“Judge Wanted to Make an Example”: Michael Schumacher’s Predecessor on His 2-Year Jail Term

All motorsport drivers want to make a name for themselves for the success they achieve on the race track. While Michael Schumacher’s predecessor at Jordan, Bertrand Gachot, also became well-known, it was unfortunately not for any good reason.

It was instead for receiving a prison sentence after he used tear gas on a taxi driver in London to protect himself. Recalling the incident on an episode of the Formula for Success podcast with hosts David Coulthard and Eddie Jordan, the Frenchman revealed that he had to resort to such a step after the taxi driver wanted to “have a fight” with him.

Irrespective of why Gachot resorted to using tear gas, the UK courts held him guilty and gave him a two-year prison sentence. Coulthard believed the courts basically gave such a ruling because the “judge wanted to make an example”, knowing the attention F1 receives as a sport.

Although Gachot was freed two months after he was put in prison, having appealed the judge’s ruling, this incident severely spoiled his name. Forever, he became known as the F1 driver who went to prison.

With Gachot unable to drive for Jordan as a result, team owner Eddie decided to replace him with Schumacher, whose talent made a lot of noise in the F1 paddock with Gachot also learning about the German during his time in prison.

Gachot learned of Schumacher’s talent from prison

Years after his infamous incident with a taxi driver in London, Gachot appeared on an episode of the Beyond the Grid podcast with host Tom Clarkson, where the French former driver revealed how it was a prison guard who informed him about his replacement.

“I knew there were a lot of people that wanted that seat,” Gachot told Clarkson. “The first time someone spoke to me about Michael Schumacher… it was one of the guards in jail, and he said the new guy that they hired is so good, they don’t need you anymore, so you can stay here…”

“The guard would come to me, and every time he opened the door, he’d make the noise of a Formula 1 [car]”.

This would have undoubtedly been humiliating for Gachot, who worked tirelessly hard to make his name in motorsports. The Frenchman just turned out to be a victim of the situation, considering even the British ambassador to the European Union personally apologized to him and called the verdict a “travesty of justice”.