"Put it this way, I don't see gentlemen's agreements, there's rules": When Michael Schumacher shared his philosophy for wheel to wheel racing

Speaking in 2006, Michael Schumacher shared his philosophy of how he goes racing, claiming that F1 only has rules and no gentlemen's agreements. The 7x world champion also added that he goes to the limit of those rules to get the most out of a race.

2006 turned out to be Michael Schumacher's last year with Ferrari as the legendary German driver decided to retire from F1 at the end of that season. This was the end of the most successful F1 career at the time, which included seven world championships, 91 race wins, and numerous controversies.

Throughout his career, questions were raised about Schumacher's driving style. During an interview with Autoweek in his final year at Ferrari, he was asked about getting a bad rep for being aggressive on track.

Schumacher gave a reply which reflected his philosophy for F1 and wheel-to-wheel racing.

"Put it this way, I don't see gentlemen's agreements, there's rules. And you absolutely, as on the engineering side, you go to the limit of those rules. If you want to be competitive, that's what you do," said Schumacher.

As it turned out, Michael Schumacher returned to F1 in 2010, reuniting with Ross Brawn at Mercedes. The German team had made their comeback as a constructor in F1, with an all-German driver lineup of Schumacher and Nico Rosberg.

After spending three seasons at the Silver Arrows, Schumacher retired from F1 in 2012 for the second and final time. He was replaced by a certain Lewis Hamilton, who went on to break his record of most wins and poles in F1 and equal his tally of seven world titles during his time at Mercedes.

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When Michael Schumacher gave a straightforward reply when asked what road car he drives

Michael Schumacher at the 2006 Italian Grand Prix - Source: Getty

During the same interview in 2006, Michael Schumacher was asked what road cars he was driving in those days. The legend gave a straightforward but hilarious reply, explaining how he was "surprisingly" driving a Ferrari.

"Which road cars do you drive now?," asked the interviewer.

"Surprisingly, Ferraris," Schumacher replied.

Schumacher then revealed that he was currently driving the legendary Ferrari F430. He also mentioned that he did "serious testing" with the Ferrari 599, which had been launched in 2006 originally.

The veteran then shared that he also owns a Fiat Multipla, which is his family car. He also revealed that Piero Ferrari gifted him a red Fiat 500 when he heard that it was the driver's first ever car.

Schumacher formed one of the most successful partnerships with Ferrari, having joined them originally in 1996. It took him five seasons to win his first title with the Scuderia, but once he started, he didn't look like stopping.

Schumacher claimed five world titles in a row from 2000 to 2005, which is still a record to this day. The Italian team had not won a driver's title since 1979 and a constructors' title since 1983 before Schumacher came in and helped break the drought.