Ted Kravitz has ‘never’ seen any other F1 driver do what Michael Schumacher used to do in interviews

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Ted Kravitz has been patrolling Formula 1 pitlanes since 2002. He has become one of the sport’s best-known broadcasters, certainly in the United Kingdom.

When Kravitz began work, Michael Schumacher was at the peak of his dominance. The Ferrari driver romped to the 2002 title with 11 wins in 17 races and 100% podium record.

He scored nearly double the points of second-placed teammate Rubens Barrichello that year (144 vs 77). Schumacher went on to win the next two championships to make it five in a row.

While Fernando Alonso ended the streak with back-to-back titles in 2005 and 2006, it remains a Formula 1 record. Kravitz subsequently saw the rise of Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, who won 11 out of 13 championships between 2009 and 2020.

Most recently, he’s seen Max Verstappen rule F1 with the same authority as prime Schumacher and Hamilton. Drivers like Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc are looking to dethrone him.

Across more than 20 years, Kravitz has come face-to-face with multiple all-time greats. But speaking on the Pitlane Life Lessons podcast, he explained what set Schumacher apart.

Ted Kravitz says Michael Schumacher made him work harder than any other F1 driver

Martin Brundle says Schumacher lacked the natural talent of Ayrton Senna, but he was regarded as an extraordinarily hard worker with an important personal touch.

Indeed, David Coulthard believes drivers like Kimi Raikkonen could have won more titles with Schumacher’s work ethic. He motivated his colleagues to reach his level of dedication.

Schumacher gave Ferrari team members individual gifts closely tailored to their interests. He was willing to go further than his rivals to form connections.

From the reporter’s perspective, Kravitz says Schumacher demanded a unique level of ‘excellence’. There are some similarities with Hamilton, Vettel and Alonso, but the Regenmeister was most ‘inspirational’.

Kravitz said: “There are two chapters about Michael Schumacher [in his upcoming book] and what I learned about him, both in terms of the application of obvious genius, with the balance of having a completely ruthless side, but the humanity of the guy and the personal relationships and how he made it work.

“Such an inspirational guy. I’ve never had to work so hard as a reporter in thinking about questions and thinking about my approach than when interviewing Michael Schumacher.

“He demanded excellence from you as well. He thought, ‘Do you know what, this isn’t going to make my car go quicker, I understand why I have to do this media stuff, but if I’m going to do it, by gosh you better be good and you better give me stuff to think about that might help me as well.

“Very, very rare. Maybe Sebastian, Lewis to a certain degree, Fernando will think, ‘How can I use this as an opportunity to further my own ends?’ – a message to the team, a destabilising of an opponent, or just to mess around and have fun and have a laugh.

“Nobody other than Schumacher has made me work so hard on my craft, which is inspirational in a way.”

Martin Brundle names Formula 1 ‘Mount Rushmore’ as Michael Schumacher included

In a recent interview, former Red Bull sporting director Jonathan Wheatley was asked to name the most talented driver he’s worked with.

Wheatley picked Verstappen over Schumacher, his old Benetton colleague. He says the ‘astounding’ Dutchman is the most complete competitor he’s seen in the sport.

However, when Martin Brundle named his F1 Mount Rushmore, he left Verstappen off. Schumacher made the cut, alongside Senna, Hamilton and Jim Clark.

Senna and Clark were both three-time world champions but may have won more titles had their careers not been cut short by fatal accidents.