Seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher has again signed up to the team at Mercedes-Benz, this time to help with vehicle development and as a brand ambassador.
The new long-term deal renews the relationship between Mercedes-Benz and the German racing driver, following Schumacher’s exit from the Mercedes AMG Formula 1 team at the end of last year, where he was replaced by former McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton.
In a role that will involve the development of future models, with a specific focus on the advancement of Mercedes-Benz’s ‘Intelligent Drive’ safety and comfort systems, the German manufacturer says it is proud to have Schumacher as a partner again.
“Right from the time when he was a Mercedes-Benz junior and of course in the last three years as a driver in our Formula 1 team, Michael Schumacher has always been committed to our company’s projects,” Mercedes-Benz executive vice president of sales and marketing Dr Joachim Schmidt said.
“This is why it is only logical for both sides to pool their expertise and know-how and to use them, for instance, for enhancing driver assistance systems and thus improve safety on the roads within a partnership.”
The former Ferrari driver said he was more interested in the future than the past.
“During my Formula 1 time I always believed that you must not allow yourself to rest on your laurels, but that you must continuously try to improve. In so doing I was very often able to rely on the help of all the technologies available to me in the car and use them to my advantage. That is why I am a declared supporter of driving assistance systems both in the racing car and in the road-going car.”
Schumacher left the Mercedes AMG F1 team last year after two years back in the top-level motorsport, returning to the category after initially retiring at the end of the 2006 F1 season.
