Michael Schumacher’s 21-year Formula 1 career saw him race for just four separate teams. He was always a very loyal driver.
The first of those was Jordan, who he was only with for one race before joining Benetton. The German burst onto the scene at the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix, and the entire paddock took notice.
One year after making his Formula 1 debut in 1992, he would return to Spa to take the first of 91 victories across a 14-year span.
Schumacher was a raw talent in his early days, but it was evident that he was capable of mixing with some of the bigger names in the sport, particularly in 1993 when he started to reach the podium frequently.
Martin Brundle once overlooked Schumacher when asked who his favourite teammate of all time was. The two were at Benetton together back in 1992.
Even Schumacher was once ‘at risk’ of being fired at Ferrari before going on his historic run with them. Before joining Ferrari, he had some interesting contract tales.
Photo by Bongarts/Getty ImagesWhy Michael Schumacher once paid £750,000 to see Riccardo Patrese’s Benetton F1 contract
Schumacher learned a clever trick at Le Mans that he deployed against his rivals later in his career, after spending time in sports cars before graduating to the top.
His driving style worked very well in all sorts of cars, and by 1993, he was being paid £1.5 million per year to drive for Benetton.
However, he had a clause in his deal which stated that only three drivers could be paid more than him if they were teammates – Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell.
His partner-in-crime for 1993 was Riccardo Patrese, and after McLaren had talks with the Italian over a drive and found out what his wage was, they told Schumacher in the hope that they could secure him.
It didn’t do what they had hoped, as the seven-time champion learned that, after sponsorship contributions, his teammate was paid more. He then paid Patrese £750,000 to confirm the matter.
His relations had already broken down with the team, and he had no reason not to comply with Schumacher, who went straight to Flavio Briatore after confirming the breach. He was handed a new, much more lucrative deal almost immediately.
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What happened to Riccardo Patrese after the 1993 Formula 1 season?
At the age of 39, 1993 actually ended up being Patrese’s last season in Formula 1. Just one year prior, he had finished second in the standings behind Mansell at Williams.
But, after making the switch to Benetton, he found it hard to get on well with team boss Briatore, as well as their car for that year. He had been used to some dominant Williams machines.
Ligier offered him a full-time drive for 1994, but he actually rejected it because he didn’t want to take another step down. He retired, but was offered a route back the following year.
Following Senna’s tragic passing, Williams offered him a drive, but he remained untempted by a return. He competed in the Super Tourenwagen Cup in 1995, and that was the end of any full-time racing for him.
A 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans appearance would net him a retirement, and the next time he would be behind the wheel was in 2005, during the Grand Prix Masters championship, set up for retired drivers.