Michael Schumacher ‘couldn’t even watch’ one thing in the Mercedes factory without ‘feeling ill’

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Michael Schumacher is best known for his time racing for Ferrari during the 2000s.

At the turn of the century, Michael Schumacher ended Ferrari’s 21-year wait to win a Drivers’ Championship.

South African star Jody Scheckter was the last driver to achieve that feat before Schumacher pipped Mika Hakkinen in 2000 after witnessing the Finn win the title the previous two seasons.

That was the beginning of a period of Ferrari dominance that saw Schumacher and teammate Rubens Barrichelo move head and shoulders ahead of their rivals.

The German driver missed out on the 2005 and 2006 championships to Fernando Alonso and decided to hang up his racing gloves at the end of that campaign.

However, Schumacher was brought back out of retirement when he partnered Nico Rosberg on Mercedes’ return to F1 in 2010.

While he wasn’t able to return to the front of the grid with the Silver Arrows, he did help set the foundations for the team’s success when he was replaced by Lewis Hamilton.

Author Matt Whyman spent more than a year following the Anglo-German team to write his book Inside Mercedes F1.

Michael’s son Mick Schumacher was working with the team as a simulator driver to support Hamilton and George Russell’s efforts on the track.

However, the sim was never something Michael Schumacher was able to get his head around at Mercedes and in fact, struggled to even watch other drivers use it.

Michael Schumacher was left ‘feeling ill’ watching people use the simulator at Mercedes’ factory

While working in the Mercedes simulator, Whyman asks Mick Schumacher: “Is motion sickness an issue for you in the simulator?”

Schumacher replies: “For sure. If the visuals are even slightly out it can have an effect.

“I always try and take regular breaks, and just get outside so I can ground myself.”

READ MORE: Martin Brundle shares the reason why Michael Schumacher didn’t speak to him for five years

Race simulation engineer Zhaoming Li then added: “Michael couldn’t even watch other drivers in the sim without feeling ill.

“Sometimes a driver who is perfectly all right with movement in real life can be sensitive to motion cueing, especially if we overdo it.”

Whyman was told that an older version of the Mercedes simulator would occasionally leave drivers feeling so disorientated that it would then make them sick.

Mick Schumacher’s tricky next step in motorsport after Mercedes F1 snub

While Michael Schumacher wasn’t happy around the Mercedes sim, Mick has done an important job in it over the past two seasons.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to convince Mercedes that he was the right driver to replace Hamilton after he announced his move to Ferrari.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Mercedes AMG F1 Team from team principal to lineage

Instead, Mercedes have backed youngster Kimi Antonelli to step up from Formula 2 to partner Russell.

Schumacher missed out on a seat at Sauber after being talked up by Mattia Binotto.

The 25-year-old also raced for Alpine in the World Endurance Championship but that wasn’t enough to convince the French team to give him a chance when they knew Esteban Ocon was moving on.

Michael Schumacher has one of Formula 1’s greatest legacies, but his son Mick may have to settle for just two seasons with Haas as his chances of making a comeback look less and less likely with each passing campaign.

Bernie Ecclestone saw the benefits of having a Schumacher on the grid, but the 10 teams in the paddock don’t agree with that viewpoint right now.