Michael Schumacher was a gem in the sport of F1. They still regard him as the face of the sport, even after almost a decade of him leaving the cockpit. Well, it was not only the fans, as the German was also a favorite in his team.

Earlier last week, on Beyond The Grid, Alan Permane featured to talk about various things. When he joined this mad circus of F1 back in 1989, he was privileged enough to work with the legend in the making.

During his years at Benetton, he was working with Michael Schumacher. He recalls how the German had ensured that he was aware of everyone on the team. The Rhinelander was not only a maestro on the track; he was a maestro all round.

“Michael was very early on one of those all-round guys. When I started racing properly, I was working on his car and he was very good to all of us then. He used to do a bonus system for everybody and not a huge amount.

“If he did well, we all got paid a little bit,” recalled Permane.

Seated at the place Michael was, he touched an uncountable number of lives. Having raced with four teams in the period of two decades, Michael Schumacher was not an individual anymore, he was an icon.

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There are few people on the grid today who don’t have memories with the German. During his days at Ferrari, he vastly contributed to developing the sport we breathe and live every weekend.

No one could trace back bad behavior to the German. Furnished with modesty from Deutschland and a heart of gold, he was a once-in-a-lifetime person for the sport.

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“If you talk to the people, at the time, who were involved in the other side of things, The PR, the press, and the marketing side of things, they all speak very fondly of him.” remarked Permane.

Michael’s accolades sparkle and glimmer with the shine of a thousand trophies. However, his greatest prize so far would be the vast number of lives he could inspire. His greatest pride won’t be the races he’s won, but the people he won them with.

To conclude, Alan said that what Schumacher did effortlessly back in the day, racers today have a tough time handling. However, as times changed, the drivers changed too. Somewhere in the transition, the present just could not imbibe a few things from the past.

“He was just a super professional. I’m sure a lot of these guys find it a real pain to do that sort of stuff. Michael was brilliant, apparently at that. So he was all round good,” said Alan.

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