Jack & Jones’s Lise Nygaard sat down with Kevin Magnussen to talk about the man who made Germany a super-power in Formula 1.

“Of course I know a lot about Michael Schumacher, but I’ve actually never met him in person,” Kevin says. “The first thing I remember about Schumacher was when he won the world championship for Benetton. It was at that time my father started in Formula 1, and racing was a big part of my life already,” K-Mag says.

After some calculations we realize, that with Kevin born in 1992, the memory must be from when Schumacher won his second world championship in 1995. At the time Kevin was only three years old – if you remember something from that age, it clearly must have made a great impression on you.

“I really admire him. If you look at his results, it is clear Michael Schumacher is the greatest driver in Formula 1 history. You just can’t argue with statistics like his. More world championship titles than anybody else, more Grand Prix wins, more pole positions, more fastest laps. Very, very impressive…,” Kevin says.

Kevin will also talk about Ayrton Senna, the great rival of Michael Schumacher’s in the early part of the German’s Formula 1 career,

“Ayrton Senna is a hero to me. In some ways he was a more spectacular driver than Schumi,” he says of the great Brazilian, who lost his life in the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix in Imola.

It is clear he is fascinated by both Michael Schumacher (“incredible results”) and Ayrton Senna (“a hero”). So I had to ask him: “What would you the prefer to be? A hero or a seven-time world champion?”

He doesn’t even have to think about the answer – it comes with zero hesitation “As a racing driver, I would prefer to be seven-time world champion,” he says with a smile.

After 19 seasons in one of the most dangerous sports in the world, the 43-year old Michael Schumacher retired from Formula 1 after the 2012 season. In December 2013 he suffered a serious head injury while skiing with his family in the French Alps. He was in a coma for several months, and continues to receive medical treatment in his home in Switzerland.

“It’s hard to take in: After so many years in Formula 1, he has such a severe accident while living a normal life. Tragic…,” Kevin says quietly.

He lights up again when I mention another great name from the history of Formula 1. I know he visited Stirling Moss in his home in London recently, and Kevin is keen to talk about the 86-year old Englishman, who won 16 Grands Prix in the 1950s and early 60s.

“Stirling – Sir Stirling – did an amazing job. He won in F1 but also in sports cars, in touring cars and even took parts in rallies. To me, he is a legend, and I am so happy to have met him.”

So – if Stirling Moss is a legend and Ayrton Senn is a hero – what is Michael Schumacher then?

Kevin fires back immediately: “If you look at his results, he is the greatest of them all!”

COURTESY OF JACK & JONES