How Michael Schumacher won the fastest race in the history of Formula 1 at Ferrari’s home track

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Michael Schumacher still holds plenty of incredible records from his time racing for Ferrari in Formula 1.

It wasn’t immediately obvious when Michael Schumacher joined Ferrari at the start of the 1996 Formula 1 season that his move was going to be a success.

After winning back-to-back drivers’ championships with Benetton, Schumacher joined the Scuderia and created a dream team with Jean Todt and Ross Brawn and eventually went on to win five more titles at the beginning of the 2000s.

Todt warned Lewis Hamilton how long it took Schumacher to win his first title with Ferrari, as the only other seven-time world champion struggles through his first campaign with the team.

However, during Schumacher’s time with the team, there were several events that stand out as some of his greatest triumphs.

The 2003 Italian Grand Prix, on the face of it, is one of them, although Ted Kravitz mentioned on the Bring Back V10s Podcast that the record passed many people by during the race weekend.

Schumacher retook the lead in the championship from Juan Pablo Montoya, who finished second in his Williams ahead of the German’s Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello.

He took victory by 5.3 seconds, and by setting the record for the fastest race in Formula 1 history.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about F1 legend Michael Schumacher from net worth to career stats

Michael Schumacher won the fastest race in Formula 1 history at the 2003 Italian Grand Prix

There was plenty of controversy going into the race, with Michelin making a slight change to their tyre compound heading into the weekend.

With Schumacher, Montoya and Kimi Raikkonen so close in the championship, any update was heavily scrutinised across the weekend.

The German took pole position from Montoya and managed the 53-lap race perfectly, stopping the Williams star from ever getting close enough to overtake.

Schumacher finished the race with an average speed of 247.585 km/h or 153.842 mph.

It’s a record that this current generation of cars hasn’t come close to breaking, and the 2026 regulation change is unlikely to produce faster speeds.

READ MORE: How Lewis Hamilton set the fastest lap in the history of Formula 1 at Ferrari’s home circuit

Michael Schumacher and Ross Brawn react to the fastest race in Formula 1 history

Speaking after the race in his official post-race press conference, Schumacher said: “There were many things that came together here.

“We have won the race after some tough races where we were not winning or gaining the points we were looking to score.

“We had a summer break and a big push in the team in the factory. Everyone really gave more than 100 per cent of [their] work.

“That was unbelievable. I paid them back a little bit with pole position, but I think this is one of the greatest days in my career.

“I am so grateful to everyone in the team. The guys have done a tremendous job, from the test team, in the factory and the lady doing the cleaning job. It is fantastic and I am so in love with all those guys.”

Schumacher would go on to win the championship at the final race of the season in Japan, with Montoya falling out of contention at the United States Grand Prix by finishing a lap down on the legendary Ferrari star.

All Schumacher needed at Suzuka was a P7 finish, and while he eventually came home in eighth, Raikkonen was denied victory by Barrichello, who once again proved to be Schumacher’s best teammate.

Brawn spoke to the press, via Autosport, about Schumacher’s 50th win for Ferrari at Monza, where he broke the average speed record and explained: “This weekend was classic Michael Schumacher. We’ve been off-balance for a few races, but today we did the job with no mistakes.

“It’s been pretty stressful recently, so to win is unbelievable. We’ve got a big job ahead, and it’s going to be tough.

“Rubens has been quicker than him in the last few races, and he has been using his tyres in a different way.

“Michael has been able to understand this, and together we have got all the little bits right this weekend.”