Michael Schumacher, 7x World Champion – The Rain Master – joined Scuderia Ferrari in 1996 and won his first championship in 2000.
Schumacher created a buzz like no other racer in Formula 1, he was the talk of the town and every brand wanted to endorse him.
Meanwhile, Nike had focused on running, basketball, tennis, and F1 is the sport where the rising Champion Michael Schumacher would be the perfect fit for the sports gaint.
In 1996 Nike partnered with Schumacher and apparently gave him a new pair of shoes for every race of the season. Schumacher’s Nike Sneakers were way more modern with technology than other F1 sneakers out there.
The mid cut shoe had red suede upper with black toe box, midsole with a rubberised outsole.
The rubber outsole gave maximum friction within the light petal box of an F1 car. The outsole is also incorporated with a Carbon Fibre plate to add more stability like the Air Jordan 11.
Nike made it according to the ISO – 6940 FIA 86 rules (which means from the rules: “Fire-retardant FIA- or SFI-rated racing gloves and shoes are required.”)
The market was dominated by Sparco & Mizuno racing sneakers and Nike appeared strange to many where they had design elements from the Basketball footwear. The sneaker took inspiration from sneakers like Air penny 2, Air Foamposite 1and Air Jordan 11s.
The sneakers were called Nike Zoom Schu.
Unlike Michael Jordan’s sneakers the Nike Zoom Schu were made for the drivers only, so they introduced a cross-training shoe for everyday use. Till this day the Nike Zoom Schu is one of the rarest collectible sneakers in the market.
Few models Nike made with Schumacher are:
Nike Air Zoom Schu (putih)
Nike Air Super Zoom Schumacher
In the late ’90s, Nike wanted to make strides in racing and partnered with the dominant world champion, Michael Schumacher. He received a fresh pair of Nikes for every race of the season.
Unfortunately Fila made a sponsorship deal with Scuderia Ferrari that Nike had to cancel the project.
The Nike Zoom Schu are a highly collectible desired by sneakerheads, any sneaker between 1996-2001 goes for around $2000 at the moment.
It is known from some sources that Schumacher told Fila to make their shoes like how Nike made it for him. Schumacher said “The Nike shoes were his favorite shoes to race in.”