Michael Schumacher 'rewrote the history of Formula 1', claims former F1 driver

Former F1 driver Giancarlo Fisichella recently praised Michael Schumacher and talked about how he changed the sport forever. It is no secret that Schumacher is one of the greatest drivers in F1 history, winning seven world championships with Benetton and Ferrari, and dominating the sport from 1994 to 2004. Hence, he was revered by many drivers, even those who raced him during his prime years.

Fisichella praised Schumacher in an interview with Rai Italia, claiming that the German changed the sport forever by consistently dominating it. The Italian also expressed how proud he felt whenever he was ahead of Schumacher in a race. This shows how powerful the seven-time world champion was back then, to the point where drivers felt great to be ahead of him for a few laps. Fisichella said:

"As a colleague, he was an incredible opponent, and he rewrote the history of Formula 1. Having raced with him, he has given me so much, and the few times I came in front made me even more proud because he is a great champion. It is a cruel fate that someone who as a race so often risked his life is badly injured while skiing."

Though Giancarlo Fisichella followed in Michael Schumacher's footsteps and raced with teams like Jordan and Benetton, he never had the German as his teammate. Despite that, the Italian appreciates his time with Schumacher.

In a recent interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, Fisichella even shared how the legendary driver never seemed tired, even after intense on-track sessions. He said:

"Unfortunately, I've never raced in the same team, it would have been useful to see his telemetry, but we shared so many great moments at races and with the drivers' national team. Sometimes he would get out of the car or finish a football match and he didn't even seem to have sweated."

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Daniel Ricciardo shares his positive conversation with Michael Schumacher

Daniel Ricciardo shared a fond conversation he had with Michael Schumacher that drastically boosted his confidence. In the 2012 F1 Japanese GP, Ricciardo was able to finish in the top 10 and prevent Schumacher from overtaking. After the race weekend, the German came up to the young Australian and commended him for his defensive drive.

Speaking to Speedcafe, Ricciardo said:

"I remember he came up and said 'good job last week defending'. That, for me, getting a bit of confirmation from someone like that, at that age, and that point in my career was huge. Maybe he didn't realise at the time what he was doing to me, but he boosted my confidence a lot."

Despite having a poor phase with Mercedes in 2012, Michael Schumacher was considered one of the best drivers on the grid. Hence, the Australian cherishes his conversation with the seven-time world champion to this day.