Former F1 team principal Eddie Jordan believes Michael Schumacher isn’t the greatest of all time. Jordan backed his claim by recalling Schumacher’s early days with Ferrari and his preference regarding teammates. While Schumacher was a driving force behind Ferrari’s dominant run in the early 2000s he didn’t really face a lot of competition from within.

Jordan dismisses Michael Schumacher as F1’s greatest driver

One of the unwritten rules in Formula 1 is that your teammates are your first rival in the sport. However, for the 7 times World Champion, this was never really the case.

There is no disputing the fact that every single one of Schumacher’s World Championships has been won on merit. Some may argue that the German employed dirty tricks at times to win at all costs. However, that comes as a part and parcel of having a racing driver’s mentality – winning above everything else.

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While the Ferrari of today is quite different compared to the team from 20 years ago, Schumacher’s influence over the Scuderia was truly mesmerizing. During Ferrari’s period of dominance in F1, the German did not have a teammate who could truly challenge him.

Driving for Ferrari was and remains a privilege but back then it included accepting the fact that Schumacher was the de facto team leader who could never be questioned.

Eddie Jordan echoed these words and reminisced his early memories of the 7 times World Champion. Speaking to the Off the. Ball podcast, Jordan said:

“Looking back at all the contracts I had to sign with Ferrari when Schumacher was sitting there.”

“ He was really talented, but there’s one thing that speaks to him. In every contract, I had to sign on behalf of Irvine, Barrichello or anyone else,”

“There was a clause stating that they should always play the second violin behind Schumacher. I wish he was the best, but he’s not,”

It would be foolish to claim Rubens Barrichello was as good a racer like Michael Schumacher. The stats do not lie but Barrichello didn’t really have the chance to attack his teammate and put his foot down. Fans remember the Austrian Grand Prix – where Rubens slowed down a few feet before the chequered flag to let Michael take the win.

Having an obedient teammate makes for a comfort zone that every driver craves. However, it also blurs the lines between the team’s needs and the driver’s needs.