merged in 1307 and came to be known as ''Berlin''.

In 1435, Frederick I became the elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg, which he ruled until 1440. His successor, Frederick II Irontooth, established Berlin as capital of the margraviate, and subsequent members of the Hohenzollern family ruled until 1918 in Berlin, first as electors of Brandenburg, then as kings of Prussia, and eventually as German emperors. In 1448, citizens rebelled in the "Berlin Indignation" against the construction of a new royal palace by Frederick II Irontooth. This protest was not successful, however, and the citizenry lost many of its political and economic privileges. In 1451 Berlin became the royal residence of the Brandenburg electors, and Berlin had to give up its status as a free Hanseatic city. In 1539, the electors and the city officially became Lutheran.

17th to 19th centuries

The Thirty Years' War between 1618 and 1648 devastated Berlin. One third of its houses were damaged or destroyed, and the city lost half of its population. Frederick William, known as the "Great Elector", who had succeeded his father George William as ruler in 1640, initiated a policy of promoting immigration and religious tolerance. With the Edict of Potsdam in 1685, Frederick William offered asylum to the French Huguenots. More than 15,000 Huguenots went to Brandenburg, of whom 6,000 settled in Berlin. By 1700, approximately 20 percent of Berlin's residents were French, and their cultural influence on the city was immense. Many other immigrants came from Bohemia, Poland, and Salzburg.

With the coronation of Frederick I in 1701 as king (in Königsberg), Berlin became the new capital of the Kingdom of Prussia (instead of Königsberg); this was a successful attempt to centralize the capital in the very outspread Prussian Kingdom, and it was the first time the city began to grow. In 1740, Frederick II, known as Frederick the Great (1740–1786), came to power. Under the rule of Frederick II Berlin became a center of the Enlightenment. Following France's victory in the War of the Fourth Coalition, Napoleon Bonaparte marched into Berlin in 1806, but granted self-government to the city. In 1815 the city became part of the new Province of Brandenburg.

The Industrial Revolution transformed Berlin during the 19th century; the city's economy and population expanded dramatically, and it became the main rail hub and economic center of Germany. Additional suburbs soon developed and increased the area and population of Berlin. In 1861, outlying suburbs including Wedding, Moabit, and several others were incorporated into Berlin. In 1871, Berlin became capital of the newly founded German Empire. On 1 April 1881 it became a city district separate from Brandenburg.

20th century

At the end of World War I in 1918, a republic was proclaimed in Berlin. In 1920, the Greater Berlin Act incorporated dozens of suburban cities, villages, and estates around Berlin into an expanded city. This new area encompassed Spandau and Charlottenburg in the west, as well as several other areas that are now major municipalities. After this expansion, Berlin had a population of around four million. During the Weimar era, Berlin became internationally renowned as a center of cultural transformation, at the heart of the Roaring Twenties.

On 30 January 1933, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party came to power through the Machtergreifung. Nazi rule destroyed Berlin's Jewish community, which had numbered 170,000 before 1933. After Kristallnacht in 1938, thousands of the city's Jews were imprisoned in the nearby Sachsenhausen concentration camp or, in early 1943, were shipped to death camps, such as Auschwitz. During World War II, large parts of Berlin were destroyed in the 1943–45 air raids and during the Battle of Berlin. Among the hundreds of thousands who died during the Battle for Berlin, an estimated 125,000 were civilians. After the end of the war in Europe in 1945, Berlin received large numbers of refugees from the Eastern provinces. The victorious powers divided the city into four sectors, analogous to the occupation zones into which Germany was divided. The sectors of the Western Allies (the United States, the United Kingdom and France) formed West Berlin, while the Soviet sector formed East Berlin.

All four allies shared administrative responsibilities for Berlin. However, in 1948, when the Western allies extended the currency reform in the Western zones of Germany to the three western sectors of Berlin, the Soviet Union imposed a blockade on the access routes to and from West Berlin, which lay entirely inside Soviet-controlled territory. The Berlin airlift, conducted by the three western allies, overcame this blockade by supplying food and other supplies to the city from 24 June 1948 to 11 May 1949. In 1949, the Federal Republic of Germany was founded in West Germany and eventually included all of the American, British, and French zones, excluding those three countries' zones in Berlin, while the Marxist-Leninist German Democratic Republic was proclaimed in East Germany. West Berlin officially remained an occupied city, but politically it was very closely aligned with Federal Republic of Germany despite Berlin's geographic location within East Germany. West Berlin issued its own postage stamps, which were often the same as West German postage stamps but with the additional word 'Berlin' added. Airline service to West Berlin was granted only to American, British, and French airlines.

The founding of the two German states increased Cold War tensions. West Berlin was surrounded by East German territory and East Germany proclaimed East Berlin (described as "Berlin") as its capital, a move that was not recognized by the western powers. Although only half the size and population of West Berlin, East Berlin included most of the historic center of the city. The West German government, meanwhile, established itself provisionally in Bonn.

As a result of the political and economical tensions brought on by the Cold War, on 13 August 1961, East Germany began building of the Berlin Wall between East and West Berlin and similar barriers around West Berlin, and events escalated to a tank standoff at Checkpoint Charlie on 27 October 1961. West Berlin was now de facto a part of West Germany with a unique legal status, while East Berlin was de facto a part of East Germany.

Berlin was completely divided. Although it was possible for Westerners to pass from one to the other only through strictly controlled checkpoints, for most Easterners, travel to West Berlin or West Germany was no longer possible. In 1971, a Four-Power agreement guaranteed access to and from West Berlin by car or train through East Germany and ended the potential for harassment or closure of the routes.

In 1989, with the end of the Cold War and pressure from the East German population the Berlin Wall fell on 9 November 1989, and was subsequently mostly demolished, with little of its physical structure remaining today; the East Side Gallery in Friedrichshain near the ''Oberbaumbrücke'' over the Spree preserves a portion of the Wall.

On 3 October 1990, the two parts of Germany were reunified as the Federal Republic of Germany, and Berlin again became the official German capital. In June 1991, the German Parliament, the Bundestag, voted to move the seat of the (West) German capital back from Bonn to Berlin, which was completed in 1999.

Geography

Berlin is located in eastern Germany, about west of the border with Poland in an area with marshy terrain, and is surrounded by the federal state of Brandenburg. The Berlin–Warsaw ''Urstromtal'' (ice age melt water flow), between the low Barnim plateau to the north and the Teltow plateau to the south, was formed by water flowing from melting ice sheets at the end of the last ice age. The Spree follows this valley now. In Spandau, Berlin's westernmost borough, the Spree meets the river Havel, which flows from north to south through western Berlin. The course of the Havel is more like a chain of lakes, the largest being the Tegeler See and Großer Wannsee. A series of lakes also feeds into the upper Spree, which flows through the Großer Müggelsee in eastern Berlin.

Substantial parts of present-day Berlin extend onto the low plateaus on both sides of the Spree Valley. Large parts of the boroughs Reinickendorf and Pankow lie on the Barnim plateau, while most of the boroughs Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, Steglitz-Zehlendorf, Tempelhof-Schöneberg, and Neukölln lie on the Teltow plateau.

The borough of Spandau lies partly within the Berlin ''Urstromtal'' and partly on the Nauen Plain, which stretches to the west of Berlin. The highest elevations in Berlin are the Teufelsberg and the Müggelberge. Both hills have an elevation of about . The Teufelsberg is in fact an artificial pile of rubble from the ruins of World War II.

Climate

Berlin has a humid continental climate according to the Köppen climate classification system. The city features a temperate climate.

Summers are warm with average high temperatures of and lows of . Winters are cold with average high temperatures of and lows of . Spring and autumn are generally chilly to mild. Berlin's built-up area creates a microclimate, with heat stored by the city's buildings. Temperatures can be higher in the city than in the surrounding areas.

Annual precipitation is with moderate rainfall throughout the year. Light snowfall mainly occurs from December through March, but snow cover does not usually remain for long. The recent winter of 2009/2010 was an exception as there was a permanent snow cover from late December till early March.

Cityscape

Berlin's history has left the city with a highly eclectic array of architecture and buildings. The city's appearance today is predominantly shaped by the key role it played in Germany's history in the 20th century. Each of the national governments based in Berlin—the 1871 German Empire, the Weimar Republic, Nazi Germany, East Germany, and now the reunified Germany—initiated ambitious (re-)construction programs, with each adding its own distinctive style to the city's architecture. Berlin was devastated by bombing raids during World War II, and many of the buildings that had remained after the war were demolished in the 1950s and 1960s in both West and East Berlin. Much of this demolition was initiated by municipal architecture programs to build new residential or business quarters and main roads.

The eastern parts of Berlin have many ''Plattenbauten'', reminders of Eastern Bloc ambitions to create complete residential areas that had fixed ratios of shops, kindergartens and schools to the number of inhabitants.

Architecture

The Fernsehturm (TV tower) at Alexanderplatz in Mitte is among the tallest structures in the European Union at . Built in 1969, it is visible throughout most of the central districts of Berlin. The city can be viewed from its high observation floor. Starting here the Karl-Marx-Allee heads east, an avenue lined by monumental residential buildings, designed in the Socialist Classicism Style of the Joseph Stalin era. Adjacent to this area is the Rotes Rathaus (City Hall), with its distinctive red-brick architecture. In front of it is the Neptunbrunnen, a fountain featuring a mythological group of Tritons, personifications of the four main Prussian rivers and Neptun on top of it.

The East Side Gallery is an open-air exhibition of art painted directly on the last existing portions of the Berlin Wall. It is the largest remaining evidence of the city's historical division. It has recently undergone a restoration.

The Brandenburg Gate is an iconic landmark of Berlin and Germany. It also appears on German euro coins (10 cent, 20 cent, and 50 cent). The Reichstag building is the traditional seat of the German Parliament, renovated in the 1950s after severe World War II damage. The building was again remodeled by British architect Norman Foster in the 1990s and features a glass dome over the session area, which allows free public access to the parliamentary proceedings and magnificent views of the city.

The Gendarmenmarkt, a neoclassical square in Berlin whose name dates back to the quarters of the famous Gens d'armes regiment located here in the 18th century, is bordered by two similarly designed cathedrals, the Französischer Dom with its observation platform and the German Cathedral. The Konzerthaus (Concert Hall), home of the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, stands between the two cathedrals.

The Berlin Cathedral, emperor William II.'s ambitious attempt to create a Protestant counterpart to St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, is located on the Spree Island across from the site of the Stadtschloss and adjacent to the Lustgarten. A large crypt houses the remains of some of the earlier Prussian royal family. Like many other buildings, it suffered extensive damage during the Second World War. St. Hedwig's Cathedral is Berlin's Roman Catholic cathedral.

Unter den Linden is a tree lined east-west avenue from the Brandenburg Gate to the site of the former Berliner Stadtschloss, and was once Berlin's premier promenade. Many Classical buildings line the street and part of Humboldt University is located there. Friedrichstraße was Berlin's legendary street during the Roaring Twenties. It combines 20th century traditions with the modern architecture of today's Berlin.

Potsdamer Platz is an entire quarter built from scratch after 1995 after the Wall came down. To the west of Potsdamer Platz is the Kulturforum, which houses the Gemäldegalerie, and is flanked by the Neue Nationalgalerie and the Berliner Philharmonie. The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, a Holocaust memorial, is situated to the north.

The area around Hackescher Markt is home to the fashionable culture, with countless clothing outlets, clubs, bars, and galleries. This includes the Hackesche Höfe, a conglomeration of buildings around several courtyards, reconstructed around 1996. Oranienburger Straße and the nearby New Synagogue were the center of Jewish culture before 1933. Although the New Synagogue is still an anchor for Jewish history and culture, Oranienburger straße and surrounding areas are increasingly known for the shopping and nightlife.

The Straße des 17. Juni, connecting the Brandenburg Gate and Ernst-Reuter-Platz, serves as central East-West-Axis. Its name commemorates the uprisings in East Berlin of 17 June 1953. Approximately half-way from the Brandenburg Gate is the Großer Stern, a circular traffic island on which the Siegessäule (Victory Column) is situated. This monument, built to commemorate Prussia's victories, was relocated 1938–39 from its previous position in front of the Reichstag.

