Speaking to BettingSites.co.uk, British Formula One legend, Johnny Herbert, goes over the legacy of Michael Schumacher almost 10 years on from his tragic ski crash.
Herbert raced with Schumacher for Benetton, and saw the racing legend up close on the track and behind the paddock.
Transcript
Question: As we approach the 10-year anniversary, have you spoken to anyone about Michael Schumacher?
Johnny Herbert: “I hear bits only second hand. I hear, from those within F1, he does sit at the table for dinner but don’t know if that is true. I can only read between the lines. We haven’t heard much from the family and understandably so. That has always been very much a part of Michael and the family’s way to keep everything very private, very secretive.
“That has carried on from his racing days. I don’t feel things have moved on in a way that many of us who knew him and many of his fans around the world want to see. They’d love to know, we’d all love to know that things are moving on in a positive way. But because we don’t have any information, we can only assume that he is not yet in a position where there is a chance of a recovery.
“In my opinion, and I must stress this, because we haven’t heard anything from the family, it shows that unfortunately he is probably in the similar situation as he was straight after the accident. It doesn’t seem they have moved much, if at all. I suppose the family is waiting for science to come up with something that will hopefully bring back the Michael we all knew and for the people who only saw him through the television pictures when he was being dynamic on a race track.
“That is above all else what we want to see.”
Q: Who does have, and who has had, access?
JH: “Only the family and a very few trusted individuals. I have heard Ross has gone, Jean Todt Gerhard Berger. That is sort of it as far as I believe.”
Q:What role might Michael have carved out for himself over the past few years?
JH: “I don’t remember any talk of taking over a team. But knowing his character I would not have been surprised to see him jump into a role as a team principal at Mercedes for example and find a way of moving into the management side. Would he have been good at it? Not all racing drivers have been. Alain Prost was the prime example who never quite worked out when he had his team.
“Niki Lauda did it but only on the management side with Mercedes. Would he and Michael have worked well together? Actually I think yes. They would have had both the old school and new school experience. They would have had a big impact. I could have seen it work well together.”
Q: Do you have an anecdote that sums up the person?
JH: “It was the fun side. We all know there was the massively serious side to him totally driven by getting the best out of himself. But there was that end of season downtime, the relaxed moment we always had after Adelaide. He would enjoy the alcohol treats that were available and we all did. We could only do it once a year.
“He would go around the room and his party piece was to rip off everybody’s shirts. Trousers too. But it was mainly buttoned shirts which he would love to rip off. That was the fun side of him. Those are the memories most people didn’t see, but they are the lovely memories I have of him. He had a great sense of humour and hopefully something we will see again.”
Q: He had a big heart, many like to say, would you agree?
JH: “Yes. There was Michael’s selfish heart. His big heart was what you saw with his family. He was a very family oriented man and with the kids the stuff they did together. Horses were a big passion for him and his wife.
“There was life outside the bubble of F1 and fortunately he was able to switch off from his racing mode and found it quite easy to switch to the family mode.”
