When Jean Todt risked getting fired by Ferrari and Michael Schumacher intervened. Jean Todt recalls the early years when he became the director of Ferrari .

The duo formed by Jean Todt and Michael Schumacher is now synonymous with a winning Ferrari, an undisputed domination for the Scuderia, winning everything in Formula 1 between 2000 and 2005.

Yet, the beginning was not easy. It took years for the Maranello team to finally become perfect, a winning team.

For Jean Todt, one of the most famous and influential figures in Formula 1 history, things didn’t always go well.

In a lengthy interview with the Italian newspaper La Stampa, the French sports executive recalls the early years when he became the director of the Gestione Sportiva at Ferrari.

The year 1996 was “disastrous,” Todt recounts, to the extent that “there was much talk of my dismissal.” In that year, Schumacher, a two-time world champion, made his debut at the wheel of the Red car.

Despite precarious results, the German saw a long-term vision in the project. “Michael had just arrived and saw that my plan was right,” Todt continues. And he recalls, “The people who were about to arrive and with whom I secretly negotiated corresponded to our project.”

For this reason, Michael Schumacher stepped in at the top levels to make it clear: “If Todt leaves, I’m leaving too,” Jean Todt tells La Stampa. And so it was. “He stopped those who thought of firing me.”

An unbreakable bond

Since then, an unbreakable bond has been formed between Jean Todt and Michael Schumacher, lasting for years and continuing to this day. The former Ferrari team principal also had to protect the 7-time world champion.

The occasion was in 1997, at the Jerez Grand Prix. Michael Schumacher was racing for the title and made a big mistake in the final race of the championship. “The first time in 1997 was a Michael s…t,” reports Jean Todt, mentioning the on-track clash with Jacques Villeneuve. “On that occasion, we protected him a lot.”

After years of suffering and tension, Ferrari finally clinches the title in 2000. “The embrace with Michael on the podium is the happiest sporting moment of my life. We finally achieved the goal we set in 1993.”