The Kurfürstendamm is home to some of Berlin's luxurious stores with the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church at its eastern end on Breitscheidplatz. The church was destroyed in the Second World War and left in ruins. Nearby on Tauentzienstraße is KaDeWe, claimed to be continental Europe's largest department store. The Rathaus Schöneberg, where John F. Kennedy made his famous "Ich bin ein Berliner!" speech, is situated in Tempelhof-Schöneberg.

West of the center, Schloss Bellevue is the residence of the German President. Schloss Charlottenburg, which was burnt out in the Second World War and largely destroyed, has been rebuilt and is the largest surviving historical palace in Berlin.

The Funkturm Berlin is a tall lattice radio tower at the fair area, built between 1924 and 1926. It is the only observation tower which stands on insulators, and has a restaurant and an observation deck above ground, which is reachable by a windowed elevator.

Politics

Berlin is the capital of the Federal Republic of Germany and is the seat of the President of Germany, whose official residence is Schloss Bellevue. Since German reunification on 3 October 1990, it has been one of the three city states, together with Hamburg and Bremen, among the present 16 states of Germany.

The Bundesrat ("federal council") is the representation of the Federal States (''Bundesländer'') of Germany and has its seat at the former Prussian House of Lords. Though most of the ministries are seated in Berlin, some of them, as well as some minor departments, are seated in Bonn, the former capital of West Germany. The European Union invests in several projects within the city of Berlin. Infrastructure, education and social programs are co-financed with budgets taken from EU cohesion funds.

City state

The city and state parliament is the House of Representatives (''Abgeordnetenhaus''), which currently has 141 seats. Berlin's executive body is the Senate of Berlin (''Senat von Berlin''). The Senate of Berlin consists of the Governing Mayor (''Regierender Bürgermeister'') and up to eight senators holding ministerial positions, one of them holding the official title "Mayor" (''Bürgermeister'') as deputy to the Governing Mayor. The Social Democratic Party (SPD) and The Left (Die Linke) took control of the city government after the 2001 state election and won another term in the 2006 state election.

The Governing Mayor is simultaneously Lord Mayor of the city (''Oberbürgermeister der Stadt'') and Prime Minister of the Federal State (''Ministerpräsident des Bundeslandes''). The office of Berlin's Governing Mayor is in the Rotes Rathaus (Red City Hall). Since 2001 this office has been held by Klaus Wowereit of the SPD. The city's government is based on a coalition between the Social Democratic Party and Die Linke.

The total annual state budget of Berlin in 2007 exceeded €20.5 ($28.7) billion including a budget surplus of €80 ($112) million. The figures indicate the first surplus in the history of the city state. Due to increasing growth rates and tax revenues, the Senate of Berlin calculates an increasing budget surplus in 2008. The total budget includes an estimated amount of €5.5 ($7.7) bn, which is directly financed by either the German government or the German Bundesländer. Mainly due to reunification-related expenditures, Berlin as a German state has accumulated more debt than any other city in Germany, with the most current estimate being €60 ($84)bn in December 2007. In 2011, the very high level of public sector debt prompted the Stabilitätsrat von Bund und Ländern (Council for Fiscal Stability of the Federal and Local States) to declare a possible fiscal emergency for the city.

Boroughs

Berlin is subdivided into twelve boroughs (''Bezirke''), down from 23 boroughs before Berlin's 2001 administrative reform. Each borough contains a number of localities (''Ortsteile''), which often have historic roots in older municipalities that predate the formation of Greater Berlin on 1 October 1920 and became urbanized and incorporated into the city. Many residents strongly identify with their localities or boroughs. At present Berlin consists of 95 localities, which are commonly made up of several city neighborhoods—called ''Kiez'' in the Berlin dialect—representing small residential areas.

Each borough is governed by a borough council (''Bezirksamt'') consisting of five councilors (''Bezirksstadträte'') and a borough mayor (''Bezirksbürgermeister''). The borough council is elected by the borough assembly (''Bezirksverordnetenversammlung''). The boroughs of Berlin are not independent municipalities, however. The power of borough governments is limited and subordinate to the Senate of Berlin. The borough mayors form the council of mayors (''Rat der Bürgermeister''), led by the city's governing mayor, which advises the senate.

The localities have no local government bodies, and the administrative duties of the former locality representative, the ''Ortsvorsteher'', were taken over by the borough mayors.

Sister cities

Berlin maintains official partnerships with 17 cities. Town twinning between Berlin and other cities began with Los Angeles in 1967. East Berlin's partnerships were canceled at the time of German reunification and later partially reestablished. West Berlin's partnerships had previously been restricted to the borough level. During the Cold War era, the partnerships had reflected the different power blocs, with West Berlin partnering with capitals in the West, and East Berlin mostly partnering with cities from the Warsaw Pact and its allies.

There are several joint projects with many other cities, such as Copenhagen, Helsinki, Johannesburg, Shanghai, Seoul, Sofia, Sydney, and Vienna. Berlin participates in international city associations such as the Union of the Capitals of the European Union, Eurocities, Network of European Cities of Culture, Metropolis, Summit Conference of the World's Major Cities, Conference of the World's Capital Cities. Berlin's official sister cities are:

* 1967 Los Angeles, United States

* 1987 Paris, France

* 1988 Madrid, Spain

* 1989 Istanbul, Turkey

* 1991 Warsaw, Poland

* 1991 Moscow, Russia

* 1991 Budapest, Hungary

* 1992 Brussels, Belgium

* 1993 Jakarta, Indonesia

* 1993 Tashkent, Uzbekistan

* 1993 Mexico City, Mexico

Beijing, People's Republic of China>China

* 1994 Tokyo, Japan

* 1994 Buenos Aires, Argentina

* 1995 Prague, Czech Republic

* 2000 Windhoek, Namibia

* 2000 London, United Kingdom

Economy

In 2009, the nominal GDP of the citystate Berlin experienced a growth rate of 1.7% (−3.5% in Germany) and totaled €90.1 (~$117) billion. Berlin's economy is dominated by the service sector, with around 80% of all companies doing business in services. The unemployment rate had steadily decreased over the past decade and reached a 13-year low in 2008; unemployment was at 14.2% (German average: 7.9%).

Fast-growing economic sectors in Berlin include communications, life sciences, and transportation, particularly services that use information and communication technologies, as well as media and music, advertising and design, biotechnology, environmental services, and medical engineering.

The Science and Business Park of Berlin-Adlershof is among the 15 largest technology parks worldwide. Research and development have high economic significance for the city, and the Berlin–Brandenburg region ranks among the top-three innovative regions in the EU.

2007 EUROSTAT	Area		Population	Nominal GDP in billion	Nominal GDP per capita

Companies

Siemens, a Fortune Global 500 company and one of the 30 German DAX companies, has a headquarter in Berlin. The state-owned railway, Deutsche Bahn, has its headquarters in Berlin as well. Many German and international companies have business or service centres in the city.

Among the 20 largest employers in Berlin are the Deutsche Bahn, the hospital provider, Charité, the local public transport provider, BVG, and the service provider, ''Dussmann and the Piepenbrock Group''. Daimler manufactures cars, and BMW builds motorcycles in Berlin. Bayer Schering Pharma and ''Berlin Chemie'' are major pharmaceutical companies headquartered in the city. The second largest German airline Air Berlin is also headquartered in Berlin.

Tourism

Berlin has 746 hotels with 112,400 beds as of the end of 2010. The city recorded 20.8 million overnight hotel stays and 9.1 million hotel guests in the same year. Berlin has a yearly total of approximately 135 million daily visitors, which puts it in third place among the most-visited city destinations in the European Union.

Berlin is among the top three convention cities in the world and is home to Europe's biggest convention center, the Internationales Congress Centrum (ICC). Several large scale trade fairs like the IFA, Grüne Woche, InnoTrans, Artforum and the ITB are held annually in the city, attracting a significant number of business visitors.

Creative industries

Industries that do business in the creative arts and entertainment are an important and sizable sector of the economy of Berlin. The creative arts sector comprises music, film, advertising, architecture, art, design, fashion, performing arts, publishing, R&D;, software, TV, radio, and video games. Around 22,600 creative enterprises, predominantly SMEs, generated over 18,6 billion Euro in total revenue. Berlin's creative industries have contributed an estimated 20% of Berlin's gross domestic product in 2005. The German headquarter of Universal Music is based in Berlin.

Infrastructure

Transport

Berlin's transportation infrastructure is highly complex, providing a very diverse range of urban mobility. A total of 979 bridges cross 197 kilometers of innercity waterways, of roads run through Berlin, of which are motorways ("Autobahn"). In 2006, 1.416 million motor vehicles were registered in the city. With 358 cars per 1000 residents in 2008 (570/1000 in Germany), Berlin as a German state and as a major European city has one of the lowest numbers of cars per capita.

Long-distance rail lines connect Berlin with all of the major cities of Germany and with many cities in neighboring European countries. Regional rail lines provide access to the surrounding regions of Brandenburg and to the Baltic Sea. The Berlin Hauptbahnhof is the largest crossing station in Europe. Deutsche Bahn runs trains to domestic destinations like Hamburg, Munich, Cologne and others. It also runs an airport express rail service, as well as trains to international destinations like Moscow, Vienna, Amsterdam, and Malmö.

The and the Deutsche Bahn manage several dense urban public transport systems.

System	Stations/ Lines/ Net length	Passengers per year	Operator/ Notes
	166 / 15 /	376 million
	173 / 10 /	457 million	BVG/ Mainly underground rail system. 24hour-service on weekends.
	398 / 22 /	171 million	BVG/ Operates predominantly in eastern boroughs.
	2627 / 147 /	407 million	BVG/ Extensive services in all boroughs. 46 Night Lines
	6 lines		BVG/ All modes of transport can be accessed with the same ticket.

;Airports

Berlin has two commercial airports. Tegel International Airport (TXL), which lies within the city limits, and Schönefeld International Airport (SXF), which is situated just outside Berlin's south-eastern border in the state of Brandenburg. Both airports together handled 22,3 million passengers in 2010. In 2011, 88 airlines serve 164 destinations in 54 countries from Berlin. Tegel Airport is the European hub of Air Berlin, whereas Schönefeld services mainly low-cost airline travel.

Berlin's airport authority plans to transfer all of Berlin's air traffic in June 2012 to a newly built airport at Schönefeld, to be renamed Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER). City authorities want to establish a European aviation hub with a gateway to Asia.

;Cycling

Berlin is well known for its highly developed bike (cycle) lane system. It is estimated that Berlin has 710 bicycles per 1000 residents. Around 500,000 daily bike riders accounted for 13% of total traffic in 2009. Riders have access to of bike paths including approx. mandatory bicycle paths, off-road bicycle routes, of bike lanes on the roads, of shared bus lanes which are also open to bicyclists, of combined pedestrian/bike paths and of marked bike lanes on the sidewalks.

Energy

Berlin's energy is mainly supplied by the Swedish firm Vattenfall, which relies more heavily than other electricity producers on lignite as an energy source. Because burning lignite produces harmful emissions, Vattenfall has announced its commitment to transitioning to cleaner sources, such as renewable energy. In the former West Berlin, electricity was supplied chiefly by thermal power stations. To facilitate buffering during load peaks, accumulators were installed during the 1980s at some of these power stations. These were connected by static inverters to the power grid and were loaded during times of low energy consumption and unloaded during periods of high consumption.

In 1993 the power grid connections to the surrounding areas, which had been cut in 1951, were restored. In the western districts of Berlin, nearly all power lines are underground cables; only a 380 kV and a 110 kV line, which run from Reuter substation to the urban Autobahn, use overhead lines. The Berlin 380-kV electric line was built when West Berlin's electrical grid was not connected to those of East or West Germany. This has now become the backbone of the city's energy grid.

Car maker Daimler AG and the electric utility, RWE AG, are going to begin a joint electric car and charging station test project in Berlin called "E-Mobility Berlin."

Health

Berlin has a rich history of discoveries in medicine and innovations in medical technology. The modern history of medicine has been significantly influenced by scientists from Berlin. Rudolf Virchow was the founder of cellular pathology, while Robert Koch developed vaccines for anthrax, cholera, and tuberculosis.

