Ex-F1 Team Boss Reveals His Bitter Pushing & Shoving Incident With Michael Schumacher at Spa

Fans across the world know Michael Schumacher as the iconic seven-time world champion. When they see the German in highlight reels, his dominance with Ferrari often comes up in conversations.

While Schumacher put on displays of composure and class, he also let his anger flow through at times. One of the most memorable moments of this occurred at the 1998 Belgian Grand Prix, where he had a confrontation with Jordan’s owner, Eddie Jordan. Recently, the 73-year-old spoke about that exchange.

Eddie Jordan recalls intense confrontation with Michael Schumacher in 1998

During the 1998 Belgian Grand Prix, Schumacher led the wet weather race by more than half a minute. However, his race ended in stunning fashion when the rain limited his visibility as he crashed into David Coulthard’s McLaren.

This opened the door for Damon Hill and Michael’s brother, Ralf to record a historic one-two for Jordan. Following the crash, Schumacher was visibly frustrated, rushing to confront the Briton in the McLaren garage.

However, very few know he had a heated conversation with Eddie Jordan as well. Despite the seven-time world champion making his debut with Jordan in 1991, he took to shouting at Eddie instead of congratulating him.

Appearing on the F1 Nation podcast, the Irishman recalled Schumacher’s outburst that marred their excellent result that day. He said, “It was a double-whammy for me because Michael Schumacher wanted to fight with everybody. 

“He came to me, and I thought he was going to put his arms around me, and say, ‘Look, I’m so happy for you. You’ve won, first and second.’ But no, that’s not Michael. Michael wanted to shout at me, was swearing at me. And I can swear with the best of people, so I started to push him.”

READ MORE: F1 Throwback: Mick Schumacher’s First Taste of Racing with Father Michael

Jordan: Schumacher paid his brother’s release clause

During the confrontation, he revealed the German threatened him by saying his brother wouldn’t race for them the next season. “He said, ‘That’s it. You’re never going to have my brother next year,'” recalls the 73-year-old.

Despite Jordan mentioning his release clause, he revealed he received the amount from Michael. He said, “I said, ‘It’s very simple. Have a look at the contract, which you’re very good with, looking at contracts. There’s a buyout clause, it’s two million quid. Pay me the two million quid, and you can take your brother wherever you like.’ And that’s what he did.”

After the 1998 season, Ralf Schumacher joined Williams in the 1999 season after this infamous incident.

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