Ferrari: Schumacher Didn’t Crash Development Prototype

We reported a few days ago about Michael Schumacher crashing a prototype development car based on the F430 Scuderia. What was unclear at that time though was whether it was Michael or factory test driver, Raffaele De Simone who was behind the wheel.

Ferrari spokesman Luca Colajanni insists that while Schumacher was in the passenger seat and had driven the car that day, it was road car test driver Raffaele de Simone who was at the wheel at the time of the crash.

“It is normal that test drivers swap seats to compare opinions,” he is quoted as saying by Bild newspaper, which says eyewitness reports identified the actual driver of the car to be Schumacher.

Colajanni continued: “In this case de Simone lost control of the car and went into the guard rail.”

With Ferrari and eyewitnesses at loggerheads over who was driving, we can confirm that Schumacher did take his son Mick out for a ride in the Scuderia as the picture above shows. Neither of them were wearing helmets while out on track.