Michael Schumacher once learned a clever trick at Le Mans that he used against his Formula 1 rivals

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Michael Schumacher is one of Formula 1’s greatest drivers, but it is little known that he got his big motorsport break in sports cars before making his debut at the pinnacle of single-seaters.

Racing for Mercedes in their Group C sports car team that was run in conjunction with Sauber, Schumacher would become a full-time member of the Silver Arrows way back in 1991 before his return to F1 in 2010 with the German outfit.

Driving the legendary Mercedes C11 in the championship, Schumacher would go on to have his one and only shot at Le Mans later that year.

Lining up 11th, 12th, and 13th in the race after qualifying, Mercedes quickly established themselves in the race, with Schumacher leading. After a spin from teammate Karl Wendlinger, the Mercedes lost time in the pits, but they were later able to climb back up to fifth place in the final hours.

They finished seven laps down on the winning Mazda, which was an impressive feat after all of their lost time in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, most of which was credited to Schumacher’s impressive night stint.

Michael Schumacher credits sports car Le Mans stint with helping him adapt his driving style

Mercedes would go on to withdraw from sports car racing at the end of 1991, and Schumacher would eventually land a seat at Jordan in F1.

After impressing in his first outing at Spa Francorchamps, with team owner Eddie Jordan calling Schumacher a ‘wonder of the world’ after his debut test, he would later drive for Benetton.

It was there that Schumacher’s historic run to seven world titles would begin, with him crediting his success in part to his driving in sports cars and Le Mans, according to Autosport.

“My experience in Group C sports cars helped me because I learned a lot of ways of running differently, of changing my driving style, usually to save fuel. I used that same driving style today and it certainly helped me a lot,” said Schumacher.

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

Michael Schumacher sets Le Mans lap record in 1991 race

During the night stint, Schumacher would go on to set the fastest lap of the entire 1991 Le Mans race at 3 minutes and 35.564s.

The lap was two seconds quicker than every other car and only three tenths slower than Wendlinger’s qualifying lap, which was set during the run up to the race during the week.

It would go on to be beaten the following year by Jan Lammers in the Toyota TS010 by a further three seconds, demonstrating the rate of development year-on-year during that period.

For Schumacher, it would be the one and only time that he competed in Le Mans and very nearly conquered with Mercedes.