Renowned Formula 1 photographer has revealed a painful fate he once suffered at the hands of F1 legend Michael Schumacher. The 7x world champion is the most celebrated driver in the world of motorsports and his illustrious career has had many highlights – good, bad, and hilarious.
In one such event, the German star drove his championship-winning Ferrari over a photographer’s foot at the race track. The Swiss photographer, Daniel Reinhard who had been in the business for forty years revealed the story that left his doctor laughing at him.
Reinhard told the German magazine, Der Spiegel, that it was the 2000 British GP when the incident took place. He recalled that he photographed Michael’s brother Ralf who was kneeling on the grid before stepping into his Williams. “Michael had the starting position ahead of Ralf and then rolled over my foot with his rear wheel, while parking,” he added.
Reinhard then went to see his doctor and obviously, his doctor did not believe his story. The Swiss photographer told his doctor, “Michael Schumacher ran over my foot”, and his doctor laughed at him saying, “Please tell me the truth.”
Since Michael Schumacher, only two Ferrari drivers have achieved a grand slam (pole, win, fastest lap and led every lap):
– Fernando Alonso (Singapore 2010)
– Charles Leclerc (Australia 2022)Charles is in elite company 👑 pic.twitter.com/R4IfY2omnN
— Ferrari News 🐎 (@FanaticsFerrari) April 10, 2023
Michael Schumacher run over a pedestrian
But this was not the only case where Schumacher ran over someone. It happened in 2008. The German star was overtaking an elderly woman when he hit a civilian.
The civilian was a car dealer from Kent named Martin Kingham and was closing the security gate on his premises when Schumacher struck him. Kingham escaped any injury but was shocked to learn that he was hit by the one and only Michael Schumacher.
Speaking to the police he narrated the entire story to the officers. Kingham revealed that after getting hit his head was spinning and therefore, he could not recognize the driver but he knew that he had seen his face. The civilian also said that Schumacher yelled at him, “What the f*****g hell were you doing in the road?”
Schumacher was taken under custody
After the incident, the police officials had taken Schumacher under custody. They even performed a breathalyzer test on the 7x world champion before they informed the victim Kingham about the man who hit him.
The police asked Kingham to wait while they spoke to the F1 legend and then informed Kingham. After this, Kingham said, “Try telling people you were hit by Michael Schumacher and see what response you get.”