After Mercedes took over the Brawn GP and rebranded it as the Mercedes AMG F1 team in 2009, they miraculously managed to get Michael Schumacher out of retirement. The seven-time world champion helped Mercedes’ boss James Vowles and Co. with his input. Despite this, Vowles was unable to provide the best car to Schumacher and now has ‘painful’ regret for failing to use the German’s talent to the optimum level.
Schumacher stayed with the Silver Arrows for three seasons from 2010 to 2012. During this time, Vowles worked as the Chief Strategist of the team, but unfortunately, Schumacher’s time with them did not coincide with their dominant period, which began in 2014.
Vowles said in the High-Performance Podcast,
“Michael knew how to get every millisecond out of himself and the team. He was a leader and when he said he wanted to go in a direction, the team followed him. One thing I regret in my career is that we couldn’t give him a win. This still pains me today, because he deserved to win.”
Schumacher is regarded as one of the greatest drivers of all time. His success with Ferrari is impeccable and is still untouched for decades. Therefore, his arrival in the Brackley-based team brought hopes in many for favorable outcomes against all the odds. H
However, it wasn’t possible as Vowles’ team was not in a position to challenge for wins at the time. By the time they became competitive, Schumacher already left F1 for a second time.
Vowles and Co. won eight constructors’ championship between 2014 and 2021. Unfortunately, for their old associate Schumacher, they couldn’t do much.
Mercedes and Michael Schumacher had a long-standing partnership
In Germany, both Mercedes and Michael Schumacher are big names. While the Silver Arrows are known for their automotive excellence, the former F1 driver is known for his unmatched talent on the track. Interestingly, they do have a connection and it goes well beyond their nationality.
Mercedes was the team behind Schumacher’s F1 debut back in 1990. This was when the German manufacturers decided to pay Eddie Jordan around $190,000 per race to let him drive for them. The German former driver took the place of imprisoned Bertrand Gachot and used the opportunity to an optimum level.
Soon after, he made his F1 debut in Spa. Schumacher impressed the top bosses and joined Benetton that year itself. With them, he won the 1994 and 1995 world titles, before moving to Ferrari and winning six more championships. He only returned to Mercedes officially in 2010, which is why many don’t recall their long-standing partnership.
The association with the team was so monumental that Toto Wolff even called him one of the founding fathers of Mercedes’ F1 success. Now, as the seven-time world champion is away from the grid, his son Mick Schumacher has taken the baton in his hand. The young German driver stayed under Toto Wolff in 2023 as a reserve driver and took the Schumacher family’s connection with Mercedes to a whole new level.