The Charité hospital complex is the largest university hospital in Europe, tracing back its origins to the year 1710. The Charité is spread over four sites and comprises 3,300 beds, around 14,000 staff, 8,000 students, and more than 60 operating theatres, and has a turnover of over one billion euros annually. It is a joint institution of the Free University of Berlin and the Humboldt University of Berlin, including a wide range of institutes and specialized medical centers.

Among them are the German Heart Center, one of the most renowned transplantation centers, the Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine and the Max-Planck-Institute for Molecular Genetics. The scientific research at these institutions is complemented by many research departments of companies such as Siemens, Schering and Debis.

Demographics

As of March 2010, the city-state of Berlin had a population of 3,440,441 registered inhabitants in an area of . The city's population density was 3,848 inhabitants per km² (9,966/sq mi). The urban area of Berlin stretches beyond the city limits and comprises about 3.7 million people, while the metropolitan area of the Berlin-Brandenburg region is home to about 4.3 million in an area of . In 2004, The Larger Urban Zone was home to over 4.9 million people in an area of 17,385 km².

National and international migration into the city has a long history. In 1685, following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in France, the city responded with the Edict of Potsdam, which guaranteed religious freedom and tax-free status to French Huguenot refugees for ten years. The Greater Berlin Act in 1920 incorporated many suburbs and surrounding cities of Berlin. It formed most of the territory that comprises modern Berlin. The act increased the area of Berlin from to and the population from 1.9 million to 4 million. Active immigration and asylum politics in West Berlin triggered waves of immigration in the 1960s and 1970s. Currently, Berlin is home to about 250,000 Turks (especially in Kreuzberg, Neukölln and Wedding, a locality in the borough of Mitte), making it the largest Turkish community outside of Turkey.

In the 1990s the ''Aussiedlergesetze'' enabled immigration to Germany of some residents from the former Soviet Union. Today ethnic Germans from countries of the former Soviet Union make up the largest portion of the Russian-speaking community. The current decade experiences an increasing influx from various Western countries. Especially young EU-Europeans are settling in the city. Additionally, Berlin has seen a rise of African immigrants during the last two decades.

In December 2010, 457,806 residents (13.5% of the population) were of foreign nationality, originating from 190 different countries. The largest groups of foreign nationals are those from Turkey (104,556), Poland (40,988), Serbia (19,230), Italy (15,842), Russia (15,332), France (13,262), Vietnam (13,199), the United States (12,733), Bosnia and Herzegovina (10,198), the United Kingdom (10,191), Croatia (10,104), and Israel (estimated 10,000) . An estimated 394,000 citizens (12.2%) are descendants of international migrants and have either become naturalized German citizens or obtained citizenship by virtue of birth in Germany. All in all, about 25%–30% of the population is of foreign origin

As of 2010, there were approx. 900,000 (approx. 27%) persons with a migrant background resident in Berlin. However, there are significant differences in the distribution of minorities. For Instance, in the West-Berlin areas of Wedding, Neukölln and Berlin-Gesundbrunnen, foreign nationals and German nationals with a migrant background make up nearly 70% of the population, whereas areas and localities in former East Berlin have much lower percentages. The immigrant community is quite diverse, however, Middle Easterners (e.g. Turks, Arabs etc.), Eastern Europeans and smaller numbers of East Asians, Sub-Saharan Africans and other European immigrants form the largest groups.

Percentage of people with migrant background<
class="hintergrundfarbe5">Germans without migrant background	~73 % (2,500,000)
class="hintergrundfarbe5"	Germans with migrant background (including non-German nationals)	~27 % (900,000)
Muslim/Middle Eastern origin (Turkey, Arab League, Iran etc.)	~9,0 % (300,000)
Non-German European origin (Russia, Poland, Great Britain, Greece, Serbia, Spain, France etc.)	~9.0 % (300,000)
Others( East Asians, Afro-Germans, USA	Americans, Israelis, Sub-Saharan Africans, Latin Americans etc.)	~9,0 % (300,000)

This list is based on official statistics and not on ethnicity; hence, there might be a lower percentage of Germans without a migrant background/ethnic Germans. The percentage of children and teenagers who have a migrant background is 50%. In Neukölln it is nearly 80%.

Additionally, Berlin has up to 100,000 to 250,000 illegal immigrants mostly from Africa, Asia, the Balkan region and Latin America. Following the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the European Union, there has been an influx of Romani people. Estimates vary, however, and there could have been up to 200,000 vagrant Romas in Berlin in recent years.

The most common foreign languages in Berlin are Turkish, Russian, Arabic, Polish, Kurdish, Vietnamese, English, Serbian, Croatian, Greek and other Asian languages. Turkish, Arabic, Kurdish, Serbian and Croatian can be heard more often in the western part, due to the large Middle-Eastern and ex-Yugoslavian immigrant communities, whereas Vietnamese, Russian and Polish have more native speakers residing in the eastern part of Berlin.

Religion

More than 60% of Berlin residents have no registered religious affiliation and Berlin has been described as the ''atheist capital of Europe''. The largest denominations are the Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia (a united church within the Evangelical Church in Germany) with 19.4% of the population as of 2008, and the Roman Catholic Church with 9.4% of registered members. About 2.7% of the population identify with other Christian denominations and 8.8% are Muslims. Approximately 80% of the 12,000 Jews now residing in Berlin have come from the former Soviet Union.

Berlin is seat of a Roman Catholic bishop (Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Berlin) and a also a Protestant bishop (Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia). The Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church has eight parishes of different sizes in Berlin.

There are 36 Baptist congregations, 29 New Apostolic Churches, 15 United Methodist churches, eight Free Evangelical Congregations, six congregations of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, an Old Catholic church and an Anglican church in Berlin. Berlin has 76 mosques, eleven synagogues, and two Buddhist temples. There are also a number of humanist and atheist groups in the city.

Education

Berlin has 878 schools that teach 340,658 children in 13,727 classes and 56,787 trainees in businesses and elsewhere. The city has a six-year primary education program. After completing primary school, students progress to the Sekundarschule (a comprehensive school) or Gymnasium (college preparatory school). Berlin has a special bilingual school program embedded in the "Europaschule". At participating schools, children are taught the curriculum in German and also in a foreign language, starting in primary school and continuing in high school. Throughout nearly all boroughs, nine major European languages can be chosen as foreign languages in 29 schools.

The Französisches Gymnasium Berlin, which was founded in 1689 to teach the children of Huguenot refugees, offers (German/French) instruction. The John F. Kennedy School, a bilingual German–American public school located in Zehlendorf, is particularly popular with children of diplomats and the English-speaking expatriate community. In addition, four schools ("Humanistische Gymnasien") teach Latin and Classical Greek, and are renowned for highest academic standards. Two of them are state schools (Steglitzer Gymnasium in Steglitz and Goethe-Gymnasium in Wilmersdorf), one is Protestant (Evangelisches Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster in Wilmersdorf), and one is Jesuit (Canisius-Kolleg in the "Embassy Quarter" in Tiergarten).

Science

The Berlin-Brandenburg capital region is one of the most prolific centers of higher education and research in the European Union. The city has four universities and 27 private, professional and technical colleges (Hochschulen), offering a wide range of disciplines. 135,327 students were registered at the 31 universities and colleges in 2008/09. The three largest universities combined have approximately 100,000 enrolled students. They are the Humboldt Universität zu Berlin with 35,000 students, the Freie Universität Berlin (Free University of Berlin) with ca. 35,000 students, and the Technische Universität Berlin with 30,000 students. The Universität der Künste has about 4,300 students.

The city has a high density of research institutions, such as the Fraunhofer Society, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Scientific Community and the Max Planck Society, which are independent of, or only loosely connected to its universities. A total number of 62,000 scientists are working in research and development. The city is one of the centers of knowledge and innovation communities (Future Information and Communication Society and Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation) of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).

In addition to libraries that are affiliated with the various universities, the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin is a major research library. Its two main locations are near Potsdamer Platz on Potsdamer Straße and on Unter den Linden. There are also 108 public libraries in the city.

Culture

Berlin is noted for its numerous cultural institutions, many of which enjoy international reputation. The diversity and vivacity of the ''Zeitgeist Metropolis'' led to a trendsetting image among major cities. The city has a very diverse art scene and is home to around 420 art galleries. Many young people and international artists continue to settle in the city, and Berlin has established itself as a center of youth and popular culture in Europe.

The expanding cultural role of Berlin is underscored by the 2003 announcement that the Popkomm, Europe's largest annual music industry convention—previously hosted for 15 years by Cologne—would move to Berlin. Shortly thereafter, the Universal Music Group and MTV also decided to move their European headquarters and main studios to the banks of the River Spree in Friedrichshain. In 2005, Berlin was awarded the title of "City of Design" by UNESCO.

Media

Berlin is home to many international and regional television and radio stations. The public broadcaster RBB has its headquarters in Berlin as well as the commercial broadcasters MTV Europe, VIVA, and N24. German international public broadcaster Deutsche Welle has its TV production unit in Berlin, and most national German broadcasters have a studio in the city. American radio programming from National Public Radio is also broadcast on the FM dial.

Berlin has Germany's largest number of daily newspapers, with numerous local broadsheets (''Berliner Morgenpost'', ''Berliner Zeitung'', ''Der Tagesspiegel''), and three major tabloids, as well as national dailies of varying sizes, each with a different political affiliation, such as ''Die Welt'', ''Junge Welt'', ''Neues Deutschland'', and ''Die Tageszeitung''. The ''Exberliner'', a monthly magazine, is Berlin's English-language periodical focusing on arts and entertainment. Berlin is also the headquarter of the two major German-language publishing houses Walter de Gruyter and Springer, each of which publishing books, periodicals, and multimedia products.

Berlin is an important center in the European and German film industry. It is home to more than 1000 film and television production companies, 270 movie theaters, and around 300 national and international co-productions are filmed in the region every year. The historic Babelsberg Studios and the production company UFA are located outside Berlin in Potsdam. The city is also home of the European Film Academy and the German Film Academy, and hosts the annual Berlin Film Festival. Founded in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978. With over 430,000 admissions it is the largest publicly attended film festival in the world.

Nightlife and festivals

Berlin's nightlife is one of the most diverse and vibrant of its kind in Europe. Throughout the 1990s, people in their twenties from many countries, particularly those in Eastern and Central Europe, made Berlin's club scene the premier nightlife destination of Europe. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, many historic buildings in Mitte, the former city center of East Berlin, were illegally occupied and re-built by young squatters and became a fertile ground for underground and counterculture gatherings. Mitte and surrounding boroughs are also home to many nightclubs, including Kunst Haus Tacheles, techno clubs Tresor, WMF, Ufo, E-Werk, KitKatClub and Berghain. The techno-music club, Linientreu, near the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, has been in business since the late 1980s. The LaBelle discothèque in Friedenau became widely known as the location of the 1986 Berlin discotheque bombing. Berlin is notable for the length of its parties. Clubs are not required to close at a fixed time on the weekends, and many parties last well into the morning, or all weekend. Berghain features the Panorama Bar, so named because the bar opens its shades at daybreak, allowing party-goers a panorama view of Berlin after dancing through the night.

The SO36 in Kreuzberg originally focused largely on punk music, but today has become a popular venue for many dances and parties. SOUND, located from 1971 to 1988 in Tiergarten and today in Charlottenburg, gained notoriety in the late 1970s for its popularity with heroin users and other drug addicts as described in Christiane F.'s book ''Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo''.

The Karneval der Kulturen, a multi-ethnic street parade celebrated every Pentecost weekend, and the Christopher Street Day are both supported by the city's government. Berlin is also well known for the cultural festival, Berliner Festspiele, which include the jazz festival JazzFest Berlin. Several technology and media art festivals and conferences are held in the city, including Transmediale and Chaos Communication Congress.

Gay life

Berlin has a long history of gay culture and influence on popular entertainment, and according to some authors, in the 1920s the city was the ''Gay Capital of Europe''. Today, the city has a huge number of gay clubs and festivals, such as Easter fetish week (Easter in Berlin), Christopher Street Day (Berlin Pride)—central Europe's largest gay-lesbian pride event celebrated on the last weekend of June—Folsom Europe and Hustlaball. Berlin is also leading Europe in the number of fetish clubs. "Easter in Berlin" and "Folsom Europe Berlin" are the biggest gay fetish festivals in Europe. Annual gay highlights in Berlin are also the gay and lesbian street festival in Berlin-Schöneberg (Lesbisch-schwules Stadtfest) and Kreuzberg Pride in June. The largest gay areas in Berlin are located in Schöneberg close to Nollendorfplatz and in Prenzlauer Berg at the Schönhauser Allee subway station.

