This is what F1 parties in Monaco were like in the 90s: alcohol until you couldn't take it anymore, shirtless drivers..

Before the era of simulators, personal nutritionists and social media, Formula 1 in the 1990s was a universe where the adrenaline did not stop when the chequered flag fell. On the contrary, a second race began, this time in luxury hotels, private yachts and exclusive clubs from Monaco to Suzuka, with drivers swapping their racing overalls for bare chests and helmets for glasses of vodka.

Former Red Bull boss Richard Hopkins has spoken to 'The Sun' and recounted several anecdotes. In particular, Hopkins recalled the time Mercedes legend Mika Hakkinen drank an entire bottle of vodka and ended up practically dead, in his words: "I was like Jesus Christ, I never knew. I thought he might take a sip or a drink or something, but to finish a bottle of vodka?" He didn't show up the next day, which was Monday, so he was fine, but he had media business the next day and you'd find out he had an extraordinary hangover."

The former Red Bull worker revealed that Mika's relationship with his wife was not entirely healthy: "His then-wife was leading him a little bit astray, but Mika didn't need much to lead him astray. He was another one who never enjoyed the media and always gave the impression of being very lonely, but he certainly wasn't. You have him off the racetrack, even on the racetrack, and what you see on television and in an interview is someone who says very few words.

Michael Schumacher's attitude

Hopkins also knew Ferrari's Michael Schumacher from 1993, when he was a mechanic at McLaren and the German was driving for Benetton. He says there are "some stories that can't be published" about the German. According to reports, Schumacher was well known at parties for tearing off his shirt: "I can't tell you the details of what I've seen. I had a good time in a wooden cabin in Suzuka, famous for Sunday nights. Many championships were won there and many parties were held."