Binotto: 'Whole circuit had to be adapted for Schumacher'

Schumacher leaves his mark

In 1996 Schumacher came to Maranello as double world champion and he would be part of the masterpiece that would follow. Schumacher worked with the team for years to get to the top and managed to do so. Between 2000 and 2004 Ferrari was barely beaten, but the foundation was laid in 1996.

''I can still remember that first test of his in Fiorano. He didn't manage that first corner and immediately after the test he asked Jean Todt if the corner could be adjusted. He didn't want to see that corner again, because it wasn't the same as a single championship corner. He also managed it, because in 1996 the track was modified," says Mattia Binotto opposite Beyond the Grid.

Ferrari gets a lesson

The times of the tests were also adjusted. Whereas Ferrari employees normally did a quiet installation lap at 9 o'clock and then went on to discuss the day, Michael was ready on the track as early as 8 o'clock. ''Since Michael, that meeting is now always at 8 o'clock," says Ferrari's current team boss. However, it wasn't just the time that was changed.

''In the last hour we would normally be driving with as little fuel as possible for a qualifying run, so the newspapers would write that Michael was the fastest. He asked us why we did that? He wanted 50 kilos in the car all day. That was a huge change for us, but he wanted us to learn something,'' concludes Binotto.