Michael Schumacher Latest News: How 'Schumi' Became Ferrari Team's Formula One 'Saviour'
Legendary Formula one driver Michael Schumacher is considered one of the heroes of the Ferrari team in motorsports.
In the mid-90's, the said team under Ross Brawn, Rory Byrne and Jean Todt, were experiencing a title drought that had been going on for decades. At the time, the team's last victory happened in 1979, although they had achieved various wins from 1991-1995.
The glimmer of hope came in the form of Michael Schumacher, who first got behind the wheel of a Ferrari F1 racer at the winter testing in 1995. In a report by Andrew Benson via BBC Sport, Schumacher was "two seconds quicker" than regular drivers Gerhard Berger and Jean Alesi.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
The same circumstance took place in 1996, where the team once again attributed Schumacher's subpar performance to the car, but at the same time, lauded the famed racer for how he handled the vehicle.
"In it, though, Schumacher underlined his greatness arguably more effectively than he ever did when unlimited budget and testing, bespoke tyres, and ruthless management unfurled before him advantageously - arguably more than any driver has ever enjoyed," an excerpt of Benson's report reads.
Schumacher had the car under his watch the entire year but still managed to rack up victories along the way. The most notable race of his career that year came during the 1996 Spanish Grand Prix.
With the rains pouring, the track was expectedly slippery than usual. Damon Hill of the Williams-Renault team led while Schumacher dropped to third place owing to a bad start. By the 13th lap, however, he managed to overtake Hill and teammate Jacques Villeneuve, and eventually ended up in the lead. He went on to win the entire race, regularly lapping five seconds.
Currently, Schumacher is a far cry from his old vicarious self, after a skiing accident he suffered in December 2013. He is currently in his home in Switzerland, which according to manager Sabine Kehm in a 2015 interview, has been "slowly" improving.
Despite this, Schumacher is still lauded as one the greatest Formula One racers of all time, whose claim to fame was his memorable performance at the 1996 Spanish Grand Prix.
