On this day 27 years ago, one of Formula 1’s most contentious championship deciders reached a crescendo of controversy as Michael Schumacher collided with Jacques Villeneuve.
Williams dominated the early 1990s, winning four Constructors’ Championships in five years by the 1997 season. But Ferrari had poached Schumacher from Benetton two years earlier, with Team Principal Jean Todt cementing his growing team with the arrival of its former Technical Director, Ross Brawn. The target was simple: seal Ferrari’s first Driver’s title since 1979.
The Williams FW19, although searingly fast, lacked the dominance of its 1996 predecessor that took Damon Hill to the title. Hill himself had departed for Arrows, another victim of Sir Frank Williams’ uncompromising negotiation methods. Highly rated Heinz-Harald Frentzen took his place but immediately struggled for pace.
The combination of a car that no longer dominated, with one driver struggling, and Adrian Newey’s high-profile departure helped Schumacher and Ferrari rapidly close up on the Grove outfit.
Although he won three races in 1996, Schumacher watched helplessly as arch-rival Hill cruised to the title, taking his prized mantle. With the reigning champion firmly out of the picture, Schumacher had the machinery to challenge in 1997, with he and the Scuderia throwing everything at a title bid. But the season would end with one of the Germans’ biggest mistakes and controversies.
In a thrilling season of cat and mouse between Williams and Ferrari, momentum swung towards both drivers in title contention at various stages of the season while also fending off a growing challenge from a resurgent McLaren.
Arriving at the season decider in Jerez, Schumacher held a vital one-point advantage after Villeneuve’s disqualification in Japan for ignoring waved yellow flags in qualifying. Deciding grid positions for the race in Jerez became a rare moment of F1 magic.
A curious qualifying coincidence
Measuring lap time in F1 is an exact science, but even this has limits. Measured to within one-thousandth of a second, this usually is enough to separate a driver. In Jerez, however, a truly remarkable coincidence took place.
Schumacher, Villeneuve and Frentzen all set an identical lap time of 1:21.072s. The tense atmosphere in the pits dissipated briefly as the drivers looked at their telemetry printouts and mechanics in awe at what they were witnessing.
As Villeneuve had set the lap time first, he took pole position. While timing equipment did technically exist to unequivocally confirm the fastest man that day, it is not mandated for use by the FIA.
A similar freak occurrence of multiple drivers setting identical lap times would not be repeated until the 2024 Canadian GP when Max Verstappen and George Russell both set a time of 1:12:000s. Russell took the honours on that occasion.
In both cases, someone will have known the true outcome of those qualifying sessions, but this information will likely never be divulged to the public. These will remain mysteries lost in F1 folklore.
Race start: Advantage Schumacher
Schumacher got the best start off the line, taking the lead into the first corner, while Villeneuve dropped down to third. The Ferrari immediately opened up a small lead while his rival defended from the McLarens of David Coulthard and Mika Hakkinen. The McLarens dropped back after their fast getaway but would feature again later in the race.
With both titles on the line, Williams intervened and ordered Frentzen out of the way on Lap 7. Unleashed, the young Canadian set off to hunt down Schumacher. The first round of pit stops on Laps 22 and 23 ended the status quo, but the gap between the two had shrunk to just five seconds.
Frentzen now leading, played the team game. He lapped significantly slower than the chasing Hakkinen and Schumacher. Villeneuve began to close up on the leading trio, and any advantage Schumacher had quickly evaporated.
However, unbeknownst to the millions watching around the globe, Schumacher had an issue with his F310B. The team was concerned he would not finish the race, but in an era before radio broadcasts, no one was aware of the very real possibility that the then two-time World Champion could lose his title. Frentzen pulled into the pits on Lap 28, surrendering the lead to the two title contenders.
As the race entered the halfway stage, Schumacher held the advantage over Villeneuve, with Frentzen in close formation behind, waiting to pounce on the Ferrari. It was now a matter of time before Villeneuve mounted an attack.
Schumacher slams out of championship contention
Villeneuve’s opportunity came on Lap 47. Closing within a second of Schumacher, after a slow lap from the Ferrari. Going down the back straight, the Canadian dived down the inside, catching his rival by surprise.
Schumacher left the door open but turned in on the Williams, the footage showing the German’s hands turning the wheel as Villeneuve’s sidepod went past. The Ferrari locked its tyre upon impact and became entrenched in the gravel.
Villeneuve continued with car damage, lapping five seconds slower. By the next lap, it became clear Schumacher’s antics had not caused terminal damage as the Ferrari driver looked on from the sidelines as his dream of a first title with the Scuderia slipped through his fingers.
The two McLarens passed the limping Williams as the laps closed down, but a third-place finish was still enough to secure the title. Hakkinen took a famous first win, with team-mate Coulthard finishing second.
Villeneuve’s podium and Frentzen’s one point for sixth secured the Constructors’ Championship, rubbing salt in Ferrari’s already gushing wound. However, actions have consequences, as Schumacher discovered to his cost.
Regret in the face of severe action
A sobering end to a thrilling year, the sport’s governing body took a dim view of the incident, Schumacher paying dearly. The FIA disqualified him from the championship standings, and he participated in the FIA’s road safety campaign.
Just three years after the controversial crash with Hill in Adelaide that secured him the title, questions over Schumacher’s sportsmanship once again bubbled to the surface. Though social media had yet to materialise, the newspaper headlines were brutal.
His reputation damaged, Schumacher released a statement, as reported in the Herald at the time, accepting responsibility for the crash. He also confirmed his relationship with Villeneuve had survived the incident.
”I will take a lesson out of this and will do things differently next year,” Schumacher said.
”It’s something I accept due to my mistake. I’m not superman or the biggest idiot, I’m somewhere in the middle.
”The people involved in the situation saw it far less dramatically than the press. I saw Jacques a couple of hours after the race and we had a good drink together. Between us we had a good relationship and that has not changed.”
Lucky to only be disqualified from that season’s championship and not banned for future races, the most significant consequence was applied himself. His controversial driving had defined his time in the sport, but this seemed to fade after the incident.
A career-changing aftermath
His legacy changed irreversibly that day in Spain. Whether from the FIA stripping him of second place in the standings or the relentless onslaught from the media.
While Jerez 1997 did not define Schumacher’s career, it is a race that made him grow as a driver. Launched into a fierce but respectable rivalry with Hakkinen and McLaren the following year, Schumacher never again performed a do-or-die move on a title contender.
Schumacher will be remembered as one of the greats for good reason. Fast, relentless, ruthless, and cunning, he maintained his reputation throughout his career. However, when examining his driving before and after Jerez 1997, two different drivers are on display.
His failure to hit the correct part of Villeneuve and eliminate him as he did Hill transformed his duelling ability in ways that few realise. While he battled hard with Hakkinen and Fernando Alonso, professional fouls were never committed again in the heat of a finale. We must remember Jerez 1997, but for the journey it set Schumacher on, not the incident itself.
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