Michael Schumacher’s legendary F1 career, which changed the sport forever, began rather unexpectedly with him replacing an under-arrest Bertrand Gachot at the 1991 Belgian GP. No one would blame Gachot for holding a slight—maybe even a big—grudge against Schumacher for the same, but, in reality, he respects him a lot.
It all comes down to how Schumacher reacted and handled the situation. For Gachot, it was a sensitive time, as the courts in London had sentenced him to 18 months in prison for an altercation with a taxi driver.
His team Jordan and team boss Eddie Jordan had to find a replacement, which is where Schumacher came in, supported by the $150k Mercedes paid the Irishman to have him on board. The young German was empathetic about what had happened.
Gachot discussed the same on the Formula for Success podcast, where he said, “Immediately, Michael came to see me and said, ‘Bertrand, anything I can do for you? I’m really sorry for what happened’. I was touched.”
Great @F1 compilation of @schumacher debut and great coverage of the Jordan 191. #KeepFightingMichael pic.twitter.com/7to0iJXRBg
— F1 Jordan Grand Prix (@F1JordanGP) March 1, 2018
This was very different from the way Eddie—who interestingly is one of the hosts of the podcast—reacted. “He didn’t want to talk to me,” Gachot insisted. “He said, ‘You were in jail’!” Eddie, hearing this, could not help but let out a laugh.
Gachot does not hold anything against his ex-boss for that matter and has moved past what happened. It was a difficult moment in his life, but looking back he is simply grateful for whatever time he got to spend in F1. “I didn’t achieve my ambition, but I had fun. I drove the best cars.”
Gachot’s imprisonment and how it changed him
Although Gachot was released from prison in just two months following an appeal, that time behind bars understandably changed him as a person. The 62-year-old discussed how he started losing faith in the justice system, labeling it as something designed only to hurt people and make them suffer.
“If it’s to help people or to give them another opportunity, I don’t think they’re doing a great job,” he said. Gachot’s F1 career never truly recovered from that, and although he did find his way back with Larrouse, and then Pacific Grand Prix Racing, he never made it big.
As the F1 community knows well, the man who replaced him at Jordan—but went on to join Benetton the very next year—became arguably the best in history, and retired with seven World Championships.
