Former Formula 1 driver Sam Bird hasrevealedhow a nervous first weekend as Mercedes' young test driver in 2012 took an unexpected turn in the team toilets, when a startled Michael Schumacher turned an awkward encounter into a running joke in front of senior staff.
Bird had arrived at Mercedes during Schumacher's final season in F1, joining a line-up headed by the seven-time world champion and his team-mate Nico Rosberg. Mercedes were still in the middle of their long build-up to dominance, and Bird, then 25, had been brought in as reserve and rookie-day driver, shadowing the race team and learning the ropes from inside one of the sport's most scrutinised garages.
The British driver recalled the episode, and its oddly disarming role in his introduction to the team, when speaking about his time alongside Schumacher. According to Bird, the chain of events began with something as basic as a pre-meeting dash to the loo.
He explained that before one of his first big internal meetings at Mercedes, he decided to quickly use the toilet. As he tells it, the door indicator outside showed green, so he walked straight in.
Inside, he found not an empty cubicle but Schumacher, mid-use.
Bird's description of that instant is deliberately coy, but he did not underplay his own shock. He said he was confronted with 'parts of Michael' he had not expected to see, and the situation was obviously mortifying for a junior driver still trying to prove he even belonged in the room.
Bird backed out, the moment passed, and he took his seat for the meeting, presumably hoping it would never be spoken of again. Schumacher had other ideas.
The meeting was chaired by Ross Brawn, then Mercedes' team principal and the man who had guidedSchumacherto multiple titles at Ferrari. Brawn began the session in routine fashion, but quickly turned to the matter of the team's new arrival.
'Look, everybody, we've got young Sam Bird here,' Brawn said, as recalled by Bird. He went on to explain that Bird would be shadowing the team over the weekend, carrying out rookie test duties and serving as reserve driver. Then came the punchline that made the room look straight at Bird.
'Please make him feel welcome. And, if you need to find him, he'll be hanging around outside the toilets.'
Source: International Business Times UK
