Former Ferrari team chief Jean Todt has opened up on how he convinced Michael Schumacher to join the Maranello outfit in 1996.
The German driver had already secured back-to-back drivers’ championships with Benetton in 1994 and 1995, but Todt revealed that he was motivated by a challenge. At that time, Ferrari had not won a drivers’ title since 1979 or a constructors’ title since 1983.
During an interview with the High Performance podcast, Todt explained what attracted Schumacher to join Ferrari while it was in its rebuilding phase.
“’95, still rebuilding the team and then we knew that ’96 was the year really to try to have a go. And among the engineers, the chassis people were saying, ‘We don’t have a good engine,’ the engine people, ‘We don’t have a good chassis,’ and then above all, ‘We don’t have good drivers’.
“So I say, ‘OK, let’s make sure nobody will be able to say that having Michael, we miss the driver.
“So, as he was the best driver, we had to convince him. So we discussed early ’95, and then we spent one day in Monte Carlo, our lawyer Henri Peter and myself with Michael and Willi Weber, and after one day we signed the contract.”
Asked how he was able to convince Schumacher to sign after just one day, Todt added: “I think he thought driving for Ferrari would be different. He liked the challenge and he was very curious, very professional.
Michael Schumacher, Ferrari 248F1, 1st position, and Jean Todt, podium
Photo by: Lorenzo Bellanca / Motorsport Images
“He did not want to commit without having some guarantees. And I contacted simultaneously without them knowing Ross Brawn to propose him the position of technical director and Rory Byrne to propose him the role of chief designer.
“And both of them had worked with Michael in the Benetton team. And Michael knew about that.”
Schumacher remained with Ferrari until his first retirement at the end of 2006. Over the course of the partnership, he won five of his seven drivers’ championships and helped the team to secure six constructors’ titles.
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