Michael Schumacher was a beast unlike any other. All he understood in his life was racing and his family; besides that, he wanted nothing much to do with the world. Everyone admired his simplicity and kind behavior, and that might have crept into his work at Ferrari as well.

Mattia Binotto appeared on the podcast Beyond The Grid this week. After discussing Ferrari’s plans for the next season, the host dedicated a brief period of the podcast to Schumacher. Binotto narrated several anecdotes from his time with the German, back when Ferrari regained her might in the sport.

Michael Schumacher, well versed with his technical knowledge around his car, could assist his engineers well. However, he was not an ideal person to render feedback, according to Mattia Binotto.

“I think Michael was not a person which was very strong in giving feedback. Which is opposite eventually to what everybody may think.

“But what he had was so fast and consistent, that if you made a change on setup and he was faster, it was positive. It was slower; it was negative,” recalled Binotto.

Feedback from drivers is very important; it gives an opportunity to the engineers to make the setup better and provide a better car to the driver. However, if it is as simple as positive and negative responses from the racer, things get difficult for the engineers.

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Lap times was the last word for Michael Schumacher

F1 has seen a huge transition in the lifestyle of drivers from the age of Schumacher to the age of Hamilton. Drivers have become more social these days, indulging in much more than just racing.

At the time of Schumacher, all he ever thought about was the distance from start to finish and how fast could he cross it. Even his time was simpler; the cars were not as complex as they are these days. Thus, being simple was something that the drivers adapted to naturally.

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Mattia Binotto stated that all Michael was concerned about was his lap time. He assessed his car based on improving or degrading lap times. Honestly, at the time, that was the ultimate yardstick of improvement.

“Because he was capable of being so consistent lap per lap that his true feedback was the lap time. So observing himself when coming back into the garage, if he would have been a tenth faster, the feedback was positive,” concluded Binotto.

The time Ferrari spent with the German helped Binotto learn valuable lessons in the world of motorsports, lessons he wishes to employ to bring back the form of his team. However, maybe someone will have to pull them out of their peril like Schumacher did.

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