Grapevine: Schuey Visits the Past in First Ferrari Winner

Michael Schumacher celebrated the 50th anniversary of Ferrari's first Grand Prix victory on Sunday with a blast around Silverstone in the original 1951 racer.

The German, who starts the British Grand Prix on pole position later on Sunday, did not exactly roll back the years as he wore a modern crash helmet and flameproof overalls. But the bright red Ferrari 375, driven by Argentine Jose Froilan Gonzalez to victory at Silverstone in the 1951 British Grand Prix, was the star of the show with its thudding 4.5 litre V12 engine.

Triple World Champion Schumacher, who crashed and broke his leg in his Ferrari at Silverstone in 1999, had said earlier in the week that he was a little concerned about the brakes on the car, which is owned by Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone.

The German decided not to try and test the car fully but clearly found the experience, on a dry but overcast morning, a memorable one.

"Really, my compliments to the drivers who went flat out with these sort of cars, with no seat belts or safety measures," he said after doing two laps and coming to a standstill in the pitlane to cheers and klaxon blasts.

Alastair Wadsworth, who was Shell's engineer to the Ferrari team in 1951, was present in the pits again on Sunday as was former Ferrari mechanic Ener Vecchi. Gonzalez beat his great compatriot Juan Manuel Fangio, in an Alfa Romeo, into second place for a win that team founder Enzo Ferrari said later made him feel as if he had killed his own mother.

Ferrari had split with Alfa 13 years earlier.