When Michael Schumacher made an “Icardade”: the love story with Corinna started with a betrayal

icard It became a verb in the Argentine dictionary the day Mauro Icardi fell in love with Wanda Nara, then the wife of his colleague Maxi López. In current Formula 1, Max Verstappen is in a relationship with Kelly Piquet, who has a daughter with Daniil Kvyat, a driver four years older than the current champion but with whom he shared his training at the Red Bull academy. However, it is not the first case in the motorsport queen. There is another one that shocked the yellow press in the 90s and that was when, before becoming the seven-time world champion, he seduced Michael Schumacher Corinna Betsch, the girlfriend of his friend and colleague Heinz-Harald Frentzen.

On August 1, 1995, Michael Schumacher married Corinna in Kerpen-Manheim, his hometown. “Separately, we are just words; together, a poem, read the invitation received only by a handful of people occupying the 45 double rooms and 11 suites that the German pilot had reserved for the local hotel. And even if he tried to make them paparazzi did not come close, the photos of that unforgettable day in which he wore a low-cut white dress with transparencies on the arms, and he a beige dress with a mandarin collar and a white shirt They went around the world.

The love story had started a short time ago, when Schumi saw Corinna with Heinz-Harald Frentzen, two years older than him and one of the promises of German motorsport, like him. It was 1994, in fact: Frentzen made his debut in F1 with Sauber, she was an employee and did not lose a race and Schumacher was a candidate to become champion.

Although both were Germans and knew each other from the lower categories, the future seven-time world champion met Corinna at the party before the Le Mans race, he invited her for a ride on his motorcycle and love was born between them. Everything was so dizzying that a year and a half after the wedding Gina-María was born and in 1999 Mick, current Formula 1 driver at Haas, did so.

It was not, however, a love of a few years but that of a lifetime. They were, for those romantics, predestined to be together because Corinna, born in Halver, was instrumental in keeping Schumacher in the good times, when he won seven titles (five with Ferrari) and also in difficult times, such as when he had a serious accident at Silverstone in 1999; when her mother died, in 2003; and ever since she had an accident skiing in the French Alps in 2013.

“We are going uphill, certainly slowly, but at least moving forward”she said that July 8, 2014 in which she made her first public appearance since her husband’s accident.

Schumacher and Frentzen, two normal guys who wanted the same thing

In addition to contending for Corinna’s love, Michael and Heinz-Harald had the same goal: to be the drivers who represent Germany in Formula 1. It cost him a lot at first, so much so that Frentzen managed to bring his kart into one hearse from the family business because he had no money to rent the trailer.

Despite this he distinguished himself so much that he became national kart champion in 1981 and also began track wrestling with Schumi. “He was a year and a half older than Michael and that shows a lot in the youth championships”, recognized born May 18, 1967 in Mönchengladbach. He then moved on to promotional categories such as Formula Lotus Opel and German Formula 3.

So, Bernie Ecclestone wanted a German in Formula 1 and aimed to promote young people like Frentzen and Schumacher with one condition: whoever won first in F3 would have done a test on an F1 and that place was reached by Schumacher, winning the Austrian race in Österreichring (Austria), even if the promise was never fulfilled.

Although the title that year went to Karl Wendlinger, an Austrian who was also an F1 driver in the early 1990s, Schumacher and Frentzen were level on points for second place. Beyond the sport, without being friends, they both maintained a good bond. Even, there have been times when both they and Corinna Betsch, whose relationship with Frentzen began in March 1989, have been observed in various eventsNot only ran. And journalists of the time claim that Michael was always attracted to her until he dared to invite her to ride a motorcycle.

Despite that, Frentzen was never injured. He also praised Schumi when they fought for the title against Jacques Villeneuve, his Williams teammate, in 1997: “He is a great driver, perhaps the best, and he also knows how to work on the psychological aspect of his rivals, as he has shown it. days ago when he declared that I had all the pressure to win. But those statements do not bother me or pressure me. They only motivate me more to satisfy everyone who trusted me. Words end up on the track. “

Frentzen’s simplicity contrasted with Schumacher’s pride; he has never charged millionaires unlike his compatriot. And his career continued in the DTM, the German Touring Car Championship, and in long-duration races until his retirement in 2014, immediately after Schumacher’s accident, of which little is known about his evolution.

“My sister Nicole inherited the family business founded by our father and I drive the hearse through the streets of Mönchengladbach. Even during my F1 campaign, more than once I have helped my father in his business and now I am doing it with my sister, “he told the Kölner Express newspaper a while ago.

On the delicate situation that Schumacher is going through and their bond, he denied a friendship to Speedweek: “We looked a lot alike, but we never became friends.. When we ran we treated each other with respect. I also didn’t feel like he was close enough to contact his family after the ski accident. Obviously I keep my fingers crossed for him, Corinna and their children. “

The tear gas that opened the great door for Schumacher

It was not the test promised by Ecclestone, but tear gas (and Eddie Jordan) that opened the doors of F1 to Michael Schumacher. The son of a kart mechanic, Schumi was known in the paddock for his German Formula 3 title the year before. However, when the unexpected opportunity presented itself in 1991, the German no longer drove the single-seaters because he was a driver of the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) and the World Championship of Sports Prototypes, under the orbit of Mercedes. But Willi Weber, his then manager of him, didn’t hesitate to offer it when he learned that one of Jordan’s drivers was going to jail.

It was approx Bertrand Gachot, who had scored four points after seven races that year and had set the fastest lap at the Hungarian GP two days earlier when he was brought before the British court for a car accident in December 1990. vacationing with his girlfriend and collided with a taxi driver on a London street. Although the cars had only touched each other, the discussion between the drivers became more tonic and was joined by about fifty taxi drivers who approached in “union” in solidarity with their colleague.

“We will kill you”Gachot listened when he made up his mind take a CS gas spray from his partner’s bag and spray it on the driver’s facea decision that changed his life and Schumacher’s too. That type of gas has been banned in Great Britain, including as a self-defense, which is why Gachot was arrested for being considered dangerous to the public. Eight months later, and after a failed attempt to reach a financial settlement with the whistleblower, the pilot who thought he was only spending a weekend behind bars was sentenced to six months in Brixton prison, when only ten days left. at the Belgian Grand Prix.

So, Eddie Jordan, the owner of the Jordan team, was desperate to find a replacement in less than two weeks who would quickly adapt to the car. To take advantage of this situation was Willi Webber, representative of the drivers, who proposed a 22-year-old German with no experience in Formula 1 and who had never raced at Spa Francorchamps. His persistence and the 80,000 pounds paid by Mercedes allowed Schumacher to do his test on August 21 at Silverstone.where he surprised by his ability to express “exactly what the car was doing and how it had to be configured”.

A few hours later, Michael Schumacher had his first sponsors (TicTac and Dekra) who contributed the £ 150,000 to put him in Belgium in Gachot’s car, which was serving his second week in prison before – on appeal – to reduce the penalty of two months.

In that acid test, after spending the night in a cold and unheated hostel, the German surprised in the standings despite not being able to complete the race.