There are few pals in Formula 1 – particularly amongst these driving for various groups.
And the connection – or lack thereof – between Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve was no totally different. As Villeneuve tells it, ‘Schumi’ – who suffered traumatic mind accidents following a snowboarding accident in December 2013 – was the reigning world champion and already a longtime famous person when he made his debut as the brand new child on the block in 1996.
After profitable back-to-back titles with Benetton, it was then that Schumacher, 55, made the change to Ferrari and accepted (not less than initially) a drop in trophy prospects whereas Villeneuve was thriving at Williams. And that juxtaposition in fortunes seemingly did not assist an rising Villeneuve in any efforts to forge a bond together with his rival driver.
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“We by no means had one [a relationship],” the Canadian instructed BetIdeas. “I’ve had some nice relationships in racing and made some very shut pals, however I by no means had one with him. It is a disgrace as a result of he is without doubt one of the best.
“I don’t know if we might have gotten alongside as a result of we have been very totally different personalities. It doesn’t imply we couldn’t have. We simply won’t ever know.”
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(Image: Bongarts/Getty Images)
Villeneuve, 52, received the 1997 F1 championship after beating Schumacher on the ultimate day of the season, which additionally resulted within the German being disqualified from the marketing campaign for a harmful manoeuvre trying to dam his title nemesis. It wasn’t till three seasons later that Schumacher reclaimed the crown within the first of 5 straight titles with Ferrari, however it was largely due to quick starter Villeneuve that he was delayed within the first place.
“When I received into F1 he joined Ferrari,” Villeneuve continued. “I used to be the following massive factor with out actually deserving it, partly due to my dad [Gilles], who clearly had pushed for Ferrari. I feel there was some enmity there which didn’t assist the connection.
(Image: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto through Getty Images)
“Michael was not used to being beaten and was never being overtaken. It started when I overtook him on the outside at Estoril on the last corner the year before. That did not have a good effect on our relationship.”
The Quebec-born famous person went on to lavish reward upon his former arch-rival, describing the satisfaction of beating Schumacher to a world title as “unbelievable.” The duo won’t ever have that chance to search out out in the event that they may very well be pals off the monitor, however Villeneuve seems grateful for the competitors they shared throughout their primes.