Michael Schumacher has always been a very private person and has had very few close friends. Among his friends, one was a renowned F1 journalist by the name of Roger Benoit. Despite being close friends, the two did have a massive fallout once. However, 13 years later, Benoit revealed in a recent interview with grandpx.news that Schumacher gave him a bizarre gift.
During their several years of friendship, Benoit also received some other gifts from Schumacher. One of them was the iconic Ferrari sweater that had the Marlboro logo on the sleeves.
Another one was the yellow Benetton overalls in which Schumacher won his first F1 race back in 1992. Despite being so close, the two once had a huge falling out.
Why did Schumacher and Benoit have a fallout?
While Roger Benoit reveals that over the years he has had several arguments with Michael Schumacher, he added that there was one instance where things got out of hand. The 74-year-old is referring to the moment when he was very critical of the German’s move to Mercedes.
“I was also critical of his Mercedes comeback in 2010 and he didn’t talk to me anymore,” explained Benoit (as quoted by grandpxnews). However, he did admit that just a year later, the two sorted out their differences during the Japanese GP.
Now, 13 years after their falling out, Benoit reminisces about a bizarre gift he received from Schumacher. The Swiss journalist revealed that the German presented him with a “giant cake” for his 400th Grand Prix.
However, the cake was far from ordinary. Benoit added that the cake had “nice lady” jumping out as a surprise. He stated that former F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone and Schumacher paid for the cake together.
How did Michael Schumacher make peace with Roger Benoit?
A year after their falling out, Michael Schumacher attempted to mend his relationship with Roger Benoit at the 2011 Japanese GP. The 74-year-old noted in his interview with grandpx.news that Schumacher approached him at Suzuku in 2011 while he was smoking a cigar near the paddock.
“After two meters, he stopped, came back, hit my knee with his hand and said, ‘Let’s forget everything and start from the beginning’,” Benoit explained. After stating the same, the Swiss journalist concluded his remarks by explaining how the hopes of Schumacher making a full recovery is very low.
Benoit noted that his old friend’s current case is one “without hope“. He believes that it is unlikely that the 54-year-old will recover after suffering fatal injuries that resulted in him going into a coma back in 2013.
