Schumacher ’94 – The Birth of a Legend will premiere globally on October 2 and centre entirely on the German’s breakthrough 1994 campaign with Benetton.
The trailer was shown publicly for the first time during the Italian Grand Prix weekend at Monza before being released online, with Schumacher’s long-time manager Sabine Kehm and executive producer Janek Romero attending the screening.
Rather than revisiting Schumacher’s entire Formula 1 career, the documentary will examine the year in which the then 25-year-old emerged as the sport’s newest world champion and became a national phenomenon in Germany.
Schumacher opened the season with victory in Brazil and went on to win eight races before eventually defeating Williams rival Damon Hill by a single championship point.
The title was settled amid controversy at the season finale in Adelaide, where Schumacher and Hill collided while fighting for the championship, forcing both drivers out of the race.
However, the documentary will also explore the wider turmoil surrounding one of Formula 1’s most dramatic seasons.
The deaths of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna during the San Marino Grand Prix weekend at Imola cast a shadow over the championship, while Schumacher and Benetton became embroiled in several sporting and technical controversies as the year unfolded.
Netflix’s trailer combines archive footage from the season with new interviews from figures who were close to Schumacher during his rise.
His wife Corinna Schumacher is set to feature prominently, offering an insight into both their relationship at the time and the private personality behind the increasingly famous driver.
“Not many people know Michael the way I know him,” she says in the trailer.
Reflecting on the significance of 1994, Corinna adds: “That was the beginning – the beginning of something great.”
Former Benetton team principal Flavio Briatore and ex-Formula 1 chief Bernie Ecclestone are among those interviewed for the film, alongside David Coulthard and Schumacher’s former manager Willi Weber.
Kehm said revisiting the season had inevitably brought back strong memories, particularly given the mixture of Schumacher’s success and the tragedies that unfolded during the year.
“Looking back naturally stirs up emotions,” Kehm said.
“But for me – and for Corinna too – the joy outweighs everything else, because ultimately it’s a story with a happy ending.”
Kehm said Schumacher’s first championship also represented the point at which his profile expanded far beyond the Formula 1 paddock.
“Because it was the season in which he drove his way into the living rooms and hearts of the world.”
Directed by Christin Freitag and produced by LEONINE Documentaries, the project will become Netflix’s second major film centred on Schumacher after the 2021 documentary, Schumacher.
An unrelated drama film is also set to be released on the German, with the independent production The Kaiser also in production.