Michael Schumacher's former boss Ross Brawn has claimed that the German sporting icon wanted to ultimately manage his own F1 team before tragedy struck in 2013.
Schumacher left F1 for a second time at the end of the 2012 season, where he was replaced by Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes for the following season.
It brought an end to his illustrious 21 years in F1, which included an unprecedented seven World Championships.
Schumacher's close friends have revealed how the F1 icon kept a close eye on the sport after his retirement.
Michael Schumacher had dreams of one day owning an F1 team
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But only a year after he retired from F1, Schumacher was involved in a tragic skiing accident that left him in a coma.
He was soon moved to a purpose-built medical suite at his family home in Switzerland with his wife, Corinna, keeping his private life under wraps.
Some of Schumacher's close friends have offered small snippets of information on Schumacher's current condition but his status has remained a mystery.
Brawn, who was credited for helping Schumacher win his seven world titles, is one of those who knew of the famous driver's hopes and dreams prior to the skiing accident.
And the 69-year-old has revealed that Schumacher was putting in the groundwork to one day own his very own F1 team.
“I can well imagine that Michael would have a team today," he told Auto Bild.
"There were already discussions at Mercedes about whether he could act as a shareholder at some point.
"The first stage already existed: He acted as a brand ambassador in 2013.”
Ross Brawn helped Michael Schumacher win his seven world titles
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Schumacher retired from F1 at the age of 43 and suggested he wasn't "100 per cent committed to" continuing.
But the F1 legend did also claim that he still felt able to "compete against the best" and Brawn agrees with that sentiment.
Brawn added: “It's becoming increasingly clear to me that he may have hung up his helmet too early.
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Michael Schumacher suffered the tragic skiing accident 10 years ago
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"He planted the seeds of success at Mercedes between 2010 and 2012.
"And Fernando Alonso, at a similar age to Michael back then, shows today that you can achieve world-class performance even when you're over 40.
"If Michael had still been active in 2014, he could have won the title.”
