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Michael Schumacher is considered by many to be the GOAT in F1. The driver was a true once-in-a-lifetime talent and dominated the sport like no one else before him.
He held most of the F1 records when he retired. He had the most wins, the most pole positions, the most championships, and the list goes on. However, there was something else that the German did in his career that arguably saved Felipe Massa's career.
It all happened in the 2006 F1 season when Schumacher was in an intense title battle with Fernando Alonso. At the time, Felipe Massa was in his first season at Ferrari and had replaced fellow Brazilian Rubens Barrichello.
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So now that we've set the stage, let's see what happens and how Michael Schumacher saved Felipe Massa's career at Ferrari.
Ferrari signed Kimi Raikkonen for the 2007 F1 season
At the time, Michael Schumacher was already a seven-time world champion and had every record in the book to his name. He was in his late 30s and like any other sporting entity, Ferrari was looking for a succession plan.
The team had started looking for a driver that would succeed the German when either his performance drops off or he retires. On the grid at the time, there were only two drivers that stood out more than anyone else and had gone toe-to-toe with Schumacher on the track.
The first was reigning F1 champion Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard was fresh off the back of a successful campaign in 2005, when he was able to manage his more reliable Renault and become the youngest F1 world champion.
However, the Spaniard was already McLaren-bound as Alonso had signed an agreement with Ron Dennis. On the other hand, there was Kimi Raikkonen. The Finnish driver was someone Ferrari had set their sights on since his debut with Sauber in 2001.
Raikkonen was also a two-time runner-up in the championship and had shown blistering pace throughout his career. Even though Alonso won the title in 2005, in the eyes of many, Raikkonen was the benchmark on the grid that season. By 2006, Ferrari had set their sights on the future and made the decision to sign the Finn for the 2007 F1 season.
Felipe Massa's first season was good but not great
Ferrari's line-up in 2006 featured Felipe Massa and Michael Schumacher. With Kimi Raikkonen signed up for one of the seats, it meant that one of the two current drivers was going to sit out in 2007.
Ferrari's initial plans included creating a super team with Schumacher and Raikkonen teaming up. Massa was going to be the reserve driver or even get dropped from the program altogether.
One of the reasons behind that was the fact that the Brazilian's first season, although pretty good, did not make him undeniable. He showed that on occasion he could compete with Schumacher over a single lap but was a bit error-prone and made too many mistakes.
Massa had shown in Turkey that if given the right car, he could certainly win but those results did not come often for him. For Ferrari, Massa did not belong in the same league as Raikkonen or Schumacher and hence was looked at as replaceable.
Michael Schumacher made the final call
Although initially, the concerns were certainly around the future of Felipe Massa, Michael Schumacher too did not take the news well. This was a clear sign of Ferrari shifting allegiance after a decade-long partnership.
When Schumacher joined the team in 1996, one of the conditions that he had set was the fact that he was going to be the team's lead driver. The entire team was going to be modeled around him with the singular aim of winning championships.
This condition has helped Ferrari become successful. The team went on to win five titles on the trot and had the best run of any team at the time. With Kimi Raikkonen's arrival, the tides were turning at Ferrari, and Michael Schumacher took the signing as a harbinger of what was to come in the future.
He did not want to find himself in a situation where he was fighting for superiority against Raikkonen on the same team. Nor was he going to put himself in a situation where his leadership at Ferrari was going to be challenged.
Looking at the winds of change that had been set in motion, Michael Schumacher, at the age of 37, decided to announce his retirement from the sport and clearing the parh for Felipe Massa to keep his seat at Ferrari.
This decision, made by the German keeping the changing ecosystem in mind, helped save Massa's career.
The Brazilian, on his part, was able to prove himself as a Ferrari driver in the coming years. He had a strong 2007 F1 season where Kimi Raikkonen won the title and then almost won the title in 2008.
