The day Briatore made Schumacher his own

On this day in 1991, Michael Schumacher lined up on the Italian Grand Prix grid with Benetton for the second F1 race of his career.

Between Spa - where Schumacher had made his sensational F1 debut with the Jordan team - and Monza, Benetton's Flavio Briatore, with the help of his good friend Bernie Ecclestone, had gone to work behind the scenes to cleverly secure the services of the promising young German driver.

The Italian manager simply scrapped  Schumacher's deal with Jordan and then proceeded to do the same with one of his own drivers, Roberto Moreno. Threats of litigation ensued, but Briatore had the final word while poor Jordan was left holding the bag.

As for Michael Schumacher, he continued to set F1 on fire by outqualifying team mate Nelson Piquet at the Temple of Speed, and then out-running the Brazilian on Sunday, clinching a P5 finish and his first championship points.