MICHAEL Schumacher used to get smashed and rip his pals’ clothes off at wild post-race parties, his ex-teammate has revealed.
British F1 legend Johnny Hebert has come clean about his crazy times with the seven-time world champion – but admits they would never get away with it now.
Hebert, 59, raced in Formula One between 1989-2000 and battled frequently against Schumacher, even when the pair were teammates for the now-defunct Benetton in 1994 and 1995.
Now, he has revealed just what the German driver was like behind the scenes as he blew off steam after races.
“The social side was better in my day,” he said in a recent interview with Lucky Block.
“The big one we had was in Adelaide after the last race. Everyone went to the same bar or club.
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“Michael would get quite drunk early on.
“His party trick was to go up to someone and rip their shirt apart with buttons popping everywhere. You knew it was coming!”
However the former speedster admitted that “everything” has changed now.
“It was an easier thing to do back then. Adelaide was the main blow out.
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“What has changed is the advent of social media. It has changed everything. You can’t go anywhere without being papped.
“They still have fun now but it has to be more controlled behind closed doors.”
Herbert also weighed in on the recent uproar over the gruelling heat of the Qatar Grand Prix and its effect on drivers.
The FIA officially launched a review last week over the “extreme” cockpit temperatures after drivers called it “unacceptable” and “dangerous”.
However, Hebert argued that the circuit had always been hot enough to “cook an egg inside the cockpit” and that Schumacher had come alive in conditions like that.
“I remember Michael Schumacher changed the whole dynamic, changed everyone’s mindset as to what it should be like to drive a formula one car to make it win, which was to drive as fast and flat out throughout a race.”
The 59-year-old said that unlike the German racing legend, the current drivers operate at “maybe 60 to 70 per cent” of their limit.
“That is not testing the human element as much as I would want to be honest,” he added.
Schumacher, considered by many to be the greatest driver in Formula One history, hasn’t been seen in public since his life-changing skiing accident nearly a decade ago.
The racing superstar suffered a horrific ski accident while with his son Mick, on the slopes above Méribel in the French Alps in 2013.
Any information about the state of his condition is tightly controlled by his privacy-focused family led by wife Corinna.
In September, Herbert revealed his former pal was “not close” to his former self following his ski crash and that his friends are often left in the dark about his health.
Speaking to Grosvenor Sport, the ex-Sky Sports pundit said: “There’s never any news. What we do know is we never hear any positive news.
“That’s the horrible thought that he is still not able to be close to the Michael that we all remember. And that is very sad.”
Herbert also reflected on how Schumacher would have made a good pundit after he retired from racing.
He said: “He would have been outspoken. He was always very aware of what you can and can’t do.
“His character was always in your face, telling you directly if you had done something to him on the track.
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“Remember Spa with David Coulthard. He would have been very good,” he recalled fondly.
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
