An iconic Ferrari car used by Michael Schumacher during the 1997 Formula One season is now being driven by an 80-year-old petrolhead.
The motorsport legend holds the record for the most Formula One titles, having won an impressive seven during his imperious career behind the wheel.
One of his more controversial seasons as a driver was the 1997 campaign, which Schumacher was disqualified from following an incident with Jacques Villeneuve.
While he might’ve been stripped of his second-place Drivers’ Championship finish, the German was allowed to keep the five race wins he picked up that year, including the Monaco GP which he won while driving the Ferrari 310B.
The very car he topped the podium in Monaco with is now owned by Erich Zech, who has since brought the motor out of retirement.
Speaking after driving the famous Ferrari at a recent event in the Netherlands, car-lover Zech told Autosport: “It was phenomenal. What I loved the most and what touched me was the reaction of the fans. They stood up and applauded, which was great to witness.
“What I love most is being able to show this car to the people again. My main goal is to make the experience as close as possible to what it was back in the day with Schumacher.”
Zech left no stone unturned during his venture out in the Ferrari and even wore an exact replica of the same helmet Schumacher had when driving the car.
There was one stark difference though… Schumacher was in his late twenties when he drove the vehicle, with Zech currently 80!
Not that it bothers him, with Zech adding: “But that’s special, isn’t it? Driving such a car is a challenge, but I still feel incredibly fit. I had to get the official [racing] licence to drive it and, for that, I had to pass a health check. It was also a surprise to me that I am still so fit.”
He continued: “I started in that car and in May I drove Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari for the first time. Last year, we already presented the 310B here in Assen, but it wasn’t moving back then.
“Many data appeared to have been erased. Ingo Gerstl has great contacts in Italy and thanks to him the car could run in his own workshop for the first time in March. That was a phenomenal moment for all of us. This is the only historic Ferrari that is running without ‘F1 clienti’ support from Maranello.”
A truly heart-warming tale of one Ferrari-mad motorsport fan, but the story behind how Zech came to own the lucrative old banger is somewhat of a peculiar one.
Reminiscing on the deal, Zech recalled: “My response was that I was interested in something like that as well, but not in a car without an engine…
“He knew about a Ferrari collection in Europe, a collection of which the owner had died. All those cars would go to Sotheby’s to be auctioned. He remembered that there was a Michael Schumacher F1 car among them, although I said ‘A Michael Schumacher F1 car? I can’t buy that because it’s way too expensive’.
“Anyway, he would gather information, check whether the car was sellable at all and what the costs might be. Four weeks later, he called me again, reported that it was indeed a 1997 Schumacher F1 car and said he could arrange the deal for me.
“I asked what the car should cost and if he could send me a picture. Based on that photo, so without seeing the car in real life, I bought it. Three days later, Schumacher’s car was in my garage…. That’s how it came about.”