Galleries and museums

Berlin is home to 153 museums. The ensemble on the Museum Island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is situated in the northern part of the Spree Island between the Spree and the Kupfergraben. As early as 1841 it was designated a "district dedicated to art and antiquities" by a royal decree. Subsequently, the Altes Museum (Old Museum) in the Lustgarten displaying the bust of Queen Nefertiti, the Neues Museum (New Museum), Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery), Pergamon Museum, and Bode Museum were built there. While these buildings once housed distinct collections, the names of the buildings no longer necessarily correspond to the names of their collections.

Apart from the Museum Island, there are many additional museums in the city. The Gemäldegalerie (Painting Gallery) focuses on the paintings of the "old masters" from the 13th to the 18th centuries, while the Neue Nationalgalerie (New National Gallery, built by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe) specializes in 20th century European painting. The Hamburger Bahnhof, located in Moabit, exhibits a major collection of modern and contemporary art. In spring 2006, the expanded Deutsches Historisches Museum re-opened in the Zeughaus with an overview of German history through the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. The Bauhaus Archive is an architecture museum.

The Jewish Museum has a standing exhibition on two millennia of German-Jewish history. The German Museum of Technology in Kreuzberg has a large collection of historical technical artifacts. The Museum für Naturkunde exhibits natural history near Berlin Hauptbahnhof. It has the largest mounted dinosaur in the world (a brachiosaurus), and a preserved specimen of the early bird Archaeopteryx.

In Dahlem, there are several museums of world art and culture, such as the Museum of Asian Art, the Ethnological Museum, the Museum of European Cultures, as well as the Allied Museum (a museum of the Cold War) and the Brücke Museum (an art museum). In Lichtenberg, on the grounds of the former East German Ministry for State Security ''(Stasi)'', is the Stasi Museum. The site of Checkpoint Charlie, one of the most renowned crossing points of the Berlin Wall, is still preserved and also has a museum, a private venture which exhibits comprehensive documentation of detailed plans and strategies devised by people who tried to flee from the East. The Beate Uhse Erotic Museum near Zoo Station claims to be the world's largest erotic museum.

Performing arts

Berlin is home to more than 50 theaters. The Deutsches Theater in Mitte was built in 1849–50 and has operated continuously since then, except for a one-year break (1944–45) due to the Second World War. The Volksbühne at Rosa Luxemburg Platz was built in 1913–14, though the company had been founded in 1890. The Berliner Ensemble, famous for performing the works of Bertolt Brecht, was established in 1949, not far from the Deutsches Theater. The Schaubühne was founded in 1962 in a building in Kreuzberg, but in 1981 moved to the building of the former Universum Cinema on Kurfürstendamm.

Berlin has three major opera houses: the Deutsche Oper, the Berlin State Opera, and the Komische Oper. The Berlin State Opera on Unter den Linden opened in 1742 and is the oldest of the three. Its current musical director is Daniel Barenboim. The Komische Oper has traditionally specialized in operettas and is located at Unter den Linden as well. The Deutsche Oper opened in 1912 in Charlottenburg. During the division of the city from 1961 to 1989 it was the only major opera house in West Berlin.

There are seven symphony orchestras in Berlin. The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra is one of the preeminent orchestras in the world; it is housed in the Berliner Philharmonie near Potsdamer Platz on a street named for the orchestra's longest-serving conductor, Herbert von Karajan. The current principal conductor is Simon Rattle. The Konzerthausorchester Berlin was founded in 1952 as the orchestra for East Berlin, since the Philharmonic was based in West Berlin. Its current principal conductor is Lothar Zagrosek. The Haus der Kulturen der Welt presents various exhibitions dealing with intercultural issues and stages world music and conferences.

Cuisine

Berlin is home to a diverse gastronomy scene reflecting the immigrant history of the city. Twelve restaurants in Berlin have been included into the Michelin guide, which ranks the city at the top for the number of its restaurants having this distinction in Germany.

Many local foods originated from north-German culinary traditions and include rustic and hearty dishes with pork, goose, fish, peas, beans, cucumbers or potatoes.

Typical Berliner fares include Currywurst, invented in 1949, Eisbein, the Berliner known as a , and ''Leber Berliner Art'' (Berlin-style liver).

Turkish and Arab immigrant workers brought their culinary traditions to the city; for example, the döner kebab, falafel and lahmacun, which have become common fast-food staples. The modern fast-food version of the döner was invented in Berlin in 1971.

Recreation

Zoologischer Garten Berlin, the older of two zoos in the city, was founded in 1844, and presents the most diverse range of species in the world. It was the home of the captive-born celebrity polar bear Knut, born in December 2006. The city's other zoo is Tierpark Friedrichsfelde, founded in 1955 on the grounds of Schloss Friedrichsfelde in the Borough of Lichtenberg.

Berlin's Botanischer Garten includes the Botanic Museum Berlin. With an area of and around 22,000 different plant species it is one of the largest and most diverse gardens in the world. Other gardens in the city include the Britzer Garten, site of the 1985 Bundesgartenschau, and the Erholungspark Marzahn, promoted under the name ''Gardens of the world''.

The Tiergarten is Berlin's largest park located in Mitte and was designed by Peter Joseph Lenné. In Kreuzberg the Viktoriapark provides a good viewing point over the southern part of inner city Berlin. Treptower Park beside the Spree in Treptow has a monument honoring the Soviet soldiers killed in the 1945 Battle of Berlin. The Volkspark in Friedrichshain, which opened in 1848, is the oldest park in the city. Its summit is man-made and covers a Second World War bunker and rubble from the ruins of the city; at its foot is Germany's main memorial to Polish soldiers.

Berlin is known for its numerous beach bars along the river Spree. Together with the countless cafés, restaurants and green spaces in all districts, they create an important source of recreation and leisure time.

Sports

Berlin has established a high-profile reputation as a host city of international sporting events. Berlin hosted the 1936 Olympics and was the host city for the 2006 FIFA World Cup Final. The IAAF World Championships in Athletics were held in the Olympiastadion in August 2009. The annual Berlin Marathon and the annual ÅF Golden League event ISTAF for athletics are also held here. The FIVB World Tour has chosen an inner-city site near Alexanderplatz to present a beach volleyball Grand Slam every year.

Open Air gatherings of several hundred thousands spectators have become popular during international football competitions, like the World Cup or the UEFA European Football Championship. Many fans and viewers are coming together to watch the matches on huge video screens. The event is known as the ''Fan Mile'' and takes place at the Brandenburg Gate every two years.

Several major clubs representing the most popular spectator sports in Germany have their base in Berlin.

Club	Sport	Founded	League	Venue	Head Coach
Hertha BSC		1892
1. FC Union Berlin		1966		Alte Försterei
ALBA Berlin	Basketball	1991			Gordon Herbert
Eisbären Berlin	Ice hockey	1954
Füchse Berlin		1891		Max-Schmeling-Halle	D. Sigurdsson
	Volleyball	1911	DVL	Max-Schmeling-Halle	Mark Lebedew

Quotations

"Berlin ist eine Stadt, verdammt dazu, ewig zu werden, niemals zu sein" ("Berlin is a city condemned always to become, never to be.")(Karl Scheffler, author of ''Berlin: Ein Stadtschicksal, 1910'') "Ich hab noch einen Koffer in Berlin" ("I still have a suitcase in Berlin")(Marlene Dietrich, 1951 song by the actress and singer born in Berlin-Schöneberg.) "Ich bin ein Berliner". ("I am a citizen of Berlin") (John F. Kennedy, President of the United States, 1963 while visiting Berlin) "The greatest cultural extravaganza that one could imagine."(David Bowie, singer, on 1970s Berlin) "Berlin wird leben und die Mauer wird fallen." ("Berlin will live and the wall will fall.")(Willy Brandt, Former Governing Mayor of West Berlin and chancellor of Germany, 10 November 1989) "Berlin ist arm, aber sexy." ("Berlin is poor, but sexy.") (Klaus Wowereit, Governing Mayor, in a press interview, 2003)

References

;Bibliography

External links

Official Website Berlin.de

Official Website of the Berlin-Brandenburg Metropolitan Area

Regional directory

Berlin Tourist Information

Dumont Restaurantguide Berlin

Monthly English-language magazine for Berlin

English-language city guide for Berlin

Berlin Travel Tips

Berlin photo gallery Images of Berlin and its most popular monuments.

Category:States of Germany Category:German state capitals Category:Capitals in Europe Category:Host cities of the Summer Olympic Games Category:Members of the Hanseatic League Category:States and territories established in 1237 Category:Populated places established in the 13th century Category:City-states Category:European Capitals of Culture Category:IOC Session Host Cities Category:Olympic Congress Host Cities

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Coordinates	34°03′″N118°15′″N
name	Shahrukh Khan
other names	Shah Rukh Khan, King Khan, SRK
birth date	November 02, 1965
birth place	New Delhi, India
years active	1988–present
spouse	Gauri Khan (1991–present)
occupation	Actor, producer, television presenter }}

Shahrukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), often credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian film actor, as well as a film producer and television host. Often referred to as "The King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films.

Khan began his career appearing in several television serials in the late 1980s. He made his film debut in ''Deewana'' (1992). Since then, he has been part of numerous commercially successful films and has earned critical acclaim for many of his performances. Khan has won fourteen Filmfare Awards for his work in Indian films, eight of which are in the Best Actor category (a record). In 2005, the Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri for his contributions towards Indian Cinema.

Khan's films such as ''Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge'' (1995), ''Kuch Kuch Hota Hai'' (1998), ''Chak De! India'' (2007), ''Om Shanti Om'' (2007) and ''Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi'' (2008) remain some of Bollywood's biggest hits, while films like ''Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham...'' (2001), ''Kal Ho Naa Ho'' (2003), ''Veer-Zaara'' (2004), ''Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna'' (2006) and ''My Name Is Khan'' (2010) have been top-grossing Indian productions in the overseas markets, thus making him one of the most successful actors of India.

Since 2000, Khan branched out into film production and television presenting as well. He is the founder/owner of two production companies, Dreamz Unlimited and Red Chillies Entertainment. Globally, Khan is considered to be one of the biggest movie stars, with a fan following numbering in the billions and a net worth estimated at over . In 2008, ''Newsweek'' named him one of the 50 most powerful people in the world.

Biography

Khan was born in 1965 to Muslim parents of Pathan descent in New Delhi, India. His father, Taj Mohammed Khan, was an Indian independence activist from Peshawar, British India. According to Khan, his paternal grandfather was originally from Afghanistan. His mother, Lateef Fatima, was the adopted daughter of Major General Shah Nawaz Khan of the Janjua Rajput clan, who served as a General in the Indian National Army of Subash Chandra Bose. Khan's father came to New Delhi from Qissa Khawani Bazaar in Peshawar before the partition of India, while his mother's family came from Rawalpindi, British India. Khan has an elder sister named Shehnaz.

Growing up in Rajendra Nagar neighbourhood, Khan attended St. Columba's School where he was accomplished in sports, drama, and academics. He won the ''Sword of Honour'', an annual award given to the student who best represents the spirit of the school. Khan later attended the Hansraj College (1985–1988) and earned his Bachelors degree in Economics (honors). Though he pursued a Masters Degree in Mass Communications at Jamia Millia Islamia, he later opted out to make his career in Bollywood.

After the death of his parents, Khan moved to Mumbai in 1991. In that same year, before any of his films were released, he married Gauri Chibber, a Hindu, in a traditional Hindu wedding ceremony on 25 October 1991. They have two children, son Aryan (b. 1997) and daughter Suhana (b. 2000). According to Khan, while he strongly believes in Allah, he also values his wife's religion. At home, his children follow both religions, with the Qur'an being situated next to the Hindu deities.

