On a recent trip to Germany, I stopped by Motorworld in Koln, a meeting place for car enthusiasts in the region with a hotel, restaurant, car storage and also home to the permanent display of Michael Schumacher’s personal collection. On display are karts from his early days, sports cars, trophies, unique memorabilia and, of course, most of his F1 cars, with which he became world champion seven times.
My early memories of watching motorsport are either at Santa Pod or getting up early in the morning to watch the Formula 1 races live on TV with my family. Naturally I was a huge fan of Michael Schumacher back then, his impressive driving combined with the fantastic looking Benetton cars made me an instant fan!
Over the years he went on to earn 7 World Championship titles, 91 Grand Prix victories, 155 podium finishes and 68 pole positions, getting a chance to see all of that history in one place was pretty special.
The collection starts with his Tony Kart and his 1988 European Formula Ford suspended above the bar area below, before continuing onto his 1989 Formula 3 Reynard 893.
In 1991 he was given the chance to race the Jordan 191, he qualified 7th before retiring on the first lap of the race with clutch issues. Not a great start but he had shown his talent to the paddock and secured his future with the Benetton team.
The next cars in the collection are the Camel liveried Benetton B191B from 1991 and a 1995 Benetton B195 that he took his second championship in.
The 1994 Benetton B194 that he won his first F1 World Championship is elevated next to one of the staircases providing a great close-up view of the car from all angles.
Moving onto Ferrari in 1996 he drove the unique F310, a car that wasn’t the best car on the grid but it stood out with those side pods!
The collection of Ferrari F1 cars here is really impressive! Each on is displayed in with a glass surround to protect them but also allows you to get up close with a piece of motorsport history.
Seeing the way the cars developed over time, sprouting winglets, curves changing from year to year in the endless pursuit of lap time.
Away from the cars there are some special pieces of memorabilia like this chassis model that the Ferrari team sent to him when he crashed at Silverstone in 1999 breaking his legs. Jean Todt had written a get well soon message on there and every member of the team signed it.
Similarly this front wing was presented to him after his 2002 World Championship win which has also been signed by many of the team.
Included in the display of cars from his career are two cars on load from the Mercedes-Benz Museum, the 1991 Sauber Mercedes C291 and a 2010 Mercedes-AMG F1 show car.
Walking around the collection made me feel very nostalgic, I found myself not only fascinated by the cars and how I wanted to capture them but also remembering the many races that I watched as Michael dominated Formula 1 in a way that had never been seen.
Even if you aren’t a Ferrari or Michael Schumacher fan it is worth visiting the collection if you get a chance, there are very few places that have such a huge part of Formula 1 history on display. Oh and it’s free to enter!
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