Michael Schumacher is arguably one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time and is Ferrari’s most successful driver in history.
Schumacher has the most number of World Championships won by any driver, alongside Lewis Hamilton, with seven. Five of these Titles were won during his Ferrari stint.
The German driver kickstarted an era of dominance during his stint with the Maranello-based outfit. However, he wasn’t the only key to success, as Jean Todt also pushed them to new heights as team principal.
For all their glory on track, there was controversy off it. Todt and Schumacher were extremely influential within the team. This led to a lot of problems, that chairman Luca Montezemolo did not approve of.
With Corinna Schumacher, Luca di Montezemolo & @ScuderiaFerrari at @FOSGoodwood to pay tribute to Michael @schumacher, @F1’s greatest record-breaker pic.twitter.com/SZL2ZyieXq
— Jean Todt (@JeanTodt) July 7, 2019
One such instance occurred when two-time World Champion Mika Hakkinen was linked to a move to Ferrari. Schumacher, who established himself as undisputed number 1 on the team, saw Finn’s arrival as a threat.
Hakkinen arriving at Ferrari would have been a huge move back in the day, but unfortunately, it did not materialize.
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Michael Schumacher did not want Mika Hakkinen at the team
Chairman Montezemolo wanted Hakkinen to partner up with Schumacher at Ferrari. It would be a very strong line up on paper and could have altered the course of F1 history.
According to Business F1, Schumacher was completely against the move. Team boss Todt was a very close friend of the Germans and took his side on the matter. He went up to Montezemolo and told him Schumacher ‘would not have it.
The Chairman of Ferrari did not enjoy the fact that his driver had so much power in the team. Schumacher’s influence was such that his words could outpower that of the boss.
Despite not being pleased with the situation, Montezemolo caved in. He decided against bringing Hakkinen in, mainly because he could not risk calling Schumacher’s bluff. Despite that, he was adamant that his star driver would stay on the team.
Schumacher and Hakkinen were very fierce rivals on the track. The two shared some of the most memorable battles in F1 history during their prime.
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