The word that changed the history of Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher became the star of an MD report a few weeks ago for his unusual arrival in F1, with an incredible debut with Jordan in Belgium 1991 (Eng) is taking advantage of having a free seat on that team because one of its drivers is in jail for a fight with a taxi driver. But there is more. It is important to note what happened next, as it relates to the legal trouble the young man found himself in Oscar Piastri with Alpine. Alpine announced it would promote the Australian to F1 in 2023 and moments later, the talent said he would not be racing for Alpine next year, without revealing that he actually had a deal with McLaren. That legal battle was finally settled by Formula 1 Contract Recognition Board (CRB)entity created by the controversial case starring these lines.

Michael shone at Spa 1991 with Jordan with an amazing 7th qualifying position. Everyone at the grill knew this wasn’t normal. They know a star is born. But there were people who focused on him before. His agent, Willi Weber, played a key role in a major roguery. Jordan wants Michael to sign a letter of intent as a requirement to run the Spa date. In it, he wanted to get Schumacher’s commitment to compete with Jordan for three seasons. However, Willi, when he received the letter, changed the story by changing one word.

A seemingly normal change

The first phrase that appeared in the pre-contract was: “Next week he will sign the contract.” became: “will sign a contract”. It didn’t seem like a big change, but days later, it became major, because Schumacher signed “a contract”, but not with Jordan. He signed it to Benneton. That small change meant that Michael could put his signature on a document that would link him to another team.

Flavio Briatore, as smart as some others, while Michael is showing off at Spa, is already talking to Willi Weber to convince him to join his team, from the front of the grid, also reminding him that Jordan is not in an easy situation. The offer is very tempting and the Italian will take the rising star.

The Flavio Briatore Maneuver

Although the story does not end here. There was one more complication to deal with for Michael to drive for Benneton. Only then does the roguery of the Italian leader appear. Benneton already has two drivers under contract: Nelson Piquet and fellow Brazilian Roberto Moreno. What can I do? His first proposal to Moreno was to pay his salary until the end of the course and compensation for leaving him without a steering wheel from now on.

“I only have one problem: Moreno. I spoke to him that week and said, ‘These are your last two races. Next year, you won’t be running with us. I will pay your salary until the end. And I’ll give you extra if you leave now.’ He told me he had to check on his wife. Then he called me to tell me no”, Flavio revealed in 2020 on the official F1 podcast, ‘Beyond The Grid’.

“Moreno’s contract was not well written. Since this is my first, I made a lot of mistakes. The team lawyer told me I had to do it again because the difference between the chassis and the car was not clear.. That is, Moreno’s text ensured the “chassis” but never drove the car. “At Monza, I told the judge that the contract was about the chassis and not about the car. When Moreno started to understand it, we agreed and Michael keeps the wheel”. Moreno passed Jordan to replace Michael. For his part, a young Schumacher would race in his place at Benneton from the GP after his debut, at Monza 1991, until 1995. In those years he became a star with two titles achieved (1994, 1995 ).

different versions

“We didn’t take it away from Jordan,” Briatore added. “We didn’t steal from him because he didn’t have a contract with Jordan. He only has it for one race.”

“Back then, we were looking for a young driver because we didn’t have the money to sign Senna or Prost. My idea is to find a very good and young driver, the future Prost, the future Senna, the future Berger, and develop it within the group. Piquet is at the end of his career and Moreno is not good enough to compete in F1.”

“Jordan doesn’t have a contract with Schumacher. It’s very simple: one race, and Jordan expects $300,000 or $400,000 from the sponsor TicTac. In the contract with Michael it says ‘either you find the money or our contract is void’. I gave the money to Willi Weber and told him: ‘I will pay you to run with us, I don’t want money from your sponsor. I’ll pay you 400,000 and send the money to Eddie Jordan’. Then we went to Monza and he didn’t have a contract. We didn’t talk to Eddie, and he protested that he had a contract, but that’s not the case,” he explained.

For his part, Jordan maintained that it was all Bernie Ecclestone’s business, then F1 boss: “He was the one who motivated and orchestrated everything, regardless of what others say.”

“Bernie realized the German interest in F1 when he saw the results of the Belgian GP. It got an additional 20,000 viewers. That’s where the idea of ​​having a German driver on the grid ended. So he called Flavio and told him to put it’s in one of his Benetton cars,” he said.