Mercedes chief shares why Michael Schumacher was so popular within the team

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Michael Schumacher is a legend in Formula 1 having become the first driver to achieve seven world titles and bring success back to Ferrari.

Schumacher was known for bringing a ‘high performance’ mentality to Ferrari according to former teammate Luciano Burti, which is what drove the team to achieve five titles together between 2000 and 2004.

The latter stages of his career were spent at Mercedes where he achieved his final podium at the Valencia street circuit in 2012, although ultimately did not win any races with the Silver Arrows.

Schumacher was revered at Mercedes for his work ethic, seemingly able to bring everything that he had at Ferrari to the Silver Arrows off the back of their success under Brawn GP.

Mercedes chief mechanic, Matt Deane, has recalled one moment that showed why Schumacher was so popular within the team when speaking in the Inside Mercedes F1 book.

Matt Deane shares why Michael Schumacher was so popular within Mercedes

Even though working with a legend is enough to motivate people within a team, Schumacher’s presence is unmatched.

Deane recalled why he thinks the seven-time world champion was so popular within the team because of his willingness to go the extra mile.

“The first time I met Michael, he showed up on a freezing cold morning in this massive sheepskin coat. He introduced himself to everyone and learnt their names straight away,” said Deane.

“He was a cool guy that everyone liked. Michael remembered birthdays and had this great trick on nights out after race weekends where he would get everyone drunk and somehow remain sober himself.”

Michael Schumacher would not ‘regret’ failed F1 comeback says Nico Rosberg

Schumacher was paired up against Nico Rosberg for his three seasons at Mercedes, achieving a best finishing position of 8th in the Drivers’ Championship in 2011.

He eventually decided to retire fully at the end of the 2012 season following a disappointing year in which he finished 13th in the standings, getting replaced by Lewis Hamilton.

Rosberg believes Schumacher relished the chance to race in F1 again competitively and does not believe he would have any regrets about doing it.

Hamilton went on to match Schumacher during his time at Mercedes, winning six titles between 2014 and 2020, then beating Schumacher’s record of wins, poles and podiums.