Ex-Ferrari boss mourns: Schumacher's "terrible day"

Exactly ten years ago, Michael Schumacher was seriously injured in a skiing accident and long-time Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo is still mourning the loss of his former driver. In an interview, he talks about the difficult times and pays tribute to Schumacher's racing skills.

Long-time Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo remembers the day of Michael Schumacher's skiing accident ten years ago with sadness. "The less I talk about it, the better I feel, because it was a terrible day," said Montezemolo in an interview with the Italian sports daily "Gazzetta dello Sport". At first, he did not have a clear idea of what had happened: "After a few minutes, the news became clearer and we were very worried."

Schumacher had suffered serious head injuries in a skiing accident on December 29, 2013. Since then, the record Formula 1 world champion has disappeared from the public eye. Montezemolo now paid tribute to Schumacher's courage and his "great temperament. You must not forget that the cars of that time were more difficult than those of today, where there are so many electronics. For me, he was the best racing driver ever."

In Montezemolo's eyes, Schumacher's wife Corinna is "an exceptional wife, I always respected her because she was one of those women who stood two meters behind her husband. And then I appreciate her courage and her commitment to protecting the privacy of a man who is not doing well."

Schumacher "exceptional in the race"

According to Montezemolo, he was disappointed that Ferrari did not use Michael Schumacher's son Mick "as the third driver, he would have been perfect. He is a very serious guy, first class like his sister," said Montezemolo. Gina Schumacher is determined and is one of the best in the sport.

At Ferrari, Montezemolo had also worked alongside Schumacher with Niki Lauda, who died in 2019. "They were the two drivers with whom I had the closest human relationship," said Montezemolo: "They had two things in common: a great sense of teamwork, we all won or lost together. And an incredible attention to detail."

Compared to Lauda, Schumacher was "exceptional in the race": "He was able to drive 70 laps of a GP as if they were 70 qualifying laps. And he was the first to pay great attention to physical preparation. He was an athlete who needed to feel the support and warmth of everyone around him in order to give his best."

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Source: www.ntv.de

Ex-Ferrari boss mourns: Schumacher's "terrible day"