The Michael Schumacher documentary which since yesterday has been available on Netflix is a perfect image of the Formula 1 that we knew, which made us passionate and that we have probably lost today. The story begins from the time when the Kaiser raced for Mercedes in the world sports prototypes, and then made his debut with Jordan at Spa in 1991. Later the epic story of his time at Benetton is told, with the two titles won alongside Flavio Briatore’s team. The second part focuses on the arrival in Ferrari, where the first few years were quite painful, only for Michael and Ferrari to bounce back and together achieve incredible results.
The ending is moving, where mention is made of the terrible accident in the French Alps resort of Meribel on 29 December 2013, the day in which Schummy’s life changed forever. The story is articulated through the words of personalities and journalists from the racing world of the caliber of Mika Hakkinen, Damon Hill, David Coulthard, his brother Ralf and the commentators of the time, passing through Ross Brawn and Jean Todt. A lot of space is reserved for his wife Corinna, who has been looking after him for almost a decade, keeping his health conditions confidential. Exciting stories of those golden Formula 1 years are revealed, in which the challenges between Ferrari, McLaren, Williams and the other top teams exalted the crowds, with single-seaters and tracks that really put the drivers’ lives at risk.
The competition was fierce, with the teams always having to push hard to develop their cars in an attempt to beat their rivals. Characteristic are the images of the early 90s at Eau Rouge, where the single-seaters hitting the asphalt causing numerous sparks, giving a real perception of speed and heroism to be attributed to those amazing drivers behind the wheel of the cars. Mika Hakkinen recounts in detail the rivalry with Michael which had already begun during their karting days, while Damon Hill remembers with a hint of resentment what happened in Adelaide in 1994. The feeling is that thise times were precisely the era of motorsport par excellence, something of inestimable value which now as been lost forever.
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