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Ahead of his Formula 1 comeback with Mercedes, Michael Schumacher took part in a controversial GP2 test in early 2010 – Sam Smith has the inside story from Schumacher’s one-off engineer
Patrick Coorey, a young engineer still establishing himself in racing with the Super Nova team, received a phone call in December 2009 from Ron Meadows, the team manager at Mercedes F1. The request was to have Coorey engineer Michael Schumacher for some GP2 testing to help Schumacher’s race fitness.
Coorey, despite the daunting prospect of working with one of the greatest drivers of all time, accepted the opportunity eagerly. GP2 series coordinators Bruno Michel and Didier Perrin were heavily involved in organizing the test to maintain control and equity among teams.
The decision to involve Super Nova in Schumacher’s testing caused controversy among other teams in GP2. Some teams were worried about Super Nova gaining a competitive advantage for the upcoming season.
Coorey ended up being the engineer to work directly with Schumacher during the testing, despite some initial hesitation and concerns about the unprecedented nature of the situation. The testing marked Schumacher’s return to the track after a three and a half year hiatus from Formula 1.