In 2005, Nasreen Munni Kabir produced a two-part documentary on Khan, titled ''The Inner and Outer World of Shah Rukh Khan''. Featuring his 2004 Temptations concert tour, the film contrasted Khan's inner world of family and daily life with the outer world of his work. The book ''Still Reading Khan'', which details his family life, was released in 2006. Another book by Anupama Chopra, ''King of Bollywood: Shahrukh Khan and the seductive world of Indian cinema'', was released in 2007. It describes the world of Bollywood through Khan's life.

Film career

Background

Khan studied acting under celebrated Theatre Director Barry John at Delhi's Theatre Action Group (TAG). In 2007, John commented thus on his former pupil, "The credit for the phenomenally successful development and management of Shahrukh's career goes to the superstar himself." Khan made his acting debut in 1988 with the television series, ''Fauji'', playing the role of Commando Abhimanyu Rai. He went on to appear in other television serials, such as the 1989 serial, Aziz Mirza's ''Circus'', which depicted the life of circus performers. The same year, Khan also had a minor role in the made-for-television English-language film, ''In Which Annie Gives it Those Ones'', which was based on life at Delhi University and was written by Arundhati Roy. When Khan appeared in those teleserials, people found in him some resemblance with legendary actor Dilip Kumar and also compared his acting style with the thespian.

1990s

Upon moving from New Delhi to Mumbai in 1991, Khan made his Bollywood movie debut in ''Deewana'' (1992). The movie became a box office hit, and launched his career in Bollywood. His performance won him a Filmfare Best Male Debut Award. He went on to star in ''Maya Memsaab'', which generated some controversy because of his appearance in an "explicit" sex scene in the movie.

In 1993, Khan won acclaim for his performances in villainous roles as an obsessive lover and a murderer, respectively, in the box office hits, ''Darr'' and ''Baazigar''. In Khan's entry in Encyclopedia Britannica's "Encyclopedia of Hindi Cinema" it was stated that "he defied the image of the conventional hero in both these films and created his own version of the revisionist hero." ''Darr'' marked his first collaboration with renowned film-maker Yash Chopra and his banner Yash Raj Films, the largest production company in Bollywood. ''Baazigar'', which saw Khan portraying an ambiguous avenger who murders his girlfriend, shocked its Indian audience with an unexpected violation of the standard Bollywood formula. His performance won him his first Filmfare Best Actor Award. In that same year, Khan played the role of a young musician in Kundan Shah's ''Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa'', a performance that earned him a Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance. Khan maintains that this is his all-time favourite among the movies he has acted in. In 1994, Khan once again played an obsessive lover/psycho's role in ''Anjaam'', co-starring alongside Madhuri Dixit. Though the movie was not a box office success, Khan's performance earned him the Filmfare Best Villain Award.

In 1995, Khan starred in the two biggest hits of the year in India. His first release was Rakesh Roshan's ''Karan Arjun''. The film, which dealt with reincarnation, became the second-highest grossing film of the year. He followed it with Aditya Chopra's directorial debut, the romance ''Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge''. A major critical and commercial success, the movie became the year's top-grossing production in India. In 2007, it entered its twelfth year in Mumbai cinemas. By then the movie had grossed over 12 billion rupees, making it one of India's biggest movie blockbusters. ''Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge'' won ten Filmfare Awards, and Khan's performance as a young NRI who falls for Kajol's character while on a college vacation, won him his second Best Actor Award. In 2005, ''Indiatimes Movies'' ranked the movie amongst the ''25 Must See Bollywood Films'', citing it as a "trendsetter of sorts". In that same year's retrospective review by Rediff, Raja Sen stated, "Khan gives a fabulous performance, redefining the Lover for the 1990s with great panache. He's cool and flippant, but sincere enough to appeal to the junta. The performance itself is, like the best in the business, played well enough to come across as effortless, as non-acting."

1996 was a disappointing year for Khan as all his movies released that year failed to do well at the box office. This was, however, followed by a comeback in 1997. He saw success with Subhash Ghai's social drama ''Pardes'' – one of the biggest hits of the year – and Aziz Mirza's comedy ''Yes Boss'', a moderately successful feature. His second project with Yash Chopra as a director, ''Dil to Pagal Hai'' became that year's second highest-grossing movie, and he won his third Filmfare Best Actor Award for his role as a stage director who falls in love with one of his new actresses.

In 1998, Khan starred in Karan Johar's directorial debut, ''Kuch Kuch Hota Hai'', which was the biggest hit of the year. His performance won him his fourth Best Actor award at the Filmfare. He won critical praise for his performance in Mani Ratnam's ''Dil Se''. The movie did not do well at the Indian box office, though it was a commercial success overseas. Khan's only release in 1999, ''Baadshah'', was an average grosser.

2000s

Khan's success continued with Aditya Chopra's 2000 film, ''Mohabbatein'', co-starring Amitabh Bachchan. It did well at the box office, and Khan's performance as a college teacher won him his second Critics Award for Best Performance. He also starred in Mansoor Khan's action film ''Josh''. The film starred Khan as the leader of a Christian gang in Goa and Aishwarya Rai as his twin sister, and was also a box office success. In that same year, Khan set up his own production house, ''Dreamz Unlimited'' with Juhi Chawla (see below). Both Khan and Chawla starred in the first movie of their production house, ''Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani''. His collaboration with Karan Johar continued in 2001 with the family drama ''Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham'' which was the second biggest hit of the year. He also received favourable reviews for his performance as Emperor Asoka in the historical epic, ''Asoka'', a partly fictionalised account of the life of Ashoka the Great (304 BC–232 BC).

In 2002, Khan received acclaim for playing the title role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's award-winning period romance, ''Devdas''. This was the third Hindi movie adaptation of Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay's well-known novel of the same name, and surfaced as one of the biggest hits of that year. Khan also starred opposite Salman Khan and Madhuri Dixit in the family-drama ''Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam'', which did well at the box office. In 2003, Khan starred in the moderately successful romantic drama, ''Chalte Chalte''. That same year, he starred in the tearjerker, ''Kal Ho Naa Ho'', written by Karan Johar and directed by Nikhil Advani. Khan's performance in this movie as a man with a fatal heart disease was appreciated. The movie proved to be one of the year's biggest hits in India and Bollywood's biggest hit in the overseas markets.

2004 was a particularly good year for Khan, both commercially and critically. He starred in Farah Khan's directorial debut, the action comedy ''Main Hoon Na''. The movie did well at the box office. He then played the role of an Indian officer, Veer Pratap Singh in Yash Chopra's love saga ''Veer-Zaara'', which was the biggest hit of 2004 in both India and overseas. The film relates the love story of Veer and a Pakistani woman Zaara Haayat Khan, played by Preity Zinta. Khan's performance in the film won him awards at several award ceremonies. In that same year, he received critical acclaim for his performance in Ashutosh Gowariker's drama ''Swades''. He was nominated for the Filmfare Best Actor Award for all three of his releases in 2004, winning it for ''Swades''.

In 2006, Khan collaborated with Karan Johar for the fourth time with the melodrama ''Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna''. It did well in India and much more so in the overseas market, becoming the biggest Bollywood hit in the overseas market of all-time. His second release that year saw him playing the title role in the action film ''Don: The Chase Begins Again'', a remake of the 1978 hit ''Don''. The movie was a success.

Khan's success continued with a few more highly popular films. One of his most successful works was the multiple award-winning 2007 film, ''Chak De! India'', about the Indian women's national hockey team. Earning over Rs 639 million, ''Chak De! India'' became the third highest grossing movie of 2007 in India and won yet another Filmfare Best Actor Award for Khan. The film was a major critical success. In the same year Khan also starred in Farah Khan's 2007 film, ''Om Shanti Om''. The film emerged as the year's highest grossing film in India and the overseas market, and became India's highest grossing production ever up to that point. It earned him another nomination for Best Actor at the Filmfare ceremony. His 2008 release, the romantic drama ''Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi'' was a box office success. His only 2009 release was ''Billu'' where he played film superstar Saahil Khan who is reunited with his childhood friend Billu played by Irrfan Khan.

2010s

Khan's next film was ''My Name Is Khan'', his fourth collaboration with director Karan Johar and the sixth movie in which he is paired with Kajol. Filming commenced in December 2008 in Los Angeles and ended in October 2009. While on one shoot in Los Angeles, along with his wife Gauri and director Karan Johar, he took a break from filming to attend the 66th Golden Globe Awards, held in Los Angeles, on 11 January 2009, where he was introduced as the ''King of Bollywood''. Khan introduced ''Slumdog Millionaire'', a movie he had previously turned down, along with a star from the film, Freida Pinto. ''My Name Is Khan'' was released on 12 February 2010. Based on a true story, and set against the backdrop of perceptions on Islam post 11 September attacks, ''My Name Is Khan'' stars Khan as Rizwan Khan, a Muslim man suffering from Asperger syndrome who sets out on a journey across America on a mission to meet the country's President and clear his name. During a promotional visit to the United States, Khan was detained at Newark Airport, New Jersey because of the similarity of his last name to known terrorists. Upon release, the film received positive reviews from critics and became the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time in the overseas market. Khan won his eighth Filmfare Award for Best Actor for his portrayal, thereby joining Dilip Kumar as the record holder in this category. He has completed filming for Anubhav Sinha's science fiction ''Ra.One'' opposite Kareena Kapoor, which is due for release on 26 October 2011. While shooting for the film, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visited Yash Raj Studios, to watch Khan at work.

Producer

Khan turned producer when he set up a production company called ''Dreamz Unlimited'' with Juhi Chawla and director Aziz Mirza in 1999. The first two of the films he produced and starred in: ''Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani'' (2000) and ''Asoka'' (2001) were box office failures. However, his third film as a producer and star, ''Chalte Chalte'' (2003), proved a box office hit.

In 2004, Khan set up another production company, ''Red Chillies Entertainment'', and produced and starred in ''Main Hoon Na'', another hit. The following year, he produced and starred in the fantasy film ''Paheli'', which did poorly. It was, however, India's official entry to the Academy Awards for consideration for Best Foreign Language Film, but it did not pass the final selection. Also in 2005, Khan co-produced the supernatural horror film ''Kaal'' with Karan Johar, and performed an item number for the film with Malaika Arora Khan. ''Kaal'' was moderately successful at the box office. His company has further gone on to produce ''Om Shanti Om'' (2007), ''Billu'' (2009), ''Always Kabhi Kabhi'' (2011), as well as his forthcoming releases ''Ra.One'' and ''Don 2: The Chase Continues''.

Apart from film production, the company also has a visual effects studio known as ''Red Chillies VFX''. It has also ventured into television content production, with shows like, ''The First Ladies'', ''Ghar Ki Baat Hai', and ''Knights and Angels''. Television advertisements are also produced by the company.

In 2008, Red Chillies Entertainment became the owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders in the BCCI-backed IPL cricket competition.

Television

In 2007, Khan replaced Amitabh Bachchan as the host of the third series of the popular game show ''Kaun Banega Crorepati'', the Indian version of ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?''. The previous had hosted the show for five years from 2000–05. On 22 January 2007, ''Kaun Banega Crorepati'' aired with Khan as the new host and later ended on 19 April 2007.

On 25 April 2008, Khan began hosting the game show ''Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain?'', the Indian version of ''Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?'', whose last episode was telecasted on 27 July 2008, with Lalu Prasad Yadav as the special guest.

In February 2011, he began hosting Zor Ka Jhatka, the Indian version of the American game show Wipeout, on Imagine TV.

Awards and nominations

Apart from acting awards, Khan has been awarded several honours which include the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award from the Government of India in 2005. In April 2007, a life-size wax statue of Khan was installed at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, London. Another statue was installed at the Musée Grévin in Paris, the same year. During the same year, he was accorded the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of the Arts and Literature) award by the French government for his “exceptional career”. There are also statues in Hong Kong and New York

In October 2008, Khan was conferred the ''Darjah Mulia Seri Melaka'' which carries the honorific Datuk (in similar fashion to "Sir" in British knighthood), by the Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Mohd Khalil Yaakob, the head of state of Malacca in Malaysia. Khan was honoured for "promoting tourism in Malacca" by filming ''One Two Ka Four'' there in 2001. Some were critical of this decision. He was also honoured with an honorary doctorate in arts and culture from Britain's University of Bedfordshire in 2009.

