Michael Schumacher’s current condition is still a mystery as he continues to recover from the serious head injuries he sustained back in 2014. These days, people often think the accident and how it impacted his life when they talk about the Formula 1 great.
But there was a time when the mention of Schumacher’s name invokes great memories of his rivalries with the likes of Ayrton Senna, Damon Hill, Jacques Villeneuve, Mika Hakkinen, Fernando Alonso, and his long-time Ferrari teammate, Rubens Barrichello.
For motorsports fans who have seen him in action during his prime, Michael Schumacher will always be considered one of the sport’s all-time great drivers. However, there was a time when people actually doubted if he was good enough to drive a Formula 1 car.
In a podcast with 2016 Formula 1 world champion Nico Rosberg, former Benetton boss Flavio Briatore admitted that no one on the team thought Michael Schumacher was going to become a seven-time Formula 1 world champion when he was starting out.
"No one was convinced of Michael," Briatore said, via GPfans.com. "[They said:] 'He's not good, he's too young, he's too this and that. But I was so sure everyone said: 'Yes, then sign him! I sent him the contract and we signed at three or four in the morning," he continued.
"Michael never complained. If there was a problem with the car, he tried to solve it. Other drivers would have said the car is shit," Briatore added.
Michael Schumacher would become a two-time champion before he left Benetton and joined Ferrari in 1996. Meanwhile, Briatore and his Renault F1 team would become one of Schumacher’s fiercest rivals in the final years of the Formula 1 great’s career.
In other news, Michael Schumacher’s former manager Willi Weber has told German magazine Bunte that he’s prepared to close the chapter on the Formula 1 champion after a period of mourning.
"We had the best, most successful time together and went through thick and thin together for 20 years,” Weber said in August, via the Daily Express.


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