Eighty-year-old Michael Schumacher is the driver of a famous Ferrari that he drove during the 1997 Formula One season.
The racing icon has the record for the most Formula One victories, having amassed an incredible seven throughout his illustrious tenure in the driver’s seat.
The 1997 season was one of Schumacher’s more contentious ones as a driver since he was disqualified after an altercation with Jacques Villeneuve.
The German driver kept the five race victories he had that year, including the Monaco GP, which he won in a Ferrari 310B. However, he may have lost his second-place Drivers’ Championship finish.
Erich Zech now owns the exact vehicle that he used to win the Monaco podium, having brought it out of retirement.
Car enthusiast Zech told Autosport, following his drive in the renowned Ferrari at a recent event in the Netherlands: “It was phenomenal.” What I loved the most and what touched me was the reaction of the fans.
Being able to exhibit this automobile to others once more is what I like most. My major objective is to recreate the Schumacher experience as closely as possible to the original.”
During his outing in the Ferrari, Zech spared no detail and even wore a helmet that was an identical duplicate of the one that Schumacher was wearing.
However, there was one notable distinction… When Schumacher drove the car, he was in his late 20s, and Zech was 80 years old at the time!
Zech continues, saying, “But that’s special, isn’t it? Not that it bothers him.” Although it’s difficult to drive such a car, I still feel really fit. To drive it, I needed to obtain an official racing license, which required me to clear a health examination. The fact that I am still in such good shape surprised me as well.”
“I started in that car and I drove Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari for the first time in May,” he went on. We had already shown the 310B at Assen last year, although it wasn’t in motion at the time.
It looked like a lot of data had been deleted. Because of Ingo Gerstl’s excellent connections in Italy, the automobile was able to operate in his own workshop for the first time.
Although the narrative of how Zech got to buy the pricey old banger is a bit strange, it is a wonderfully heartwarming account of one motorsports fan who is obsessed with Ferrari.
Thinking back on the transaction, Zech said, “I replied that I would be interested in something similar as well, but not in a car without an engine.