'I worked with Michael Schumacher - he embarrassed me with one incredible gesture'

Williams team principal James Vowles has revealed that Michael Schumacher 'embarrassed' him during their time as Mercedes colleagues by sending his partner flowers on her birthday - a move that apparently outdid the Brit's own efforts. Vowles and Schumacher worked alongside one another at Mercedes after the seven-time world champion's unexpected F1 comeback in 2010.

The Brit was a key part of Brawn GP's success the previous year and took up the chief strategist role with the Silver Arrows, guiding them to eight Constructors' Championship titles between 2014 and 2021. The 46-year-old opened up about his relationship with Schumacher during an appearance on the High Performance podcast. "So, first and foremost, he had a genuine interest in who you were and your life," Vowles explained.

"I went motorbiking on track with him - as in race bikes - on track with him in Paul Ricard, and we had the time of our lives. We both still laugh about it for many years after that. He knew at the time my partner's birthday - flowers arrive at home - and it embarrassed me because I didn't do that much.

"He would take a genuine interest in who you are, who your family is, what drives you. Every single person in the team. And that's hard to do. And it's not because he's doing it because he wants to gain advantage. He does it because he really cares. That's Michael.

"The Michael you had front-facing in front of the media is a very different Michael to what was behind the scenes. And that's how he did it, fundamentally. So he would bring everyone on the journey and lead everyone on the journey."

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During his time with Mercedes, Vowles got the opportunity to work with some elite talents, including seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg. Amongst it all, Schumacher's leadership skills stood out.

"He was a leader that absolutely, he would say, 'I'm going to go this way.' The team would follow him there," Vowles added. "So much so that both sides of the garage wanted him to do well. So much so that one of my regrets in my career is [that] we didn't get a win for him. That still hurts me today. He deserved a win."

The work done by Schumacher and team-mate Rosberg during that three-year period set the stage for Mercedes' success in the turbo-hybrid era, but the legendary German departed too soon to reap those rewards. He did, at least, leave with a podium in the Silver Arrows' overalls, scoring a P3 finish in Valencia in 2012.