Michael Schumacher’s kind gesture revealed by David Coulthard as F1 legend shows true colours
Formula One icon David Coulthard shed light on his fascinating relationship with Michael Schumacher despite the pair racing for rival teams, with one act of kindness summing up the duo
David Coulthard has revealed the kind gesture that Michael Schumacher once made as a symbol of their mutual respect. Coulthard was still in his debut season with McLaren in 1996, while Schumacher had just begun what would become a legendary stint with Ferrari.
At the Monaco Grand Prix that year, Coulthard encountered a problem where his helmets kept fogging up. “In the warm-up, I just couldn’t see. My helmet at the time did not have the double visor which helped with fogging,” Coulthard recalled on the Making of a Legend documentary.
And so he took the bold step to ask his rival, Schumacher, if he could borrow his helmet. Despite the bizarre request, the Ferrari ace was quick to assist, lending Coulthard his helmet, which ultimately contributed to his second-place finish in a chaotic race that saw 15 of the 22 drivers retire or fail to start, including Schumacher.
Now, Coulthard, 53, has revealed that the German racing legend went one step further by allowing him to keep the borrowed helmet — a token of their friendship and respect for each other despite their growing rivalry.
Coulthard opened up about the story during a conversation with his co-host Eddie Jordan on the latest episode of the podcast Formula For Success. The episode was released on the same day (Thursday) as the announcement of Jordan’s death, at the age of 76, after a brave fight against prostate cancer.
“I asked Michael if I could keep it and he said yes and then that helmet travelled with my parents back to Scotland,” Coulthard recalled. “Michael, despite all the times we disagreed and fell out, he was a good off-track friend.
“It showed the respect I feel he had for my efforts, the fact he was prepared to not only lend me a helmet but let me keep it afterwards.”
His friendship with Schumacher was unusual given their history of tension on the track. In 1998, they were involved in a major crash at the start of the race at the Belgian Grand Prix in Spa.
The two exchanged heated words from a distance, with Schumacher famously marching down the paddock to confront Coulthard, only to be held back. But Coulthard says they “kissed and made up” after the “unfortunate blip” in their relationship.
He also expanded on the story of the now famous Marlboro branded helmet, saying: “I do still have the helmet. Somebody who deals in memorabilia reached out to me to ask me to sign that very helmet because he was selling it.
“I said I think you’ll find that the helmet that you think you’re selling is not the original. The helmet’s with my parents and I got a picture of my father holding it.
“Somebody out there has been creating replicas of the original and trying to flog it, which is a bit disappointing. I can assure you that the original went off my head, into my trainer’s hands and back to Scotland.”
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