Michael Schumacher confirmed on Thursday that he has had several approaches from formula-one rivals McLaren to quit world champions Ferrari.
The dominant seven-times world champion — the past five of them with Ferrari — said McLaren boss Ron Dennis in 2000 tried to get him to join the British team, but the 36-year-old German ace said he was happy where he was.
Schumacher said he has received subsequent offers from McLaren, but did not want to divulge exact details.
Schumacher, sitting alongside new McLaren driver acquisition Juan Pablo Montoya, was asked at an official press conference ahead of Sunday’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix whether he would confirm if McLaren had approached him to join them five years ago.
”Indeed, yes, there was an approach from Ron [Dennis]; obviously it didn’t work out because I’m pretty happy where I have been,” said Schumacher, statistically the most successful driver in formula-one history with 83 wins from 212 grands prix.
”We have had loads of discussions over the years, we’ve thrown them around and every so often he comes around and checks up, and so it was in 2000, and it wasn’t only in 2000.”
Asked if Dennis had talked to him since then about leaving Ferrari, the sport’s highest-paid driver said: ”Yes … [but] I don’t think it’s fair to get into that detail, but he did and I think that’s enough detail.”
Schumacher said he will disappoint plenty of people if he does not win this year’s championship for his eighth world title.
Questions have been raised about Schumacher’s iron grip on formula one and the seeming lack of competition from the other teams.
”You don’t know how much support we [Ferrari] get, if you look around we get plenty … I do understand your question but there’s obviously no real sense to do anything on our side,” he said.
Schumacher won 13 of last year’s 18 races, with his Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello claiming two and Ferrari winning the constructors’ title by a whopping 143 points from nearest rival BAR-Honda.
Schumacher won’t hear talk of Ferrari simply overpowering their rivals and damaging the sport as a consequence.
”I can’t see our so-called dominance we had last year will be able to keep going like that, for the simple reason that we have been dominant because others have been doing a rather poor job compared to us,” he said earlier this week.
”They will have learned from their mistakes, and we can see from winter testing it looks that they have been able to create quite a good package.
”You can’t blame Ferrari for doing as well as they do, you may blame the others for not doing as good as [Ferrari] do.” — Sapa-AFP