Filmography

Film actor

''Maya Memsaab'' ''Anjaam'' ''Karan Arjun'' ''English Babu Desi Mem'' ''Gudgudee'' ''Duplicate (1998 film) ''Baadshah'' ''Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani'' ''One 2 Ka 4'' ''Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam'' ''Chalte Chalte (2003 film) ''Yeh Lamhe Judaai Ke '' ''Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye'' ''Alag'' ''Chak De ''Krazzy 4'' ''Luck by Chance'' ''Dulha Mil Gaya'' ''Always Kabhi Kabhi'' ''Koochie Koochie Hota Hain''

style="background:#B0C4DE;"	Year	Film	Role	Notes
rowspan="5"	1992	Deewana (1992 film)>Deewana''	Raja Sahai
''Idiot (1992 film)	Idiot''	Pawan Raghujan
''Chamatkar''	Sunder Srivastava
''Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman''	Raju (Raj Mathur)
''Dil Aashna Hai''	Karan
rowspan="5"	1993	|	Lalit Kumar
''King Uncle''	Anil Bhansal
''Baazigar''	Ajay Sharma/Vicky Malhotra
''Darr''	Rahul Mehra
''Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa''	Sunil
1994	|	Vijay Agnihotri	Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Negative Role
rowspan="7"	1995	|	Arjun Singh/Vijay
''Zamana Deewana''	Rahul Malhotra
''Guddu''	Guddu Bahadur
''Oh Darling	Yeh Hai India!''	Hero
''Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge''	Raj Malhotra
''Ram Jaane''	Ram Jaane
''Trimurti (film)	Trimurti''	Romi Singh
rowspan="4"	1996	|	Vikram/Hari/Gopal Mayur
''Chaahat''	Roop Rathore
''Army (film)	Army''	Arjun
''Dushman Duniya Ka''	Badru
rowspan="5"	1997	|		Special appearance
''Koyla''	Shankar
''Yes Boss''	Rahul Joshi
''Pardes (film)	Pardes''	Arjun Saagar
''Dil To Pagal Hai''	Rahul
rowspan="4"	1998	Duplicate'' ||	Bablu Chaudhry/Manu Dada	Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Negative Role
''Achanak (1998 film)	Achanak''	Himself
''Dil Se''	Amarkant Varma
''Kuch Kuch Hota Hai''	Rahul Khanna
1999	|	Raj Heera/Baadshah	Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Comic Role
rowspan="6"	2000	|	Ajay Bakshi
''Hey Ram''	Amjad Ali Khan
''Josh (2000 film)	Josh''	Max
''Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega''	Rahul
''Mohabbatein''	Raj Aryan Malhotra
''Gaja Gamini''	Himself
rowspan="3"	2001	|	Arun Verma
''Asoka (2001 film)	Asoka''	Asoka
''Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham...''	Rahul Raichand
rowspan="4"	2002	|	Gopal
''Devdas (2002 film)	Devdas''	Devdas Mukherjee
''Shakti (2002 film)	Shakti: The Power''	Jaisingh
''Saathiya''	Yeshwant Rao
rowspan="2"	2003	Chalte Chalte'' ||	Raj Mathur
''Kal Ho Naa Ho''	Aman Mathur
rowspan="4"	2004	|	Dushant
''Main Hoon Na''	Maj. Ram Prasad Sharma
''Veer-Zaara''	Veer Pratap Singh
''Swades''	Mohan Bhargava
rowspan="5"	2005	|	Himself	Special appearance
''Kaal (2005 film)	Kaal''
''Silsilay''	Sutradhar
''Paheli''	Kishenlal/The Ghost
''The Inner and Outer World of Shah Rukh Khan	The Inner and Outer World of Shah Rukh Khan''	Himself (Biopic)
rowspan="4"	2006	|		Special appearance in song "Sabse Alag"
''Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna''	Dev Saran
''Don: The Chase Begins Again''
''I See You (film)	I See You''
rowspan="3"	2007	India''	Kabir Khan
''Heyy Babyy''	Raj Malhotra
''Om Shanti Om''	Om Prakash Makhija/ Om Kapoor
rowspan="4"	2008	|		Special appearance in song "Break Free"
''Bhoothnath''	Aditya Sharma
''Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi''	Surinder Sahni/Raj
''Kismat Konnection''	Narrator
rowspan="2"	2009	|	Himself	Guest appearance
''Billu''	Sahir Khan
rowspan="3"	2010	|	Pawan Raj Gandhi (PRG)	Extended appearance
''My Name Is Khan''	Rizwan Khan
''Shahrukh Bola Khoobsurat Hai Tu''	Himself
rowspan="3"	2011	|		Special appearance in song "Antenna"
''Ra.One''	G.One
''Don 2: The Chase Continues''	Don
2012	|	Rocky	Post-production

Producer

''Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani'' (2000)

''Asoka'' (2001)

''Chalte Chalte'' (2003)

''Main Hoon Na'' (2004)

''Kaal'' (2005)

''Paheli'' (2005)

''Om Shanti Om'' (2007)

''Billu'' (2009)

''Always Kabhi Kabhi'' (2011)

''Ra.One'' (2011)

''Don 2: The Chase Continues'' (2011)

Television appearances

''Dil Dariya'' (1988)

''Fauji'' (1988) ... Abhimanyu Rai

''Doosra Keval'' (1989) ... Keval

''Circus'' (1989)

''In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones'' (1989)

''Kareena Kareena'' (2004) ... Special appearance

''Kaun Banega Crorepati'' (2007) ... Host

''Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain?'' (2008)  .... Host

''Zor Ka Jhatka: Total Wipeout'' (2011) ... Host

See also

List of Indian Actors

Newark Airport Incident

Notes

Bibliography

Nasreen Munni Kabir. ''The Inner and Outer World of Shah Rukh Khan'' (Documentary, 2005).

''Shahrukh Khan – Still Reading Khan''. A1Books Distributor 2007. ISBN 9788187107798.

Gahlot, Deepa; Agarwal, Amit. ''King Khan SRK''. Augsburg Weltbild 2007. ISBN 9783828988699.

Ghosh, Biswadeep. ''Hall of fame: Shahrukh Khan'' (in English). Mumbai: Magna Books, 2004. ISBN 8178092379.

Chopra, Anupama. ''King of Bollywood : Shah Rukh Khan and the seductive world of Indian cinema'' (English). New York: Warner Books, 2007. ISBN 9780446578585.

External links

Category:1965 births Category:Filmfare Awards winners Category:Hindi film actors Category:Indian actors Category:Indian film actors Category:Indian film producers Category:Indian Muslims Category:Indian Premier League franchise owners Category:Indian singers Category:Indian television actors Category:Indian voice actors Category:Indian television presenters Category:Indian people of Afghan descent Category:Jamia Millia Islamia alumni Category:Living people Category:Officiers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Category:Pashtun people Category:People from Delhi Category:People from Peshawar Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri Category:University of Delhi alumni Category:Indian game show hosts

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Coordinates	34°03′″N118°15′″N
name	Sebastian Vettel
nationality	German
birth date	July 03, 1987
2011 team	Red Bull Racing
2011 car number	1
races	74
championships	1 ()
wins	17
podiums	30
points	640
poles	24
fastest laps	7
first race	2007 United States Grand Prix
first win	2008 Italian Grand Prix
last win	2011 Belgian Grand Prix
last race
last season	2010
last position	1st (256 pts) }}

Sebastian Vettel (; born 3 July 1987) is a German Formula One racing driver, currently driving for Red Bull Racing. He is the current World Champion, having won in the 2010 season.

In his first year driving for Red Bull in he finished the season as the youngest ever championship runner-up. Vettel also secured Red Bull's first pole position and race win in the team's history. The following year he went on to become the youngest driver ever to win the World Drivers' Championship. In the same year he helped Red Bull win the team's first World Constructors' Championship, along with teammate Mark Webber.

Vettel is the youngest Formula One driver to drive at a Grand Prix meeting, at 19 years and 53 days, and on his race debut at the 2007 United States Grand Prix he also became the youngest driver to score championship points. While racing for Toro Rosso, Vettel became the youngest driver to lead a race, at the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix. During qualifying for the 2008 Italian Grand Prix, Vettel became the youngest Formula One driver to secure pole position. He went on to win the race, making him the youngest F1 race winner by nearly a year. He also is the first and only driver to win a race, secure pole position, and reach the podium in the history of the Toro Rosso team, including the twenty years it was known as the Minardi team.

Early and personal life

Vettel was born in Heppenheim, West Germany. He has one younger brother, Fabian, and two older sisters, Melanie and Stefanie. Vettel suggested in an interview that he was terrible at school; he also mentioned that his childhood heroes were "The three Michaels", who were Michael Schumacher, Michael Jackson and Michael Jordan. He stated that he wanted to be a singer like Michael Jackson but realised that he couldn't as he didn't have the voice. Vettel lives in Switzerland amongst other racing drivers and is a fan of German football team Eintracht Frankfurt.

Career

Junior series

Vettel started racing karts in 1995, winning various titles such as the Junior Monaco Kart Cup (2001). In 2003, he upgraded to open-wheel cars, and won the 2004 German Formula BMW Championship with 18 victories from 20 races. In 2005 he drove for ASL Mucke Motorsport in the Formula Three Euroseries. He was placed fifth in the final standings with 64 points, winning the year's top rookie honours. He did not win any races, but this was largely due to the championship's domination by ASM Formule 3. Despite this, he tested the Williams FW27 Formula One car on 27 September as a reward for this Formula BMW success. He then went on to test for the BMW Sauber team.

Vettel finished as runner-up in the 2006 F3 Euroseries, behind series leader and team mate Paul di Resta. He also made his debut in the World Series by Renault at Misano, winning after Pastor Maldonado was disqualified. However, at the next round at Spa-Francorchamps, his finger was almost sliced off by flying débris in an accident, and he was expected to be out of racing for several weeks. Nevertheless, he managed to compete in the Ultimate Masters of F3 at Zandvoort the following weekend, finishing in sixth place. He also set third fastest lap time, and it surprised his ASM team boss Frédéric Vasseur. Vasseur said: "I was impressed for sure, because at the beginning of the week I was sure he wouldn't race! But he showed good pace from the first practice session. I can't imagine he's 100 per cent but at least we know we can be competitive in the next F3 Euroseries round at the Nürburgring next weekend – that's important."

Vettel competed in the World Series by Renault in 2007, and took his first win at the Nürburgring. He was leading the championship when he was called up to Formula One permanently, and his seat was taken by Michael Ammermüller.

Formula One

2006–2007: BMW Sauber

2006

Vettel became BMW Sauber's third driver at the 2006 Turkish Grand Prix, when former incumbent Robert Kubica was called up to replace Jacques Villeneuve for the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix.

Vettel impressed on his testing debut by setting fastest time in second Friday Free Practice before the race. The young German also impressed on his second testing session in the 2006 Italian Grand Prix, setting the fastest time in both Friday practice sessions, a race weekend in which all the BMW cars were quick, with his predecessor Robert Kubica finishing on the podium in the race.

2007

Vettel was confirmed as BMW's test driver for 2007. Following the serious crash of regular BMW driver Kubica at the , Vettel substituted for him at the . Vettel was pulled mid-season from the Formula Renault series, which he was leading at that time. He started in seventh position on the grid, finishing in eighth position to take his first World Championship point and became the youngest driver ever to score a point in Formula One (at the age of 19 years and 349 days), a record previously held by Jenson Button – who was 20 years and 67 days old when he finished sixth at the 2000 Brazilian Grand Prix.

2007–2008: Toro Rosso

2007

On 31 July 2007, BMW released Vettel to join Red Bull's Scuderia Toro Rosso team, replacing Scott Speed as one of its drivers from the onwards. He earned approximately US$165,000 for finishing the season with Toro Rosso. Before the race, it was also announced that Vettel would drive for Toro Rosso in , partnering Sébastien Bourdais.

