Michael Schumacher told Ayrton Senna to ‘get lost’ after an incident at the 1992 German GP

Michael Schumacher’s conduct following an incident with Ayrton Senna at the 1992 German Grand Prix has resurfaced in a new book from F1 journalist Roger Benoit, painting a revealing picture of the seven-time world champion’s character during the early years of his career.

The 1992 F1 season was a transitional moment in Formula One’s history. Nigel Mansell was en route to the most dominant title campaign the sport had seen in years, while Schumacher, in just his second full season, was quietly establishing himself as the talent of the next generation.

Senna, a three-time world champion by that point, was watching both developments with intensity, and things almost came to blows between the two giants of the sport following an incident at the German Grand Prix that year.

Michael Schumacher told Ayrton Senna to ‘get lost’ after an incident at Hockenheim

The incident in question took place at Hockenheim, where a coming-together between Schumacher, then 23 and in his second full season with Benetton, and the reigning world champion Senna prompted the Brazilian to seek out a conversation in the Benetton pit garage.

However, it was not a conversation that Schumacher was willing to have. According to Benoit, writing in his 2026 book Formula Madness, the German driver’s response to being confronted by Senna was both dismissive and wholly characteristic of the man he would become.

Benoit wrote, “Senna went into the Benetton pit and confronted him. And what did Schumacher do? In his typical helpless, arrogant manner, he told the tall Brazilian to basically get lost. That sort of behaviour is typical of a superstar.”

Benoit, who spent the better part of four decades covering F1 from inside the paddock, saw the episode not as an isolated lapse in sportsmanship but as an early indicator of the disposition that would define Schumacher’s career.

Michael Schumacher’s rivalry with Ayrton Senna was tragically cut short

The relationship between Schumacher and Senna, which never had the opportunity to fully develop given the latter’s fatal accident at Imola in May 1994, was one of F1’s great unfinished stories.

The two men shared the circuit for just three seasons, yet the tension between their respective approaches to racing was already well established by the time of the Hockenheim incident.

Senna, who had come from an era in which drivers were expected to account for their actions on track, made a habit of seeking out his rivals after incidents. Schumacher’s decision to send him away, rather than engage, indicated a shift in the culture of the F1 paddock.