One of Michael Schumacher’s hardest rivals has lifted the lid on his title-deciding collision with the F1 nice.
Jacques Villeneuve and Schumacher had a bitter battle for the 1997 championship, which resulted in acrimony when the pair crashed in the course of the closing phases of season-ending European Grand Prix at Jerez in Spain. Schumacher was deemed to have intentionally pushed into the facet of Villeneuve’s Williams because the Canadian dived down the within of the German.
Schumacher’s Ferrari slivered into the gravel lure and out of the race whereas Villeneuve went on to complete third, which was sufficient for him to take his one and solely world title. Schumacher was subsequently punished by being disqualified from the championship standings.
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Almost 30 years on, Villeneuve has recalled his rivalry with Schumacher and that notorious conflict. Villeneuve advised BetIdeas: “He was the guy to beat. You knew you had to surprise him and do something special to beat him, something you probably could never repeat, a one-in-a-million manoeuvre which you had to go for.
“Racing him, even though it was frustrating and we got angry at each other, the satisfaction of beating him to the world championship was just unbelievable.”
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(Image: AFP through Getty Images)
Villeneuve indulged in “mind games” forward of that Jerez showdown, taking each probability of reminding the media about Schumacher’s collision with one other Williams driver, Damon Hill, on the finish of the 1994 season. On that event, in Australia, each drivers had been taken out of the race, with Schumacher taking the title by some extent.
Then driving for Benetton, he was extensively deemed to have crashed into the Hill intentionally seconds after colliding with a wall as he tried to fend off the British driver. However, Schumacher wasn’t punished and took the primary of his seven F1 titles.
“A lot of that final race happened before it started,” added Villeneuve. “It concerned me ensuring via the media that we made everybody conscious of what had occurred towards Damon and the way he had gained that championship.
(Image: AFP through Getty Images)
“That forced the FIA [the sport’s governing body] to think that if something nasty happened the driver would be disqualified. That put doubt in Schumacher’s mind that he couldn’t think that if he took me out nothing would happen.”
On the transfer which might settle the 1997 championship, Villeneuve recalled: “Then it occurred. I stunned him. He ended up within the gravel.
“That is what helped in that overtaking manoeuvre. I had a cut up second. I had determined popping out of the earlier nook, it was that lap or by no means, figuring out how the tyres had been. I knew I needed to get out of that nook only a metre nearer to him than every other lap.
(Image: AFP through Getty Images)
“I could see how deep I was braking and every time I was just getting to his gearbox. I thought if I could just get one metre closer down the straight I could get a bit of a tow and then I could dive bomb him and it probably should work.
“He wouldn’t expect it or see me because I was too far in his mirror. That’s why I didn’t pull out until he started braking. He never saw me coming. It was split second. It was the championship or nothing. So why not go for it? Why finish second?
“It was never the case that I went to take him off. I actually did everything I could to stay on track to make the corner, which I did in the end. It was my best move ever in racing.”
(Image: AFP through Getty Images)
Ferrari and Schumacher had been so assured of securing the title, baseball caps to mark his third drivers’ crown had even been produced.
Villeneuve stated: “The Schumacher camp had already made number one baseball caps with three stars on them and Eddie Irvine [Schumacher’s team-mate] ended up finding one so he walked around the paddock with it!”