“Winning with the worst equipment”

Michael Schumacher came from a modest upbringing, so he and his father Rolf had to be inventive in order to be able to compete in karting in the beginning of the 1980’s.

In an interview, a few years ago, Michael remembered: “We always used the cheapest equipment available. I fished discarded tires out of the bin, put them on my go-kart, and won races with them.”

The 7-time world champion continued: “I was always glad to have won with the worst and not the best equipment. Having to really fight like that was an additional motivation for me.”

When you remember some races won by Michael Schumacher in F1 with inferior equipment, like for instance the 1996 Spanish Grand Prix in the rain, where in his Ferrari he dominated the entire field, you can conclude that these difficult karting years were good experiences, after all.