'If he leaves, I will too' - How Schumacher’s loyalty saved Todt at Ferrari

10 years on from Michael Schumacher’s tragic skiing accident, Jean Todt has detailed how the German’s loyalty kept him in the top job at Ferrari before their historic success together.

Connor McDonagh

29 Dec 2023

The Todt-Schumacher partnership resulted in an unprecedented period of dominance for Ferrari as they reigned supreme in F1 between 2000 and 2004.

But it wasn’t always plain-sailing…

After two world championship triumphs at Benetton, Schumacher made the move to Ferrari for 1996.

At this point, Ferrari hadn’t won the constructors’ title since 1983 having been beaten by McLaren and Williams during the subsequent years.

Todt had been at the team since 1993 - and the pressure was starting to build.

Again in 1996, Williams were the team to beat as Damon Hill went head-to-head with rookie teammate Jacques Villenueve for the title.

Ferrari - similar to Red Bull in Mercedes’ dominant years in the hybrid era - could only settle for podiums, relying on the brilliance of Schumacher.

Schumacher showed why he was the class of the field with his iconic, wet weather victory at the 1996 Spanish Grand Prix - but they were no closer to challenging Williams on raw pace.

As seen over the years, the top job at Ferrari is probably the toughest in F1, with Todt’s leadership coming into question.

In a recent interview with La Stampa, Todt revealed that Schumacher’s loyalty was the reason he remained in charge despite the team not challenging for world championships.

“The situation was disastrous at the beginning,” he said. “In '96 there was a lot of talk about my dismissal. Michael had just arrived and saw that my plan was right, the people who were about to arrive and with whom I was dealing in secret corresponded to our plan. This is why he intervened and said: “If Todt leaves, I'll leave too”.”

Schumacher’s loyalty in Todt paid off as alongside Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne, Ferrari’s success soon followed.

Schumacher missed out on the 1997 title to Villenueve after a controversial finale, while McLaren and Mika Hakkinen came out on top in the subsequent years.

“The first one in 1997 was Michael's bullshit,” Todt added. “On that occasion we protected him a lot. In '98 there was the scandalous behaviour of Coulthard, who at Spa in the rain braked in front of him to get rear-ended and stop him.

“In '99 Michael broke his leg in an accident. When he returned, he helped Irvine.

“Even if he had given up the position in the last race, the title would still have gone to Hakkinen. But first place among the constructors came."

The drought for Ferrari finally ended in 2000 as Schumacher secured his third world title.

Todt described it as his “happiest sporting moment”.

“In 2000 we win,” he concluded. “The hug with Michael on the podium is the happiest sporting moment of my life. We have finally achieved the goal we set ourselves in 1993.”