Ferrari: Mattia Binotto, fond thoughts for Michael Schumacher

Former Ferrari team principal: “He was an extraordinary driver who changed the mentality of the team.”

Former Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto on the sidelines of an event at the Panathlon Club of Parma spoke about his close relationship with Michael Schumacher in Maranello’s heyday in the early 2000s.

“Michael was an extraordinary driver who gave us so much. Extraordinary because of the victories, because of who he was, because of generosity, because of his charisma, because of his ability to be a leader. I think Michael Schumacher’s mentality stayed with Ferrari even when he left, in the following years. I carry that with me.”

“As team principal, I tried to reconnect with the management of the time,” Binotto confessed. “At the time, however, we were constantly racing and testing, spending 210 days a year on the track. I spent more time with Michael Schumacher than with my family.”