Former Ferrari boss Jean Todt opens up about the legendary Michael Schumacher in a new podcast interview. The German won five of his seven world titles with the Scuderia and built a close bond with the Frenchman during that period. Schumacher gained a reputation as a ruthless and tough racer, but according to Todt, a shy personality lies behind that.
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In a guest appearance on the High Performance podcast, Jean Todt reminisced about his collaboration with Michael Schumacher. The Frenchman worked closely with the celebrated German between 1996 and 2006. “Michael is a quite vulnerable person,” Todt revealed. “Not the type to raise his voice and think he knows everything better. I’ll give you a striking example,” he grinned. “To me, that says everything about what kind of person Michael is.”
“After he had become world champion, he asked me – even before the start of the new season – to return to the private circuit in Fiorano,” Todt recalled. “He said: ‘Can you give me half a day to do some tests, so I can be sure I’m still good?’” Unusual for a reigning world champion, but typical of who Schumacher was, Todt explained. “I think it is actually a great strength to dare to doubt your own abilities.”
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Shy, but generous
At the time, the German driver was sometimes dismissed as arrogant. Were those critics wrong? “Absolutely,” Todt replied resolutely. “Michael is actually a very shy, but also generous person. I think he sometimes hid his shyness behind a hint of arrogance.” He didn’t put that mask on consciously, Todt added. “It was just in his character, in his genes.” The former Ferrari boss was quickly able to see through that when their collaboration grew into a close bond.
“I realized it quickly,” he explained. “In 1997, we fought the battle together. He (Schumacher, ed.) immediately felt protected and valued. That obviously worked both ways. Thus, our professional relationship grew step by step into a friendship, a family bond.” Todt joined Ferrari in 1994 and worked his way up to CEO over ten years. In 2009, he said goodbye to the Italian racing team and became president of the FIA. Schumacher has not appeared in public since his skiing accident in 2013. How he is doing now is only known to his family, lawyer, and close caregivers.
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