1997: Schumacher vs. Villeneuve
The second half of the 90s offered a brief but intense rivalry between two drivers like Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve. The former, who moved to Ferrari in 1996 after two world titles won with Benetton, arrived in Maranello in the same year the Canadian made his F1 debut at the wheel of the Williams. Son of Gilles (one of the most beloved drivers in Ferrari’s history), he also arrived with the goal of establishing himself in the Circus after winning the CART championship (now IndyCar) and the Indianapolis 500. A duel that reached its climax at the 1997 European GP, in Jerez, when Villeneuve attempted to overtake the German for first position, while the Ferrari driver decisively and controversially closed the door on the Canadian. A contact that had negative consequences for Schumacher, who, in addition to the retirement and the lost championship, was also disqualified for the maneuver.
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The first victory and the world championship
Almost thirty years after that episode, which gave Villeneuve his first and only F1 world title, the Canadian returned to talk about the rivalry between him and Schumacher on the Beyond the Grid podcast, focusing on what was his first F1 victory obtained at the Nürburgring in 1996, also in that case ahead of the German: “It was fantastic, and he was always in the rearview mirror – he said regarding the first success – partly because I was still racing according to the IndyCar style, which means without creating a gap. I was controlling Michael. I just kept him in the rearview mirror, because that’s what I was used to. This changed over the years, once I understood how F1 had to be approached, but it took a while to change. It was a fantastic race. Overtaking wasn’t always needed to keep the attention high. He was always so close that a small mistake of mine would have given him the lead, and then I wouldn’t have been able to overtake him. It’s always difficult when you’re the prey, because you can only make mistakes.”
Enemies on and off the track
Villeneuve and Schumacher were therefore rivals on the track, but also off it. Between the two, as confirmed by the 54-year-old, there was never a good relationship: “We never got along – he continued – it’s strange, because in reality we never socialized in all the years I was in F1. Yet he was my main competitor, so it was a bizarre situation. I’m not sure if it was due to the rivalry on the track. Maybe because the Villeneuve name was still linked to Ferrari as well and it had an effect. In Italy there were fans who cheered for him, for Ferrari, and also for me, and this unbalanced things a bit. Also, he knew I didn’t care, that I wasn’t impressed or intimidated by him, and I think he wasn’t used to that. That’s why in the battles I had with him it didn’t always go well for him, because I stood my ground. I noticed the same thing when I was at BAR later. He took all the time he needed. There was a sort of, I don’t know if respect, or uncertainty about what would happen, but he knew I would just face him. Maybe the fact of coming from the United States also helped.”
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The overtake at Estoril
Another iconic moment of the duel between the two drivers occurred at Estoril in 1996, when Villeneuve was the protagonist of a very complicated overtake on the outside against Schumacher at the banked corner before the finish line: “For many years I was very sad, because the only available shot was the onboard one, which didn’t allow seeing everything that was happening – he concluded reflecting on that maneuver – then, not many years ago, the outside footage appeared and I thought: ‘Oh, wow. Okay, now you can see it well’. During all the winter tests, that corner reminded me of a one-mile oval, like the one in Nazareth, for example, which has a slight banking, with a type of corner that is a bit elevated. In IndyCar, you overtake cars on the outside precisely because of the slight banking. I spent the whole winter telling Jock Clear (race engineer) and the team that I would overtake someone on the outside during the race. It was a goal. I know it sounds arrogant or presumptuous, but it was part of the fun, and that’s why I’ve always loved racing: for those moments where you can really be different, make a difference, do something you know others wouldn’t do. Before the race, Jock told me: ‘Okay, tell us in which lap, so we come with a spoon to pick up the pieces’. He shouldn’t have said that, because that little extra push motivated me to do it. I think he knew it. We were about to overtake a backmarker, so he slowed down a bit to catch his breath, and that’s when I saw my moment. I thought: “Okay, he slowed down a bit. I’m not giving up, I’ll overtake him on the outside and surprise him’. That was the only way to overtake Michael, by surprising him. I remember the second half of the corner. In the first half I thought: ‘Oh, wow, I’ve passed him’, then suddenly I lost grip, the car started to slide and I thought: ‘Oh, it’s going to be tough’. But I stayed on track. Normally, on an oval, you come out of the corners faster because you start from a higher point, slightly downhill, with a smaller steering angle. That’s why usually the outside line works. But with the slipstream of the slow car in front of me, I had enough speed to overtake Michael and then take the lead. It was a very close race, and yes, the car was moving on the marbles. It probably should have ended up against the wall.”
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