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Former Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost says Michael Schumacher’s F1 comeback with Mercedes in 2010 was “completely pointless.”
And the Red Bull consultant has revealed that he tried to talk the seven-time World Champion out of his plans to return, warning him that his time was “over.”
When Franz Tost tried to talk Michael Schumacher out of ‘pointless’ F1 comeback
After retiring as the most decorated driver in F1 history at the end of 2006, Schumacher announced his return with the new-look Mercedes team three years later.
His signing with the Brackley-based outfit saw Schumacher link up with the team – then known as Brawn GP – who had stormed to a Drivers’ and Constructors’ title double in 2009, with the German openly targeting an eighth World Championship for himself with Mercedes in 2010.
However, the team’s necessity to downsize following Honda’s withdrawal at the end of 2008 meant Mercedes were uncompetitive from the start of 2010.
Third place at the 2012 European Grand Prix in Valencia stood as the best result of his comeback, with Schumacher’s lap for pole position at that year’s Monaco Grand Prix not counting in official records as he was forced to serve a grid penalty carried over from the previous race in Spain.
Speaking to German publication F1 Insider, Tost revealed that he tried to talk Schumacher out of his comeback shortly before his return with Mercedes was announced.