Vettel struggled for his first couple of races while cutting his teeth with his new team, but managed two impressive drives in his 5th and 6th drives for Toro Rosso, a team that was averaging a little worse than 14th place in the 2007 season before Vettel's arrival. In the rain-hit at Fuji, Vettel worked his way up to third, behind Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber, and seemed to be on course for not only his but also Toro Rosso's maiden podium finish. However, Vettel crashed into Webber under safety car conditions taking them both out of the race and prompting Webber to say to ITV reporter Louise Goodman "It's kids isn't it... kids with not enough experience – they do a good job and then they fuck it all up." Webber also specifically criticized Lewis Hamilton's erratic behaviour in contributing to the accident, describing his antics behind the safety car as 'shit'." Vettel was initially punished with a ten-place grid penalty for the following race, but this was lifted after a spectator video on YouTube showed the incident may have been caused by Hamilton's behaviour behind the safety car. Vettel bounced back to finish a career-best fourth a week later at the having started 17th on the grid while in mixed conditions. He collected five championship points, making it both his and Toro Rosso's best race result.

Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz stated his belief Vettel would be one of Formula One's big stars in the future. "Vettel is one of the young guys with extraordinary potential [...] He is fast, he is intelligent, and he is very interested in the technical side."

2008

After four races of the 2008 season, Vettel was the only driver to have failed to finish a single race, having retired on the first lap in three of them. In each of these three instances, he was involved in accidents caused by other drivers, the other being an engine failure. However, at the fifth round at the , he finally saw the chequered flag, albeit finishing in 17th after qualifying 14th and suffering a puncture on the opening lap. In the next race at the , Vettel scored his first points of the season with a fifth place finish, after qualifing 17th. He scored again at the fighting off Heikki Kovalainen in the last few laps for the final championship point, having started from pit lane. Vettel finished 12th in France, before retiring on lap one at the wet after being clipped by David Coulthard and aquaplaned into the gravel trap along with Coulthard. He earned another point at the , fending off Fernando Alonso and securing eighth after Jarno Trulli ran wide. Vettel retired in Hungary after his engine overheated during his first pit stop. He impressed many at the by setting the fastest times in the first practice session and second qualifying session, before qualifying sixth on the grid. Vettel finished the race in sixth, two seconds behind Jarno Trulli.

At the 2008 Italian Grand Prix, Vettel became the youngest driver in history to win a Formula One Grand Prix. Aged 21 years and 74 days, Vettel broke the record set by Fernando Alonso at the 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix by 317 days as he won in wet conditions at Monza. Vettel led for the majority of the Grand Prix and crossed the finish line 12.5 seconds ahead of McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen. It was the first podium and win for his Toro Rosso team. Earlier in the weekend, he had already become the youngest polesitter, after setting the fastest times in both Q2 and Q3 qualifying stages, and his win also gave him the record of youngest podium-finisher. Toro Rosso team boss Gerhard Berger said, "As he proved today, he can win races, but he's going to win world championships. He's a cool guy". Hamilton praised the German, stating that this victory showed "how good he is". The nature of the victory and the story of the 21 year old's fledgling career led the German media to dub him "baby Schumi", although Vettel was quick to downplay the expectation the result has brought, particularly the comparison with the seven-time World Champion: "To compare me with Michael Schumacher is just a bit ridiculous...It will be difficult in normal conditions for us to repeat this achievement". He then went on to finish fifth in Singapore. In Japan, he finished sixth after being promoted from seventh after team-mate Bourdais was penalised for contact with Felipe Massa.

In the , after running second for much of the race on a one-stop strategy, Vettel overtook Lewis Hamilton in the rain for fifth place on the penultimate lap to contribute to a thrilling climax to the season. He nearly deprived the McLaren driver of the championship before Timo Glock slowed dramatically on the last lap (he was struggling with dry tyres in the ever increasing rain) enabling both Vettel and Hamilton to pass him, earning Hamilton the title, and Vettel fourth place.

After the season had finished Vettel was named Autosport Rookie of the Year.

Red Bull Racing

2009

At the start of the 2009 season, Vettel replaced the retired David Coulthard at Red Bull Racing, and began strongly at the , qualifying third and running in second for the majority of the race. However, a clash with Robert Kubica over second place on the third to last lap of the race forced both to retire. Vettel attempted to finish the race on three wheels behind the safety car to salvage some points, but eventually pulled off to the side. He thought that he would be able to attempt this because the yellow flag resulting from his incident forbids overtaking; instead he was given a ten-place grid penalty for the next race, the , and his team was fined for instructing him to stay on track after the damage occurred. In Malaysia he qualified in third position, but was demoted down to 13th due to his ten-place grid drop. He spun out of the race while eighth, just before the race was stopped due to adverse weather conditions. However in China he went on to take pole position, the first for the Red Bull Racing team. He went on to win the race ahead of team-mate Mark Webber, again a first for his team, which scored its first victory and one-two finish in the same race. At the age of 21 years and 287 days, Vettel became the youngest Grand Prix driver in history to win for two different teams, having won the 2008 Italian Grand Prix for the Torro Rosso-team.

In the , Vettel qualified in third, and finished second behind Jenson Button in the race. In Spain, he qualified in second but finished the race in fourth, behind his team-mate Mark Webber who finished in third. Vettel won the after claiming pole position in qualifying. At the he qualified fourth and finished second, behind Webber, who won his first Grand Prix. At the , Vettel qualified second after an eventful qualifying, but had to retire from the race on lap 30 after his car sustained damage from contact with Kimi Räikkönen's car on the first lap.

At the , he qualified fourth but had to retire from the race with an engine failure. It was the second engine failure for Vettel during the weekend, and the RB5's reliability issues began to show. He finished third at Spa-Francorchamps, and struggled for pace at Monza, finishing 8th at a race he previously won. He qualified 2nd at Singapore, but was given a drive-though penalty for speeding in the pit lane and damaged the diffuser on a kerb, struggling to 4th. He subsequently won the from pole position.

At the , Vettel qualified 16th in a rain-hit session, behind title rival Jenson Button (14th) and Rubens Barrichello (1st), while his team-mate Webber qualified second with Adrian Sutil in third. Vettel needed to score at least second place in the race to keep his title hopes alive. He finished fourth with Button behind, giving Button the Championship and moving Vettel up into second place. He officially claimed second place by winning the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, again ahead of Webber with Button completing the podium. He also scored his third fastest lap of the year, drawing him level with team-mate Webber. However, as Vettel had more second fastest laps, he won the 2009 DHL Fastest Lap Award.

2010

Vettel continued with Red Bull for 2010, and took the first pole position of the season at the . Vettel went on to lead most of the race but a spark-plug failure meant that his lap times slowed down, and as a result the two Ferraris and the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton passed him. After a brief challenge from Rosberg he brought the car home in fourth.

At the , Vettel was appointed as a director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association. He took his second consecutive pole position in Australia, ahead of team-mate Mark Webber, but spun off when leading the race, due to a loose wheel nut. In Malaysia, he took his first win of the 2010 season with Webber coming in second place, having passed both him and Nico Rosberg at turn one.

Vettel qualified on pole at China alongside Webber. At the start of the wet race Fernando Alonso jump-started and Vettel was passed by Webber, dropping back to third. The increasing rain forced Vettel and Webber to pit at the same time for intermediate tyres that wore out after only a few laps and dropped them back into the midfield. Vettel slowly climbed back up to finish sixth, ahead of Webber. In Spain, Vettel was outqualified by team-mate Webber and claimed second on the grid. Despite having a major brake problem during the last eight laps, Vettel managed third place after Hamilton crashed on the penultimate lap.

In Monaco Vettel was again outqualified by Webber. In the race he passed Kubica at the start and stayed there for the remainder of the Grand Prix and made it a Red Bull 1–2. After the race the two Red Bull drivers were equal on points in the drivers' championship, with Webber championship leader based on total wins. At the he qualified third and was running second behind Webber when he made a passing move on the Australian. Vettel lost control of his car and the two collided, putting Vettel out of the race and dropping him to fifth in the drivers' championship, with neither driver accepting responsibility for causing the collision. He finished fourth at the , maintaining his position in the standings. He started the in pole position and led from start to finish to score his second win of the season.

At Silverstone, both Vettel and Webber's cars were fitted with a new design of front wing. Vettel's front wing was damaged in the third practice session, and Webber's sole surviving example was removed and given to Vettel. Vettel qualified in pole position ahead of his team-mate, but suffered a puncture caused by driving wide off the track on the first lap of the race and fell to the tail of the field. He fought back to finish seventh while Webber took the victory. At the he took pole by 0.002 seconds, and finished in third position in the race, behind the Ferraris of Alonso and Felipe Massa, after a poor start. He also finished third in Hungary after serving a drive-through penalty for exceeding ten lengths behind the previous car, team-mate Webber, under neutralised safety car conditions. In Belgium, he had a tough race, hitting Button's car whilst attempting to pass, causing Button to retire. Vettel pitted and carried on, but then suffered a puncture whilst passing Liuzzi at the same place, completing a whole lap with a puncture. He eventually finished 15th, which was (other than his retirements in Australia and Turkey) was his worst finish of the season. At Monza he finished fourth after an engine problem scare, and at the , Vettel qualified and finished second, sticking on Alonso's tail for most of the race. He passed Button for fourth place in the championship. At the , he dominated all practice sessions bar one, as it was postponed after heavy rain. He qualified on pole ahead of team mate Webber and went on to win with a lights-to-flag victory. Aged 23 years and 98 days, Vettel became the youngest Grand Prix driver to win at the same track on two occasions, having also won the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka in 2009. At the first , Vettel took pole and led the first 45 laps of the race before retiring with engine failure, handing victory to Alonso.

At the , Vettel qualified second but took the lead at the first corner and led for the entire race to victory. With Webber taking second place, and Alonso finishing third, Vettel went into the final race of the season with a 15-point deficit to Alonso, and a 7-point gap to Webber. With the one-two finish in Brazil, Vettel and Webber secured Red Bull Racing's first Formula One World Constructors' Championship. He won the from pole again, to take the drivers' championship lead for the first time in his career and became the youngest world champion in the sport's history. Following James Hunt in the 1976 season, this was also only the second time in Formula One history when the World Champion had not been championship leader at any earlier point in the season.

2011

After the postponement of the , Vettel started his title defence in style in the with pole position and a victory of 22 seconds over title rival Lewis Hamilton, who was nursing home his broken McLaren. Vettel continued his title defence in the , where he claimed pole position and went on to win the race. Vettel completed his third pole position of the season at the , and appeared to be in dominating form for the majority of the race. However, poor tyre management haunted him in the last several laps, possibly being related to him being unable to properly communicate with his team as his radio was broken. He finished the race second, his championship lead cut to 21 points, by Hamilton, after three races.

The started out poorly for Vettel, where he had very little practice time during the Friday free practice sessions, including a crash in the first session. Even with the limited practice, he claimed his fifth consecutive pole position and converted it into a win, extending his championship lead over Hamilton to 34 points. At the , his pole position streak ended as his KERS failed him during qualifying. His teammate Webber took pole, but Vettel went on to win the race by 0.6 seconds over Hamilton, despite having to deal with a frequently malfunctioning KERS. The following weekend, in the , he took pole with the second fastest qualifying time in Monaco's history. Vettel was leading the race with a 5 second gap to second placed Button. Due to a radio malfunction the Red Bull pit crew was not prepared for Vettel when he pitted. The net result was that the pitstop was slow, and that he was sent out on the wrong tyres, handing the lead to Button as well. Vettel switched to a one-stop strategy, and stuck with one set of soft tyres for 56 laps. He was caught by Alonso and Button as his tyres deteriorated, but neither were able to pass him. With a few laps remaining, the race was red-flagged after Vitaly Petrov required an ambulance after an accident. The suspended race allowed teams to change tyres and work on the cars, and when the race was restarted under the safety car, Vettel was able to retain the lead during the last few laps.

In Canada, he took his sixth pole position in seven races ahead of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa. Vettel kept his lead from the start of the race, and for the vast majority of the race he held on to it. The record six safety car periods due to the down-pouring rain and 2 hour race suspension profoundly hurt Vettel's chances of victory, however, as after every safety car restart Vettel would lose the gap he had previously built up on the other drivers. With much fresher tyres, Button caught Vettel and began to pressure him in the last lap. Vettel slid on a damp part of the track at Turn 6, and Button used the opportunity to slip past him to take the victory. Vettel finished second, extending his championship lead to 60 points ahead of Button.

