Michael Schumacher news: F1 boss remembers Schumacher victory — ‘Emotional experience’
Ross Brawn celebrated all seven title wins with Schumacher as chief technical officer for Benetton and then Ferrari.
He now serves as F1’s managing director, but said his personal highlight after a decade of working with the German superstar was his performance in southern Japan.
Speaking to motorsport website Speedweek, Brawn said: «I associate so many memories with this track, and these are mainly related to a driver who dominated Suzuka and that was Michael Schumacher.
“The best and most emotional experience was the win of 2000, with which he gave Ferrari the first title after a dry spell of 21 years. I can still remember the feeling of joy when Michael returned to the track after his second pit stop before his title rival Mika Hakkinen Ross Brawn «I can still remember the feeling of joy when Michael returned to the track after his second pit stop before his title rival Mika Hakkinen and also the intense 13 race laps that followed to the finish.
“The incredible relief and the overwhelming joy as the checkered flag dropped stands out. This experience will not be forgotten.»
The Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka has traditionally been one of the final races of the F1 calendar, meaning drivers are often still battling it out for much-needed points to finish the season in first place.
Brawn added: “How could you forget the epic duels of Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna? “For me personally, of course, other races are in the foreground, such as the 2003 GP, which Rubens Barrichello won, while Michael was catching up from behind and fought his way to eighth place — with which he earned enough points to win his sixth World Cup title.»
Michael Schumacher joined Ferrari from Benetton in 1996 after The Prancing Horse had gone for more than two decades without a win in the Drivers’ Championship. Brawn joined him less than a year later.
F1 legend Schumacher was placed in a medically induced coma after suffering a severe head injury while skiing in 2013.
Updates on the 49-year-old’s condition have been few and far between as his family seeks to maintain his privacy. However a family statement released in 2015 said that Schumacher was showing “moments of consciousness and awakening”.
His manager Sabine Kehm has refused to provide any further details on his health, saying: ”Michael’s health is not a public issue, and so we will continue to make no comment in that regard.
«We have to protect his intimate sphere. Legally seen and in the longer term, every statement related to his health would diminish the extent of his intimate sphere.»
Additional reporting by Monika Pallenberg.