Schumacher came close to replacing Massa after serious injury in 2009

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10:32, 23 Jun 2018

byMatt

Former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemol has today revealed Michael Schumacher nearly made his return to Ferrari in 2009 to replace injured driver Felipe Massa. Massa was left hospitalised after a flying piece of debris hit him.

Schumacher returned the season after Massa’s injury to drive for Mercedes under Ross Brawn. The German’s last race for Ferrari was in 2006.

“I was very sad when Felipe had this terrible accident in Budapest, so I asked Michael to come to my office,” Di Montezemol said at the opening of the Schumacher exhibition in Cologne.

“I said to him, ‘Listen, Michael, you have to do that for me and for Ferrari – you have to come back’.

“For half an hour he could not be persuaded. After an hour he said: ‘Okay, I can not refuse this’.”

Once accepting the invitation to race, Michael failed medical tests following a motorcycle accident the year before.

“He went to Mugello and did a very good test with the old car. Unfortunately, his doctor had to stop him from returning. He said [Michael] was not ready, which was bad for all of us.”

Pos.	Driver	Team	Points
1	Kimi Antonelli Kimi Antonelli	MercedesMER	72
2	George Russell George Russell	MercedesMER	63
3	Charles Leclerc Charles Leclerc	FerrariFER	49
4	Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton	FerrariFER	41
5	Lando Norris Lando Norris	McLarenMCL	25
6	Oscar Piastri Oscar Piastri	McLarenMCL	21
7	Oliver Bearman Oliver Bearman	HaasHAA	17
8	Pierre Gasly Pierre Gasly	AlpineALP	15
9	Max Verstappen Max Verstappen	Red Bull RacingRBR	12
10	Liam Lawson Liam Lawson	Racing BullsRCB	10
11	Arvid Lindblad Arvid Lindblad	Racing BullsRCB	4
12	Isack Hadjar Isack Hadjar	Red Bull RacingRBR	4
13	Gabriel Bortoleto Gabriel Bortoleto	AudiAUD	2
14	Carlos Sainz Carlos Sainz	WilliamsWIL	2
15	Esteban Ocon Esteban Ocon	HaasHAA	1
16	Franco Colapinto Franco Colapinto	AlpineALP	1
17	Nico Hulkenberg Nico Hulkenberg	AudiAUD	0
18	Alexander Albon Alexander Albon	WilliamsWIL	0
19	Valtteri Bottas Valtteri Bottas	CadillacCAD	0
20	Sergio Perez Sergio Perez	CadillacCAD	0
21	Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso	Aston MartinAST	0
22	Lance Stroll Lance Stroll	Aston MartinAST	0

Schumacher came close to replacing Massa after serious injury in 2009

byMatt

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