Ferrari signed Michael Schumacher shortly before he sealed his second consecutive world championship. Despite romping to the title, he agreed to leave Benetton.
In the 10-points-per-win era, Schumacher scored 102, and nearest challenger Damon Hill only managed 69. It was far more comfortable than it had been the previous year, when the two drivers battled until the infamous finale in Australia.
Why did Schumacher leave a team where he’d achieved so much success? His first title win had been marred not only by the events in Adelaide, where he controversially collided with Hill, but also by accusations that Benetton were using an illegal launch control system.
| CATEGORY | VOL. |
| Titles | 2 |
| Races | 68 |
| Wins | 19 |
| Poles | 10 |
| Podiums | 38 |
This, combined with the unique allure of Ferrari, persuaded him to move. The Scuderia had only won one race in 1995 (through Jean Alesi) and finished third in the championship, so Schumacher was taking a risk.
Ferrari vehemently denied Michael Schumacher rumours in 1995
Amid persistent rumours about Schumacher’s arrival, Ferrari issued a remarkable press release in the summer of 1995. As James Allen recalled on a recent episode of his self-titled podcast, they called the speculation ‘completely and utterly false’.
But it was only around a month later that Schumacher was unveiled as a Ferrari driver. He made his debut for the team in a test at Estoril that November.
There were negotiating tactics at play from both sides, with Schumacher trying to extract the best possible offer and Ferrari clearly choosing to disguise their interest. They ended up replacing both Alesi and Gerhard Berger as Eddie Irvine joined from Jordan.
“I’ve got a press release upstairs pinned to my wall, which is one of my favourites,” Allen said.
“It was issued in the summer of 1995, and it said, ‘Ferrari would like to repeat, for the umpteenth time and with the maximum clarity, that all rumours relating to the driver Michael Schumacher coming to Ferrari are completely and utterly false’.
“And then about a month later, he was announced as a Ferrari driver!”
Who had the most dominant season – Michael Schumacher or Max Verstappen?
Schumacher needed time to turn Ferrari into a juggernaut. He finished third in his debut season and was thrown out of the 1997 championship after the stewards ruled that he’d deliberately collided with title rival Jacques Villeneuve at the season finale.
The next two titles went to Mika Hakkinen, with Schumacher’s 1999 hopes ruined by a broken leg. But he finally triumphed in 2000 to end the team’s 21-year drought.
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That launched a run of five straight crowns, the only time in the sport’s history this has been achieved. The fifth and final triumph in 2004 was the most dominant as he won 13 out of 18 races.
But Max Verstappen eclipsed Schumacher in 2023 with a remarkable 19 victories from 22. Many see the Red Bull superstar as the second coming of Die Regenmeister.