The Indian driver had a chaotic start to his F1 career representing HRT-Cosworth - a team which did no pre-season testing because, originally named Camꦇpos, it was sold to the owner of Hispania who teamed with Cosworth and launched their F110 car just in tꩲime for the season-opening race.

Rookie driver Chandhok could scarcely have endured a stranger start to life in F1 but upon arrival he remembers: “I walked in the paddock, and it’s my first time walking into the paddock at a grand prix weekend as a race driver, and the first driver I ꦉspoke with was Michael Schumacher.

“This was Michael making his return to F1, he was the biggest star at that time. You w have to say he’s bigger than 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Lewis Hamilton or 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Fernando Alonso at that time. And I was a nobody, right?

“But he actually🍃 walked up to me and introduced himself to me, as if he had to, and 💯said ‘welcome to F1’. 

“And we ha🍬d a conversation - ‘where ꦑare you from?’ And asked a bit about my background, we had a really polite conversation. He didn’t need to do that.

“And until today, and I told 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Mick Schumacher this story as well, when he came to me, and I said, ‘I really appreciated that as a young kid coming into F1 with a guy who was on my bedroom wall’. That meant a lot and sti💧ll means a 🍎lot even today.”

The extra signi❀fic🤡ance is that this was also Schumacher’s first time in the F1 paddock in three years.

The legenda🙈ry German had retired in 2006 while at Ferrari after a career which amassed seven world championships (still the all-time joint record ౠwith Hamilton).

But Schumacꦡ꧑her was back, driving for Mercedes, ultimately paving the way for Hamilton.

In Bahrain in 2010 Schumacher fini𓆏shed sixth. Chandhok qualified last, then spun off during his second lap as a F1 driver.