Quebecers had gotten into the habit of getting up early on Sunday mornings to watch Jacques Villeneuve’s career in Formula 1. of brilliance.
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A stunt that their favorite driver pulled off with panache during a European Grand Prix contested under high tension and which we will highlight in a few days the 25e anniversary.
Story of a weekend disputed in several rounds and where Villeneuve managed to put K.-O. a tough opponent named Michael Schumacher to become world champion.
For this 17e and last stage of the season, the German arrived at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit in Spain with a slim lead of one point at the expense of Villeneuve. Schumacher knew that, to win a third title (which would have been his first at Ferrari), he had to make sure not only to keep the Williams-Renault behind him, but also – and above all – not to see it disappear from his rear view mirrors. if she got too close.
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An army against him
As soon as he arrived in southern Spain on Thursday, Villeneuve quickly realized that he already had two holds against him. It was no longer a duel between two drivers, but a confrontation between him and a war machine, in this case Ferrari, which had deployed heavy artillery to achieve its ends.
“We are fighting for the championship, and I want to win it in the most correct way possible… without accident,” Schumacher hinted. Exactly the opposite happened.
PA Images via Reuters Connect
Coming out of his single-seater stuck in the gravel trap of the Jerez de la Frontera circuit in Spain, Michael Schumacher hopes, in vain, that Jacques Villeneuve is in turn the victim of an abandonment.
“It was a political game. It is clear that Ferrari was taking every means to destabilize us. But I didn’t bite. On the contrary, it motivated me,” Villeneuve recalled.
During the last free practice session, on Saturday morning, Eddie Irvine had the mission to hinder Villeneuve once again during a fast lap. It was one maneuver too many. We saw the Quebec driver hastily leave his car to tell his way of thinking about Schumacher’s teammate.
“I wanted to tell him that it was not the way to act, while making sure that the cameras captured the scene,” said Villeneuve, who had called Irvine an idiot. To a question from journalist Daniel Poulin, the fiery Irish pilot replied curtly that “French Canadians [sont] the only ones who hope to see Villeneuve win”.
Three identical times
Later, we will also learn that the boss of the Scuderia, Jean Todt, had ordered Norberto Fontana to harm Villeneuve during the race. It should be noted that Ferrari was also the engine manufacturer of the Argentinian driver’s Sauber.
“Fontana came to see me, a few years later, to apologize and admit to me that he made this gesture in the hope of keeping his driving the following season,” said Villeneuve.
Then, it was an absolutely unimaginable situation that we witnessed during the qualifying session. Credited with the fastest time after only fifteen minutes by completing the circuit in 1 min 21.072 s, Villeneuve was awarded the provisional lead position.
But a dramatic change, a quarter of an hour later, when Schumacher equaled his rival’s time to the nearest thousandth, before Heinz-Harald Frentzen (teammate of Villeneuve) also came to register an identical time. Unheard of in Formula 1. Villeneuve being the first to have achieved it, it was he who had the privilege of starting in the lead position alongside Schumacher.
Steering wheel and… yellow wigs
From the start signal, Villeneuve was however surprised not only by Schumacher, but also by Frentzen who, a little later, let him pass.
Second behind Schumacher, Villeneuve waited for his last pit stop to attack. Fitted with fresh tyres, he showed up immediately behind Schumacher’s Ferrari to surprise him at 48e round.
Photo courtesy FOA
On lap 48, Jacques Villeneuve dives on the inside of the bend and surprises Michael Schumacher.
“I thought I had two laps to do it after my stop and I had chosen a section of the track where Michael was slower than me to dive inside,” explained Villeneuve.
Seeing himself trapped, Schumacher gave a swerve [le coup de volant de la honte, lira-t-on dans plusieurs médias] towards his rival. But it is the watered sprinkler who will pay the bill.
Photo courtesy FOA
The German swerves, and contact between the two cars is inevitable.
“When he hit me, I was not surprised. Coming from him, I expected everything. There is one thing that cannot be blamed on him, it is his consistency … ”, affirmed Villeneuve.
We know the rest. The Ferrari got stuck in the gravel pit without ever getting out. Despite a slightly damaged car, Villeneuve managed to reach the finish in third place, not without letting Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard orchestrate a double for the McLaren team.
If Ferrari had chosen to produce championship caps, which were obviously never used, the Williams team had found a more original way to celebrate the title of its pilot: by wearing wigs for the members of its organization. yellow.
For the record, Villeneuve had dyed his hair blond a few months earlier.
Formula 1 European Grand Prix
Circuit of Jerez de la Frontera, 17e and last stage of the 1997 Championship
Final ranking
