“I suddenly felt my heart beat slowing and then completely stopping": When Michael Schumacher recounted the horrific experience of his 1999 crash 

Speaking during an interview in 2005, Michael Schumacher recalled the horrific experience he suffered in the aftermath of his 1999 British Grand Prix crash when he was driving for Ferrari. The German legend explained how he could feel his heartbeat slowing down before eventually "completely stopping".

During the 1999 British GP, Michael Schumacher suffered the most brutal accident of his F1 career when the brakes on his Ferrari failed going into the high-speed Stowe corner. This resulted in the driver going headfirst into the barriers at almost full pelt. Schumacher ended up breaking his leg, but was lucky not to have suffered an even worse fate.

The 7x world champion recalled what he felt after his near-death experience at Silverstone during an interview with German broadcaster ZDF in 2005.

"I suddenly felt my heart beat slowing and then completely stopping. The lights went out,” Schumacher said.

"Then I thought, 'Ah, that’s the way you feel probably when you are on the way up.' I only know that my heart stopped beating, at least the way I felt," he added.

Schumacher missed the next six races of the 1999 season, ending any hopes of a title charge against reigning world champion Mika Hakkinen. He then returned for the final two races of the season at Malaysia and Japan, finishing second in both Grands Prix.

But there was no looking back for the Ferrari driver post the 1999 season, as he went on to claim the next five world championships on the trot to create a record which remains unbroken to this day. He then retired at the end of the 2006 season as the most successful pilot in F1 history at the time.

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When Michael Schumacher's Ferrari replacement reflected on giving up his maiden F1 victory for Eddie Irvine

Ferrari's Eddie Irvine and Michael Schumacher - Source: Getty

Michael Schumacher's Ferrari replacement after his crash in 1999, Mika Salo, was on the verge of claiming his maiden victory at the German GP before the team asked him to give up the top spot for teammate Eddie Irvine. The Finnish driver recalled that he simply felt that it was his job to do that for the team, and he does not look back at the incident with any regret.

Salo spoke about the incident during an interview with the F1 website, explaining what he felt about it in 2018.

"People say it must have been frustrating for me, but I didn’t think of it that way at that time," he said.

"I just thought that’s my job, so it’s okay. That’s how it was. It’s a team sport," he added.

During the 1999 German GP, championship leader Mika Hakkinen had to retire as his rear left tire exploded, eventually leaving Salo in P1 and Irvine in P2. Since the latter was still competing for the world championship against Hakkinen, Ferrari made the call to Salo, asking him to swap positions with the Briton.