Patrese: I offered to visit Schumacher in case my voice could bring him back

71-year-old Patrese offering rare insight into their personal friendship and the professional spark he witnessed during his time together with Schumacher at Benetton in 1993. The Italian's last season of 17 in the top flight.

The six-time Grand Prix winner, who partnered the future seven-time Formula 1 World Champion for a single season, Patrese recalled their first test at Silverstone and the enduring connection they maintained until Schumacher’s tragic skiing accident in December 2013.

“I came to Benetton in 1993 after winning the Constructors’ Championship with Williams and Nigel Mansell as World Champion,” said Patrese. “I didn’t meet Michael during the winter because he didn’t come to testing. He had a problem in his knee. So the first test was in Silverstone at the end of February.”

What followed left the veteran Italian stunned. He recalled: “It was horrible English weather — 10 o’clock in the morning, fog, drizzle, not a brilliant day. We started pushing a little bit, though there wasn’t really a reason to be super quick. Everyone was just checking new cars. But Michael did a time that really impressed me. I remember, something like 1:24.8. I was two seconds slower, and so was everyone else.”

Patrese said the telemetry later confirmed that Schumacher had taken the old Bridge corner flat — a feat rarely seen even in ideal qualifying conditions, let alone in freezing February weather: “I said, ‘This one has something special,’ and he proved it in the years that followed.”

Despite being just 24 at the time, Schumacher made an impression on Patrese with his humility and eagerness to learn: “His attitude was very impressive. Of course, I was the senior and he was the young upcoming driver. He always wanted to listen to what I was saying. He thought, ‘This guy has 17 years in Formula 1 on his shoulders, I need to listen and learn.’ That was his attitude the whole season.”

The Italian said he had driven alongside several World Champions before, including Nelson Piquet, Nigel Mansell, and Alan Jones, but Schumacher stood out: “I said to him, ‘Michael, I see something you are doing that is very special. You are very probably going to be one of the greatest in motorsport.’ He looked at me with such curiosity. He was doing special things.”

Outside the cockpit, the two men bonded over their shared love of football, a connection that endured well after their time at Benetton. Riccardo recalled: “From the first moment, I was in very good connection with Michael because of the national team of drivers for soccer for charity.

"He was playing with us regularly and eventually became captain of the team. When I left, I gave him the armband. He was really happy about that — first of all because he liked football a lot. We always stayed in good contact.”

That closeness led Patrese to make a personal offer: “I offered to visit Michael at his home in case my voice could bring him back, though the family declined. I asked Corinna if they wanted me to go there and try to help if I could. But they said, ‘No thank you. It’s not the moment.’ And that moment has never come.”

Asked what Schumacher might have done had the skiing accident not changed everything, Patrese replied: “I don’t know. He was a very sporting man and he liked adrenaline. After he stopped racing, he did parachute jumps, wanted to race motorbikes… something with action. A life on the pit wall as a team principal may not have suited him. He needed adrenaline.”

Patrese added that his friend may have continued in motorsport to support his son Mick Schumacher’s career, but the future is impossible to guess: “Maybe he could have continued because of Mick, but it’s difficult to know where he could be now — commentating or something else.”

On rumours that Schumacher’s management used Patrese’s contract as leverage during 1993, the Italian offered a measured response: “Well, this is a story that can be true and can be not. I came as first driver but I think Michael had a contract that was supposed to match mine. I think his manager, Willi Weber, thought something didn’t add up and went to discuss it with Flavio Briatore.”

Ultimately, Patrese’s memories of Schumacher are defined less by contractual politics and more by character: “Michael’s attitude toward me showed he would be great.”