System One icon David Coulthard make clear his fascinating relationship with Michael Schumacher regardless of the pair racing for rival groups, with one act of kindness summing up the duo
David Coulthard has revealed the sort gesture that Michael Schumacher as soon as made as a logo of their mutual respect. Coulthard was nonetheless in his debut season with McLaren in 1996, whereas Schumacher had simply begun what would turn out to be a legendary stint with Ferrari.
On the Monaco Grand Prix that yr, Coulthard encountered an issue the place his helmets saved fogging up. “Within the warm-up, I simply could not see. My helmet on the time didn’t have the double visor which helped with fogging,” Coulthard recalled on the Making of a Legend documentary.
And so he took the daring step to ask his rival, Schumacher, if he might borrow his helmet. Regardless of the weird request, the Ferrari ace was fast to help, lending Coulthard his helmet, which finally contributed to his second-place end in a chaotic race that noticed 15 of the 22 drivers retire or fail to begin, together with Schumacher.
Now, Coulthard, 53, has revealed that the German racing legend went one step additional by permitting him to maintain the borrowed helmet — a token of their friendship and respect for one another regardless of their rising rivalry.
Coulthard opened up concerning the story throughout a dialog together with his co-host Eddie Jordan on the newest episode of the podcast System For Success. The episode was launched on the identical day (Thursday) because the announcement of Jordan’s loss of life, on the age of 76, after a courageous battle towards prostate most cancers.
“I requested Michael if I might hold it and he stated sure after which that helmet travelled with my dad and mom again to Scotland,” Coulthard recalled. “Michael, regardless of all of the instances we disagreed and fell out, he was a great off-track pal.
“It confirmed the respect I really feel he had for my efforts, the actual fact he was ready to not solely lend me a helmet however let me hold it afterwards.”
His friendship with Schumacher was uncommon given their historical past of stress on the observe. In 1998, they had been concerned in a significant crash at first of the race on the Belgian Grand Prix in Spa.
The 2 exchanged heated phrases from a distance, with Schumacher famously marching down the paddock to confront Coulthard, solely to be held again. However Coulthard says they “kissed and made up” after the “unlucky blip” of their relationship.
He additionally expanded on the story of the now well-known Marlboro branded helmet, saying: “I do nonetheless have the helmet. Any individual who offers in memorabilia reached out to me to ask me to signal that very helmet as a result of he was promoting it.
“I stated I feel you’ll discover that the helmet that you simply suppose you’re promoting will not be the unique. The helmet’s with my dad and mom and I received an image of my father holding it.
“Any individual out there was creating replicas of the unique and attempting to flog it, which is a bit disappointing. I can guarantee you that the unique went off my head, into my coach’s palms and again to Scotland.”
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