Montezemolo understands Schumacher

Michael Schumacher will come back Formula 1. The more the days pass, the more the certainty strengthens. For several weeks, the clues have been accumulating and the denials are no longer valid. So it?s almost done. All that remains for Michael Schumacher is to pass the medical and sporting tests aimed at assessing his physical abilities to relaunch his career in Formula 1. Luca di Montezemolo, aware of this inevitable rapprochement between Schumi and Mercedes, therefore spoke on the subject.

« The real Schumacher, the one I know, will be part of the family Ferrari forever, I said it at Monza and repeated it in Abu Dhabi », declares Luca di Montezemolo, before continuing with irony. “ But it seems that he has a twin brother, identical in every way, who seems to want to return to racing in Formula 1 with Mercedes. I don't know him personally, but it seems we have nothing to offer him. We have two young drivers, Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso, on whom we are counting a lot for next year. »

« Joking aside, Michael Schumacher's current role revolves around the development of our road cars, continues Montezemolo more seriously. Including the launch phase of the 458 Italia, which is a pure technological product and which owes a lot to the research carried out on Formula 1 cars »

« I think that this summer, when I asked him to replace Felipe (Massa), after his terrible accident in Budapest, he suddenly found the will to race and the fact that he was not able to follow through on that left a void in him, a void that we could not fill. I remember how dejected he was on the evening of August 9, when he called me to say that his neck problem meant he couldn't race in Valencia (European GP, ​​August 23). »

« It is fortunate that, despite the unsporting attitude of some (the team Williams opposed Schumi's F60 test, the 2009 car), we were able to see him drive the 2007 car at Mugello. Otherwise, Michael would not have been fully aware of his condition. We have tried to move forward with the idea of ​​a third car but at the moment it is not possible. I don't know what he will decide for the future but I would like to extend my best wishes to him and his twin brother. »