Michael Schumacher's former Ferrari boss Jean Todt has claimed the seven-time Formula 1 world champion's apparent arrogance was a 'mask' he used to hide deep fragility, reopening old arguments over how far Ferrari went to protect their star driver, particularly around his infamous 1997 title-deciding clash in Jerez.
Todt appeared on the High Performance podcast, where he was pressed on how well the public really knew Schumacher. The German, now 55, is widely remembered as an unapologetically ruthless racer who dominated with Ferrari in the early 2000s, winning five of his seven world titles with the Scuderia. Yet Todt painted a different picture, describing a driver who would quietly ask for extra testing at Ferrari's private Fiorano circuit simply to reassure himself that he was 'still good enough,' even after securing the championship.
