It has been weeks now that Ferrari were pushing to sign the German driver for another few years, as his current deal with the Scuderia runs out at the end of the year. Although their hope was to get Schu to return to the sport in the near future – either for a potential 3rd car or simply replace one of their current drivers – Ferrari's new offer features a more direct involvement in road cars.
“Yesterday in Maranello Chairman Montezemolo and I agreed on extending our collaboration for another three years. I’m very happy about it, because I always loved being part of the family Ferrari, a name that stands for passion, high quality and top-level sportiness,” said Schumacher in the press release.
“The agreement foresees that my contribution is more and more directed to the area of road cars. It was extremely nice for me to participate in the development of the Ferrari California, the 430 Scuderia and the new born 458 Italia, which will be officially presented next Tuesday at the IAA Frankfurt: I can’t wait to be part of the future projects in Maranello,” added the former 7-time F1 champion.
Schumacher's advisory contract with the Scuderia succeeded the one as a full-time race driver at the end of 2006, when the German decided to retire from the sport.
Ferrari's announcement comes only one day after the Italian team confirmed their 5-year partnership with Spanish banking group Grupo Santander.
Google News