Michael Schumacher Thrived on the “Jealousy” of His Ferrari Teammates; Claims Former Partner

Out of all the greats who have driven for Ferrari over the years, no one comes close to Michael Schumacher. The German driver changed the course of history by winning five world championships with the Scuderia. His teammates, on the other hand, didn’t fare well with the likes of Ruben Barrichello being openly upset with how they were always kept in the shadows.

In the book ‘Michael Schumacher: The Edge of Greatness‘, Barrichello, who was Schumacher’s teammate between 2000 and 2005, talks about the downside of his Ferrari stint. The Brazilian driver recalled how the entire outfit was built around Schumacher, and how the team made it evident that he was the second driver of the team. 

Like other drivers who make it to F1, he too wanted the basic support he needed in order to compete for wins and championships. However, as written in the book, ‘The difference was that Schumacher got himself into a position to demand – and to get – what he wanted.’

This was a factor that made all of Michael Schumacher‘s teammates jealous of him.

Michael Schumacher knew his teammates were jealous of him

Being a teammate to someone like Michael Schumacher is never easy. The team almost always prioritizes the better driver, and Schumacher was definitely holding that tag when Barrichello was his teammate.

In the book, Barrichello mentioned that  Schumacher thought whatever criticism he received from his teammates and fellow drivers, was out of jealousy. His status as F1’s best-ever driver with seven world titles was too big for others to handle, according to the Ferrari legend.

However, there was one aspect which did make Barrichello and other drivers jealous of him. The fact that a legendary team like Ferrari always prioritized him, made Barrichello envious of his teammate.

‘Schumacher always felt that the criticism he received from his fellow professionals was motivated by jealousy,’ he says. ‘And this is certainly one area where drivers were jealous of his status.’

Schumacher dominated Barrichello during their time as teammates

Michael Schumacher dominated F1 between 1999 and 2004, winning five consecutive world championships. Barichello joined him in 2000 and was in the German driver’s shadows throughout. Occasionally, he did get the better of Schumacher, but never managed to do so consistently.

After winning his seventh world title in 2004, the baton was passed on to Fernando Alonso. Despite Schumacher’s best efforts, the young Spaniard won both the 2005 and 2006 world championships. In fact, the latter marked the end of his iconic Ferrari stint.

Schumacher retired from the sport momentarily, only to return in 2010 to help Mercedes find their feet in F1. In 2012, he announced his final retirement from Formula 1.