Michael Schumacher made his Formula 1 debut at the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix in a Jordan . The green car that the German drove in that race has been put up for sale by the specialist company in historic cars Speedmaster Cars .
The Jordan 191 with which Michael Schumacher debuted has gone on the market with a price of 1.5 million euros, a car that ” stuns the head ” according to James Hanson, owner of Speedmaster Cars . The Kaiser was released in Belgium to replace Bertrand Gachot , although he had to lie to do so. “He cheated on me, and blatantly. Before the race, I asked him if he had been to the Spa-Francorchamps circuit before. And when you ask a pilot something like that, you don’t mean if he has been there as a tourist. You ask him if he’s been a pilot, racing. He, as a pilot, did not know the track . He went to Spa with his father when he was still karting, but had never driven on that circuit . That makes his accomplishments that weekend even more significant, ”Eddie Jordan, founder and former owner of the team, recently recalled.
Michael Schumacher achieved the seventh fastest time in the classification of the Belgian Grand Prix. However, the pilot, who was 22 years old at the time , could not finish the race due to a problem with the embargo.
Schumacher only ran one race with Jordan
If there is something special about the car that has gone on sale for 1.5 million, it is that Michael Schumacher only played one Grand Prix with Jordan. After what happened in Belgium, in a controversial move, Flavio Briatore signed the German days later as Benetton’s starting driver, replacing Roberto Moreno. “At that time I had to fire Roberto Moreno, my second driver, to make room for Michael . Ayrton Senna was an additional problem. He was a friend of Moreno’s and wanted to stop the engagement with Schumacher . Because Ayrton understood from the beginning that Schumacher was very special, ”commented the Italian.
In the following season, Michael Schumacher would get his first victory in Formula 1, precisely in the Belgian Grand Prix. It was also three times second and four third. This is something that aroused the jealousy of Ayrton Senna as Flavio Briatore recognized: “ Once Michael was about to fight Senna, Ayrton hit him (grabbed him by the chest in the box) in a test in Germany. He told him that he was the World Champion and that Michael had to have more respect . Michael didn’t care. He wanted to earn respect and that’s why he was driving so aggressively. This is the only way to become a champion ”.
“ Michael fought with the greats, like Senna . You have to admit that when Michael arrived, he was tough: we talked about Nigel Mansell or Senna. Now the competition is less . You have two pilots or three… To Hamilton, once again, nobody pressures him : he can walk away. When someone approached Schumacher, they made a mistake. With Fernando Alonso, the same thing happened . Everybody makes mistakes. If Lewis drives like a taxi driver and wins everything it is because he is a super driver, he is fantastic . Hamilton is one of the two stars of Formula 1, the other is Verstappen ”, added the Italian.
Of the seven Jordan 191s that exist, only two have been piloted by Michael Schumacher. At the wheel of this car have also been Andrea de Cesaris and Alex Zanardi . Jordan, who finished fifth in the Constructors’ World Championship in 1991 behind McLaren, Williams , Ferrari and Benneton, set a fast lap that season. In 2018, The Telegraph awarded him the award for the best Formula 1 car of all time.
After the race in Belgium, Roberto Moreno was the replacement for Michael Schumacher in Jordan, however he was relieved by Alex Zanardi after the Portuguese Grand Prix. Zanardi won the 1997 and 1998 Indycar Championships before losing both legs in a terrible accident in 2001. After a successful return to racing, he also won 4 cycling Paralympic Games gold medals and 12 Championship gold medals. World Cup between 2013 and 2019.
Alex Zanardi suffered a chilling accident again in 2020 after colliding with a truck while competing in a stage of the Obiettivo Tricolor, a race that traveled through Italy from north to south to symbolize the return to normality after the coronavirus pandemic. Since then, like Michael Schumacher , he has recovered from severe brain damage.
