“They’re Easier to Overtake Than Anybody Else”: Despite Chance to Earn $33,000,000, Michael Schumacher Was Once Reluctant to Join Ferrari in 1996

Michael Schumacher was ready to move on from Benetton at the end of the 1995 season, becoming the youngest driver to have two world championships. Despite having better title prospects at Williams and McLaren, the German driver chose Ferrari for 1996. However, it’s not like he was eager to join them. Instead, his former manager Willi Weber in a book on Schumacher named- Michael Schumacher: The Edge of Greatness, reveals he wasn’t willing to join the Italian team before.

After the death of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost’s retirement, Schumacher was the big thing in the sport. Therefore, every team in the paddock was looking ahead to sign him, as it was evident that he held a significant edge over others.

And obviously, Schumacher wanted to remain successful in the sport, and Ferrari was nowhere near that level. In fact, he even told his manager that Ferrari cars are the slowest, “Willi, do you know that when I drive behind them, they’re easier to overtake than almost anybody else? Are you sure this is the right move for us?” said Schumacher, recalls Weber.

So what led to Schumacher saying yes to Ferrari? Well, the brand itself is an always appealing point for every driver. Moreover, the Italian team did a few things right to convince the GOAT to lend his services to them.

How did Ferrari convince Michael Schumacher with a $33 Million prospect?

Even at their worst, Ferrari is never short of cash. At that time, Williams was only ready to give $10 million to Schumacher. On the other hand, Weber reveals Ferrari was offering around double it.

So, this signaled how much Ferrari valued him over others. However, McLaren could have raised their offers, but Ron Dennis’ dislike for drivers having personal sponsors at that time has been pointed out in the book.

Whereas, Schumacher at that time used to have a personal merchandise line and had personal sponsorships with Nike and Canon. Something Dennis probably wouldn’t have allowed Schumacher to endorse with McLaren.

On the other hand, Ferrari allowed Schumacher to use the team logo on his merchandise products. Whereas also permitted him to prioritize his sponsors over the team sponsors. Overall, the deal was commercially sound and gave better economic prospects to the German driver. That year, he earned over $33,000,000 from his salary and endorsements, becoming the third highest-paid athlete in 1996.

Meanwhile, it’s not only the economic aspect that convinced Schumacher. At that time, under Jean Todt, Ferrari had some promise, and the idea of reigniting the glory of a team like Ferrari was immensely enticing. Thus, an alliance was formed.

It was the best decision ever

Ultimately, DSchumacher’s gamble and his agent’s faith in Ferrari paid off. Apart from amassing endless wealth, Schumacher orchestrated the revival of the Prancing Horse by the turn of the millennium.

From 2000 to 2004, Ferrari was an unstoppable force, picking five titles in a row. At the same time, Schumacher also boosted his world championship count to seven, remaining unmatched for the next 16 years until Lewis Hamilton matched that number.

Schumacher is now a synonym for Ferrari. Even the people who have never seen an F1 race know the myth of Schumacher, and that’s the level of success he couldn’t have gained anywhere else.