Ever since their Ferrari days, Jean Todt and Michael Schumacher have had a close bond. The French boss has regarded Schumacher as “part of his family”. Naturally, Todt has visited the German champ regularly ever since his skiing accident in 2013. However, there was a time when the seven-time champion put his job on the line to protect the former Ferrari boss.
According to FormulaPassion, Todt recalled this incident in an interview with La Stampa. He said, “The situation at the beginning was disastrous. In ’96 there was a lot of talk about my dismissal – he said – Michael had just arrived and saw that my plan was right, the people who were about to arrive and with whom I negotiated in secret corresponded to our project.”
“This is why he intervened and said: ‘If Todt leaves, I’ll leave too'”
Eventually, Ferrari had to cave into Schumacher’s demand. Both he and Todt stayed and persisted toward their goal of winning the championship. The German driver believed in his team boss’s plan, even if it didn’t yield them immediate success.
The Scuderia moved in the right direction through 1998 and 1999, fighting for the championship, but missing out. Eventually, after 4 years of struggle, Schumacher got the success everyone in Maranello coveted, in the year 2000.
21 years after Jody Scheckter won the title, Michael got the drivers’ championship back to Ferrari. This initiated what is still one of the most dominant periods in F1 history – a streak of 5 championship wins, making Schumacher the 7X champion.
Jean Todt reminisces the wholesome ‘hug’ with Michael Schumacher
Jean Todt recalled his hug with Michael Schumacher on the podium in Suzuka. Producing an epic Japanese GP win, the German had secured his third world title. Todt stated, “The hug with Michael on the podium is the happiest sporting moment of my life. We have finally achieved the goal we set ourselves in 1993.”
The Ferrari champ led the standings by 8 points going into that race. The race ebbed and flowed with Mika Hakkinen giving Schumacher a tough challenge as his chasing title rival. Eventually, the Finn had to settle for P2 in both the race and the championship.
Todt was emotional on the podium and thus the podium hug happened. However, both Schumacher and he knew that it was just the beginning of their dominance. The former FIA president was also asked if he sees any parallels between Ferrari’s 2000s era and Red Bull’s current dominance.
He admitted that Max Verstappen is a fantastic talent and that Red Bull has built a very professional, winning team around him. Yet, the Frenchman stated he backs Charles Leclerc. He stated, “I’m rooting for Leclerc. My son has been following him since he raced go-karts. He is a great driver and he deserves the opportunity to win the title”
