"I just remembered how busy it was": Mercedes insider on the impact of Michael Schumacher joining the team

Mercedes insiders Andrew Shovlin and Peter Bonnington touched upon how Michael Schumacher's addition to the team 'changed things overnight.' Speaking about it in a recent video by the Silver Arrows, the two Mercedes engineers recalled how "busy" everything became all of a sudden as the seven-time world champion joined the German team.

Schumacher is one of the most successful F1 drivers on the planet. With seven titles, 91 wins, 155 podiums, and numerous F1 accolades, the former German driver was a jewel that any team wanted to have.

Even though Schumacher retired from F1 at the end of 2006, he decided to rejoin F1 with Mercedes, which was newly rebranded from Brawn GP in 2010. The man from Hurth, Germany, returned to race alongside Nico Rosberg and stayed on the team until 2012.

Schumacher's return to F1 was celebrated across the horizon, especially within the F1 fraternity. However, at Mercedes, things got 'busier,' and everyone on the team witnessed the beginning of a new dawn. Speaking about this, here's what Shovlin, the trackside engineering director at Mercedes, said:

"When he first turned up, when you were performance engineer for Jenson, I was race engineer, and then suddenly Michael turned up. I just remember how busy it was. When you ended up with this big job list." "He'd write down all the things, we needed to do overnight, and constantly getting us to do analysis during the runs, trying different things. It was good because it's certainly a big part of the team that it became. But yeah, it was fascinating to see how different he was to any other driver," Shovlin further added.

Michael Schumacher raced for three back-to-back seasons from 2010 to 2012. He left the team after the Silver Arrows signed Lewis Hamilton from McLaren, who was set to arrive in 2013.

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Mercedes race engineer unravels how Michael Schumacher's arrival started a new way of working

Mercedes race engineer Peter Bonnington shared his take on Michael Schumacher's arrival at the team and revealed how the German former driver changed things at Brackley.

Speaking about this, he said:

Michael Schumacher of Germany and Mercedes GP drives during qualifying for the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix in 2012 - Source: Getty

"Yeah, it sort of shifted the way that we work. And then that in turn taught Nico a new way of working. And I think that sort of rolled on with the drivers. I think every time a new driver arrives, part of that legacy just still lives on, and there's this work ethic that just keeps rolling on."

Michael Schumacher had a long-lasting effect on Mercedes. So much so that Toto Wolff, the team principal of the Silver Arrows, once called him the founding father of the team.

Edited by Tushhita Barua