Michael Schumacher admitted today in Turkey that a part of his heart will always remain connected to the Ferrari team which bought him much of his success.
The German’s emotional words came as Ferrari celebrate their 800th grand prix with some special anniversary stickers which are visible on their engine cover.
Schumacher drove for the team between 1996 and 2006 and won five titles in a row with them.
“When you are part of a community for fourteen years it inevitably has an effect on you.
“I will always have a part of Ferrari inside me; a part of my heart will always be red. The Scuderia has a really special way of going about its business and it is quite right to speak of itself as a family – a family that I have long felt part of.
“The time I spent with Ferrari was wonderful, I made friends and had experiences that I would not want to be without.
“Concepts that I had never contemplated before my time at Ferrari came to life for me there: legend, culture and history. All of that meant nothing to me before I joined the team; I had never concerned myself with it or even known about it.
“Once I experienced at first hand the significance that Ferrari has for Italy and the tifosi, only then did I grasp that these concepts were well justified. That they originate in a passion for engines and cars, both among those who build them, as well as among those who admire them.
“I am certainly not a man prone to lyrical expressions, but I now fully understand this passion – my greatest passion is racing, and in that we, myself and Ferrari, are very much the same.”
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