Sabine Kehm, one of the few insiders who still knows Michael on a regular basis, has given a rare insight into what F1’s most successful driver ever was like behind closed doors. Schumacher, who recently turned 50-years-old, gained a reputation throughout his career as a ruthless, analytical winner who pushed the very limits of possibility in motorsport. However Ms Kehm said behind closed doors Michael was far more relaxed, often seen with a Bacardi Coke in hand while playing football with his friends.
In an interview with Beyond the Grid, Formula One’s official podcast, Ms Kehm said Michael was “privately completely different” to the public’s perception of him.
She said Michael was “very relaxed” and “not so methodical” in his personal life compared with the technical mindset at the wheel of his Formula One cars.
Ms Kehm added he was “one who could enjoy his life, who had a lot of fun and spent a lot of time with friends doing things that he could laugh about afterwards.”
“In his private sphere, he was much slower in everything he did, in Formula One everything had to be done super fast, boom, boom.
“Sometimes we had crazy schedules with two-minute appointments, but privately he was totally different, relaxed.”
Ms Kehm explained fierce title rival Mika Hakkinnen would go home to his pet turtle to help wind down after the blistering races.
However she said: ”Michael had his family. He and Corinna were such a perfect couple, and still are, if you ask me.
“When he came home and the kids were there, Formula One was a distant thought.
“He needed this private time with his family to recharge his batteries.”
However Ms Kehm added some traits learned at the office Michael could not help but bring home with him.
She said even when playing family games Michael would show that he could be a very bad loser.
Ms Kehm laughed: “He clearly had a very ambitious personality.”
Ms Kehm explained it was that side of his personality that inspired his whole career.
She said: “That’s certainly partly due to how Michael got into F1, with his background.”
She added that Michael’s family “never really had any money, and he never dared to dream of one day getting into Formula 1. That was completely unthinkable.”
“That’s how he learned from the start that he had to deliver, even in the kart, he always had to deliver in order to continue to get a cockpit. And this stayed with him.”