Michael Schumacher won the 41st race of his career at the 2000 Italian GP, but encountered a scary moment while on his in-lap.
Schumacher won the 2000 Italian GP, followed by Mika Hakkinen in P2 and his brother Ralf Schumacher in P3. However, after winning when he was in his cool down lap before entering the pits, a bizarre incident occurred.
We’ve seen fans take to the race track after the end of a race several times. What was weird about Monza that year was that, fans entered the track while the cars were still out. This was a huge safety hazard for both the drivers and the fans on track.
Schumacher was on the iconic Parabolica corner when he realized that there were people on track. He slowed down carefully, and managed to navigate his way around the sea of people, before making it into the pit-lane.
When he entered the lane, he thrusted his arms into the air, celebrating either his win or the fact that not a single fan was hit!
Michael Schumacher started crying in the post race press conference
His win that afternoon in Monza was the 41st of his career. This put him in second all time, equal with the legendary Ayrton Senna. To break that record in front of the Tifosi was an extremely special moment for him.
After the race, himself, Ralf Schumacher and Hakkinen were in the press conference room. A reporter asked the Ferrari driver if tying his record with Senna’s made it special or not, and an emotional Schumacher said yes before breaking down.
Schumacher sobbed uncontrollably as Hakkinen and his brother comforted him. Hakkinen asked the reporter to not ask him any more questions and he followed suit.
Hakkinen and Schumacher were present on the podium during the 1994 San Marino GP. The podium celebrations were extremely limited in what was a tragic day for the world of motorsports.
Being on the same number of wins as Senna was a very emotional moment for Schumacher.