At the , the FIA began enforcing a controversial ban on engine mappings. It was believed by many in the press that it was an attempt by the FIA to thwart Vettel's domination of the season. The changes appeared to do little to hinder Vettel, as he took pole with the fastest qualifying lap in the track's history. He dominated the race with his first triple of 2011 with pole, fastest lap, and won his sixth race out of eight races. It was the first time in Formula One history where, in the first eight races, a driver finished first in six or more races and second or better in the remaining races.

The second set of controversial mid-season changes were implemented at Silverstone, targeting the blown diffusers. Red Bull believed the changes cost them about half a second per lap. Webber just edged Vettel for pole position by 0.032 seconds in qualifying. On race day, Vettel made a better start, immediately took the lead and led the first half of the race. A delay at one of his pit stops gave the race lead to Alonso, who passed him in the pit lane, and dropped Vettel back to third, behind Hamilton. Despite a malfunctioning KERS unit, he was able to jump Hamilton in the stops and held off the faster Webber, who ignored a radio message from team principal Christian Horner to hold position, for second place, extending his lead in the championship.

Vettel's run of fourteen successive front-row starts and eleven successive top two finishes ended at his home race, where he qualified third and finished fourth. McLaren's mechanical grip outclassed Red Bull in the wet in Hungary, and despite leading into the first corner from pole, he was quickly passed by both Hamilton and Button. Vettel eventually finished second in the race, held in mixed conditions. In Belgium, Vettel qualified on pole and won the race, his seventh victory of the season and seventeenth of his career. In victory, Vettel extended his lead in the championship to 92 points and, even with seven races left, his 259 point haul surpassed his own record, from for the highest number of championship points accumulated in a season.

Future

On 21 August 2009 it was announced that Red Bull and Vettel have extended his contract until the end of the season with an option for . The option was taken up on 14 March 2011, as Vettel extended his contract with the team until the end of 2014. Vettel has mentioned he would like to at some point in his career drive for Ferrari and Mercedes, while Red Bull believes he will stay with them for as long as they supply a competitive car.

Race of Champions

Vettel competed in the 2007 Race of Champions at Wembley Stadium, representing the German team alongside Michael Schumacher. Vettel and Schumacher won the Nations' Cup Title, after exciting finals. Vettel had to beat two RoC champions, Heikki Kovalainen and Marcus Grönholm, after Schumacher stalled his car. Vettel lost the individual competition however, in first heat, in his second battle against Kovalainen. Vettel also competed in the 2008 Race of Champions, alongside Michael Schumacher. Once again they won the Nations' Cup Title after a close final against Scandinavia. In the Driver's Cup, Vettel beat Troy Bayliss in Round One, but lost to Sébastien Loeb in the Quarter-Finals. Again Vettel teamed up with Michael Schumacher for the 2009 RoC Nations Cup, which they went on to win in a run-off against the Great Britain team of Jenson Button and Andy Priaulx. In the 2010 edition, on home ground in Düsseldorf, Vettel again teamed up with Schumacher to win the Nations Cup for the fourth time in a row. In the Driver's Cup, Vettel was eliminated in the semi-finals by Filipe Albuquerque, who went on to win the event.

Top Gear

Vettel holds the fastest lap-time for a Formula One driver on BBC2's ''Top Gear'' programme in the "Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car" segment, with a lap of 1:44.0, beating previous holder Rubens Barrichello, as well as the old Stig, Ben Collins.

Helmet design

Vettel's helmet, like most Red Bull-backed drivers, is heavily influenced by the energy drink company logo.

New to Vettel's helmet since the start of 2008 has been the incorporation of the red cross of the Kreis Bergstraße coat of arms on the front, just underneath the visor, in honour of the region of his birthplace, Heppenheim.

During pre-season testing for 2010, Vettel debuted a helmet resembling a Red Bull drink can complete with graphics of a stay-tab opener on top—which would become a recurring element in his helmets for this season. During the 2010 season, Vettel has used three main helmet designs, although he made some minor changes to some in certain races: besides his standard black helmet, he has used one with the same design but in chrome colors. For the 2010 Japanese Grand Prix, Vettel had a special white-red helmet design, with black kanji and hiragana for "gives you wings". In 2011 he uses his traditional helmet, with some changes, like the black top and chin area with blue stylized dots, similar to his black helmet used in 2010.

Comparison to Michael Schumacher

After Vettel's unexpected win in Monza, this led for the media to dub him the "Baby Schumi", "New Schumacher", but Vettel plays down the comparison stating he wanted to be the "New Vettel". He was not just dubbed for his nationality but also because of his driving style, his concentration and the hands-on role he plays behind the scenes with his team of engineers. One difference is that Schumacher does not name his car but Vettel does, Julie (2008), Kate, Kate's Dirty Sister (2009), Luscious Liz, Randy Mandy (2010) and Kinky Kylie (2011).

Nevertheless, the similarities are marked. Like Schumacher, Vettel grew up in a small town with an everyday background—Schumacher's father a bricklayer and Vettel's a carpenter. Both had their first taste of racing at the Kerpen karting track near Cologne, not far from the Nürburgring. Vettel began driving in his garden lapping the garden many times, not even stopping to eat or shower, before he could legally take to the roads, and says his passion for cars was nurtured by watching Schumacher compete. He did not know that he would actually get to race his hero.

Both Schumacher and Vettel impressed in their debut races, both of which took place in the middle of a Formula One season. Neither would ever drive for their debut teams again. Instead, both immediately joined with non-manufacturer teams based upon selling non-automobile related products. Approximately a year after joining their new teams, as underdogs they would stun the Formula One world by winning races in cars few believed capable of winning. In their third full Formula One season and both driving cars numbered 5, both won their first World Drivers' Championship, at which point both drivers had 10 Grand Prix wins on their records. Vettel became the youngest ever driver to win the World Drivers' Championship, while Schumacher, by a little over a week, only narrowly missed out on achieving the very same feat. Both drivers won their non-manufacturer teams' maiden World Drivers' Championship as well as World Constructors' Championship.

After winning his first championship in 2010, and being hailed as the 'Next Schumacher', Vettel has stated he does not want to aim for Schumacher's record after learning how hard it was to get one championship under his belt, though he would like to win more.

Racing record

Career summary

! Season	! Series	! Team	! Races	! Wins	! Poles	! F/Laps	! Podiums	! Points	! Position
! 2003	align=left		19	5	5	4	12	216
! 2004	align=left	align=left	20	18	14	13	20	387
2005	align=left	align=left rowspan="2"	20	0	0	1	5	57	5th
align=left	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	11th
align=left		1	0	0	0	1	8	15th
	align=left	1	0	0	0	1	N/A
align=left	align=left
2006	align=left	align=left rowspan="2"	20	4	1	5	9	75
	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	23rd
align=left		3	1	1	0	2	28	15th
align=left	align=left	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	6th
align=left	align=left
2007	align=left		7	1	1	1	4	74	5th
align=left rowspan="2"	align=left	1	0	0	0	0
	7	0	0	0	0
! 2008	align=left		18	1	1	0	1	35	8th
! 2009	align=left		17	4	4	3	8	84
! 2010	align=left		19	5	10	3	10	256
! 2011	align=left		12	7	9	1	11	259*

Season in progress.

Complete Formula 3 Euro Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

! Year

! Entrant

! Chassis

! Engine

! 1

! 2

! 3

! 4

! 5

! 6

! 7

! 8

! 9

! 10

! 11

! 12

! 13

! 14

! 15

! 16

! 17

! 18

! 19

! 20

! DC

! Points

Mücke Motorsport>ASL Mücke Motorsport

! Dallara F305/011

Mercedes-Benz in motorsport>Mercedes

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! 5th

! 57

ART Grand Prix>ASM Formule 3

! Dallara F305/059

Mercedes-Benz in motorsport>Mercedes

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Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

! Year

! Entrant

! 1

! 2

! 3

! 4

! 5

! 6

! 7

! 8

! 9

! 10

! 11

! 12

! 13

! 14

! 15

! 16

! 17

! DC

! Points

! Carlin Motorsport

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! 15th

! 28

! Carlin Motorsport

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! 5th

! 74

Complete Formula One results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

! Year

! Entrant

! Chassis

! Engine

! 1

! 2

! 3

! 4

! 5

! 6

! 7

! 8

! 9

! 10

! 11

! 12

! 13

! 14

! 15

! 16

! 17

! 18

! 19

! WDC

List of Formula One World Championship points scoring systems>Points

BMW Sauber>BMW Sauber F1 Team

BMW Sauber BMW Sauber F1.06>F1.06

!

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BMW Sauber F1 Team">BMW in Formula One

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BMW Sauber BMW Sauber F1.07>F1.07

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6

! [[Scuderia Toro Rosso">BMW in Formula One

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14th

6

! [[Scuderia Toro Rosso

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[[Scuderia Toro Rosso">Scuderia Toro Rosso

! [[Scuderia Ferrari

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[[Scuderia Toro Rosso

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35

! [[Scuderia Toro Rosso

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! [[Red Bull Racing">Scuderia Toro Rosso

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! [[Scuderia Toro Rosso

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! [[Red Bull Racing

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! [[Red Bull Racing">Red Bull Racing

! [[Renault F1

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! [[Red Bull Racing

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! [[Red Bull Racing

! [[Red Bull Racing

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Season in progress.

Formula One records

Vettel holds the following Formula One records:

! Record	! Achieved
Most consecutive top two results (in both qualifying and race)	11 results ([[2010 Brazilian Grand Prix
Most consecutive top two results (in both qualifying and race), from the start of the season	9 results ([[2011 Australian Grand Prix
Most consecutive top two finishes from the start of the season	9 finishes (Australia 2011 – 2011 Great Britain)(record shared with Fernando Alonso (Bahrain 2006 – Canada 2006))
	2007 United States Grand Prix (17 June 2007, aged 19 years, 349 days)
	2007 Japanese Grand Prix (30 September 2007, aged 20 years, 89 days)
	2008 Italian Grand Prix (13 September 2008, aged 21 years, 72 days)
	2009 British Grand Prix (aged 21 years, 353 days)

References

External links

Sebastian Vettel official site

Profile – from Formula 1 official website

Profile – from BBC F1

Profile – from ESPN

Vettel's career details

Maximilian Götz | title=Formula BMW ADACDrivers' Champion | after= Nico Hülkenberg| years=2004}} Heikki KovalainenMarcus Grönholm|after= Incumbent|years= 2007–2010 with:Michael Schumacher}} Jenson Button20 years, 67 days(2000 Brazilian GP) | after = Incumbent}} Fernando Alonso21 years, 237 days(2003 Malaysian GP) | after = Incumbent}} Fernando Alonso21 years, 236 days(2003 Malaysian GP) | title = Youngest Grand Prix Pole PositionWinner | after = Incumbent | years = 21 years, 72 days(2008 Italian Grand Prix)}} Fernando Alonso21 years, 237 days(2003 Malaysian GP) | title = Youngest Driver to score aPodium Position in Formula One | after = Incumbent | years = 21 years, 73 days(2008 Italian Grand Prix)}} Fernando Alonso22 years, 26 days(2003 Hungarian GP) | title = Youngest Grand Prix Winner | after = Incumbent | years = 21 years, 73 days(2008 Italian Grand Prix)}} Lewis Hamilton'''22 years, 287 days(2007 season) | after = Incumbent | years = 22 years, 121 days(2009 season)}} Lewis Hamilton'''23 years, 300 days(2008 season) | after = Incumbent | years = 23 years, 133 days(2010 season)}} Lewis Hamilton | title = AutosportRookie of the Year | after = Kris Meeke| years =2008}} Robert Kubica|title=Lorenzo Bandini Trophy|years=2009|after= Lewis Hamilton}} Kimi Räikkönen|title=DHL Fastest Lap Award|years=|after= Fernando Alonso}} Jenson Button|title=AutosportInternational Driver of the Year|after=Incumbent|years=2010}} }}

Category:1987 births Category:Formula BMW ADAC drivers Category:Formula One World Drivers' Champions Category:Formula Renault 3.5 Series drivers Category:Formula Three Euroseries drivers Category:German Formula One drivers Category:Red Bull Racing Category:German racecar drivers Category:Kart racing drivers Category:Living people Category:People from Kreis Bergstraße Category:Spanish Formula Three Championship drivers Category:Monaco Grand Prix winners

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