91 Wins & 7 Championships Aside, Michael Schumacher’s Unparalleled Quality Served as Brutal Lesson for Charles Leclerc & Carlos Sainz
A green Jordan 191 changed the course of history. As it gave the world Michael Schumacher. Jordan gave the German his break in F1 and his first race was the Belgian GP in 1991. Benetton later signed him with whom he won two of his seven championships. But what is most significantly remembered is the successful Ferrari partnership which began on an underwhelming note. In the face of the low phase, or as the team likes to call it ‘transition’ phase they are going through currently, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz can take a leaf out of the Red Baron’s book.
Ferrari has made it clear that they aim to compete at the front in 2026 going for wins and the WDC. However, last year the fast car Maranello produced made the Tifosi and the drivers more than hopeful. But brutally losing to Max Verstappen with a 140+ point deficit, Charles Leclerc said he doesn’t have the patience to wait for 2026. Moreover, the drivers’ open criticism of the team has now led to a comparison being drawn between the new Ferrari drivers and the legendary Schumacher. As the latter never lost trust or confidence in the team, despite losing with them for almost half a decade.
On Sky Sports F1 Podcast, Felipe Massa’s former engineer Rob Smedley recalled Schumacher’s faith in Ferrari. He said, “He was a two-time world champion, and he had kind of already got his feet under the table of what it meant to win world championships. I think what he saw there was he saw a team that once it was operating at anywhere near full efficiency. It was gonna be an unstoppable machine, and him and lots of other people around him made that happen.”
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While the former Ferrari engineer has advised the drivers to go down the Schumacher route, another Schumacher has opened up about the fundamental problems at the Italian Team.
The title hopes of Charles Leclerc seem bleak as a mammoth issue plagues Ferrari
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And no, it’s not tire degradation or horrible strategy calls. Brother to Michael Schumacher, Ralph Schumacher, has gone on to make a scathing revelation that plagues the team which is facing a slump for the past 15 years.
In an interview with Autobild, Schumacher says, “Vasseur now has to work through all of this. This will need time. But the problem is still politics. I think they are still suffering from the announcement made by President Sergio, who died in 2018 Marchionne, who had proclaimed an all-Italian team a creed at Ferrari. An example: Vasseur’s predecessor Mattia Binotto. One who had worked at Ferrari from an early age, even with my brother. Certainly didn’t lack the technical competence, but the assertiveness.”
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Edited by:
Akash Pandhare