REPORT: Schumacher to earn a tidy 1M Euros per race for return effort
According to a report from German newspaper Die Tageszeitung, Michael Schumacher – already one of the richest athletes in the world – will earn a cool million Euros (that's $1.44M USD to us Yanks) for each race in which he's substituting for injured Ferrari factory driver Felipe Massa.
Schumacher stands to earn an extra million Euros for each race victory, which initially seems like an oversize bonus until you consider that wins have been in uncommonly short supply so far this year for the Italian race team. It's also expected that Ferrari will keep the German driver in his non-driving advisory role with an extension of his current five million Euro per year contract.
In related news, Schumacher won't be getting the chance to test the latest Ferrari F60 F1 chassis until the next scheduled practice session for the European Grand Prix. Ferrari had petitioned for an outside-the-rulebook exception to get Schumacher a bit of seat time in its current car but the request was reportedly denied by Williams, Red Bull and Toro Rosso. Suffice it to say that the Scuderia was not pleased.
[Source: Autocar, Ferrari | Image: BacardiLimited]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
John Johnson 10:07AM (8/05/2009)
Both Schumi and his manager have said that his fee per race hasn't even been discussed yet.
His manager said "All speculation, we haven't spoken with Ferrari about money yet.”
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TigerMil 11:50AM (8/05/2009)
Hey...someone needs to pay Michael Vick "One Million Dollars" for each game he wins as quarterback of the team that hires him.
The Redskins might...cheaper than losing with Jason Campbell.
The Lions MUST. LOL.
HMMM...Schumi or Vick.....who is more entertaining!? And that, folks is what both these sports are all about.
Javanese 10:14AM (8/05/2009)
Boohoo cry me a river. Why should schumi got the special privilege of testing the F60 car? It's not like he's jumping from GP2 to F1. He's the legend of the sport for god sake. I bet he'll be in the top 5 in qualifying and probably finishes on the podium.
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Lindsey 10:17AM (8/05/2009)
Awe, boo hoo Schumi. 7-time world champ doesn't want to be embarassed by being beaten by the man who replaced him, I suppose? I'm excited to see them race in the same car, but come on, those are the rules! Both Red Bull teams stood up and opposed his test too, and Vettel has been beating Ferrari handily (and Webber recently also) all season.
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John Johnson 10:22AM (8/05/2009)
Yeah, in regards to him testing.... No need for him to test before the Free Practice sessions. He's getting all he needs now with the F2007, as far as endurance and track practice go. He can practice launching in straight-line testing. He'll be able to get used to the differences in the FP session. That's why they have it.
Now, do I agree with the test ban? Not really. I do think that new drivers should be allowed to test the cars, but with NO telemetry feedback to the crew. Just the guy and the car.
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Franz 12:53PM (8/05/2009)
I agree. Especially since they never let rookie Jaime Alguersuari test either... and he needed it more than Schumi.
skablaw 10:29AM (8/05/2009)
Get the man paid. I'd probably throw a Jackson at the thing just to see him back behind the wheel. The future of a sport rest squarely on the shoulders of its legends, and his presence will only benefit us by bringing more attention to that which we love.
This is real life cinema-quality drama here, people. The hero, having retired from the battlefield returns once more to the fray to take the place of his fallen comrade. You can't write stuff this good.
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ofsoundmind 10:47AM (8/05/2009)
Poor lad, taking a pay cut is tough - must be the world economy..
That being said, here's some interesting math:
For the European Grand prix - assuming he finishes, he's getting paid:
$4661.96 per km
$25263.16 per lap
roughly $15,157.89 per minute
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Alex 10:57AM (8/05/2009)
If your math is correct, he will make more money in three minutes than I will all year.
the4thheat 4:07PM (8/05/2009)
Alex, maybe it's time to stop surfing autoblog and get that promotion so you can make four minutes worth of money ;)
Someday I hope to make 20 minutes worth of his salary hahahah.
Swede 10:52AM (8/05/2009)
I like Ferrari for having a bit of soul in the PC world of F1, usually press officers are so careful with their wording, Ferrari on the other hand demonstrate italian passion.
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dadslife83 10:54AM (8/05/2009)
Suffice it to say, the man is being paid well to return. It would be fantastic to say that Shui blew the doors OFF of everyone in the new rules of F1. It remains to be seen but, those who were great can still be the best.
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cool_ozzyfromkalush 11:34AM (8/05/2009)
If I was him, I would ask 1m a lap :P
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esteva03 12:19PM (8/05/2009)
he has neck pains and has to get more physical tests. he said his health is the most important thing to him and ferrari. i think it is ok if he finishes in the top 5 in every race. otherwise it is a little, just a little too much.
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ofsoundmind 2:04PM (8/05/2009)
While I am not a devoted follower of F1, I do like to watch the races when I wake up early on a Sunday, and as with anything car-related - they bring a smile to my face...
That being said, I am really anxious to see if it is the man or the machine. I don't doubt his capabilities for a second, and I would love nothing more than to see him show up and win the first time out.. but as I said, I am anxious to see the results.
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tbirdfive0 2:22PM (8/05/2009)
Standard notation for $1,000,000 is $1MM. $1M is $1,000. I would hope he is getting paid a lot more than a thousand dollars a race.
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Slo-Mo-Shun 5:36PM (8/05/2009)
I think you're getting your M's confused with k's
tbirdfive0 5:43PM (8/05/2009)
nope. M is roman numeral for 1,000. MM is thousand thousand = 1 million.
Westside T.O. 3:00PM (8/06/2009)
@tbirdfive0
The only people that I know that use that notation are investment bankers...not that it's wrong, but for the rest of the world the notation used here by Autoblog is not out of the ordinary.