Michael Schumacher is a name that every Formula One fan, young or old, knows as a legendary figure in the world of motorsport. Schumacher is widely regarded as one of the greatest Formula One drivers of all time, marked by his record-setting achievements including setting the record for the most Formula One Grand Prix race victories (91 – although this was later broken by Lewis Hamilton) and World Drivers’ Championship titles (seven – later tied again by Hamilton.

Despite all his achievements, some may remember one record Schumacher set that would put a slight mark on his otherwise illustrious career. In 1997, a controversial race in Jerez at the European Grand Prix resulted in the German racer becoming the only driver in the history of Formula One to be disqualified from an entire Championship season.

Before we dive into the events leading up to Schumacher’s disqualification from the 1997 Championship season, here’s a recap of the two drivers who would be effected by the events of the European Grand Prix of that same year.

Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher (born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from 1991 to 2006, before returning for a shorter stint between 2010 and 2012.

Schumacher began his racing career in karting at the age of four. He went on to win his first karting club championship title two years later using a kart built from discarded parts. Whilst regulations in Germany required a driver to be at least 14 years old to obtain a kart license, Schumacher obtained a license in Luxembourg at the age of 12, which he held whilst winning the German Junior Kart Championship, before obtaining his German license in 1983.

In 1988, he made his debut in single-seat car racing by participating in the German Formula Ford Championship and the Formula Konig series, in which the latter he eventually won. In 1989, Schumacher signed with the WTS Formula Three team, competing in the German Formula Three Championship – in which he claimed Championship glory at the end of the 1990 season.

Schumacher made a one-off Formula One appearance with Jordan Grand Prix at the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix, driving the number 32 car as a replacement for Bertrand Gachot who had been imprisoned for an incident the previous year. After observing his promising talent, he was signed by Benetton for the remainder of the 1991 season, before winning his first and second Drivers’ Championship titles consecutively in 1994 and 1995 with the team.

Schumacher moved to Ferrari in 1996, losing out on the Championship title in 1997 and 1998, before suffering from a broken leg due to a brake failure in 1999 at the British Grand Prix, meaning he missed six races in that season. 

He went on to win five consecutive titles from 2000 to 2004, breaking the record for the most amount of Championship titles – which was later equaled by Lewis Hamilton. Schumacher retired from the sport at the conclusion of the 2006 season, in which he finished second in the standings – before making a brief return with Mercedes from 2010 to 2012.

Jacques Villeneuve

Jacques Villeneuve is a Canadian former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from 1996 to 2006. Villeneuve won the Formula One World Drivers’ Championship in 1997 with Williams, and has claimed 11 wins and 23 podiums across the 11 seasons he competed in. He also raced in American open-wheel series’, winning the Championship Auto Racing Teams title and the Indianapolis 500 in 1995 with Team Green.

Villeneuve wasn’t the only member of his family to step being the wheel of racing cars, with his father Gilles Villeneuve competing in Formula One between 1977 and 1982 – finishing runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers’ Championship in 1979 with Ferrari – and his uncle Jacques-Joseph Villeneuve being a revered figure in Canadian motorsport circles – being a three-time winner of the World Championship Snowmobile Derby and a two-time consecutive Champion of Formula Atlantic (1980 and 1981).

Despite being born in Canada and being mainly raised in Monaco, neither national authorities would grant Villeneuve a license since he was a year younger than their minimum age requirement, so he obtained an international racing license in Andorra, and quickly progressed through to Italian Formula Three.

He moved to the higher-tiered Toyota Atlantic Championship, completing a singular race during the 1992 season, before returning in 1993 where he finished third overall. In 1995, racing for the renamed Team Green, Villeneuve won four races (including the Indianapolis 500) and the Drivers’ Championship.

Villeneuve graduated to Formula One for the 1996 season, after being hired by Williams, claiming four Grand Prix victories in his debut season, and became the first rookie runner-up in the World Drivers’ Championship as a result of a season-long battle with his teammate Damon Hill. 

His main title challenge occurred in the following season, against Ferrari’s Michael Schumacher, with Villeneuve claiming the Championship title following a controversial collision at the season-finale European Grand Prix, becoming the first Canadian World Drivers’ Champion. He continued to race in Formula One for various teams including British American Racing (BAR), Renault, Sauber and BMW Sauber, however he failed to achieve any further success, leaving the Championship mid-way through the 2006 season.

He has continued to race up until recently – completing the first three rounds of the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship, subsequently withdrawing for the team for the rest of the season after being replaced for the 24 Hours of Le Mans – competing in various forms of motor racing such as sports car racing, NASCAR and Touring Car Racing.

The 1997 European Grand Prix

The 1997 European Grand Prix was the final round of the 1997 Formula One World Championship, taking place on the 26th of October 1997 at the Circuito de Jerez. It was originally scheduled as the Portuguese Grand Prix at the Estoril Circuit, however was relocated to the Jerez Circuit due to Estoril’s management finding themselves in financial difficulties.

Heading into the final race of the season, there were two drivers still in contention for the World Drivers’ Championship title. Ferrari’s Michael Schumacher led the Championship with 78 points, one point ahead of Williams’ Jacques Villeneuve in second with 77 points. Further back, Heinz-Harald Frentzen was in third place on 41 points in the second Williams, while Jean Alesi and David Coulthard sat in fourth and fifth place on 36 and 30 points respectively. It is important to note that in the event of a tie on points, the rules stated that Villeneuve would be World Champion as he had won two races than Schumacher during the season.

During Qualifying, Jacques Villeneuve set a 1:21.072 lap time, fourteen minutes into the one hour session. Michael Schumacher, exactly fourteen minutes later set an identical time. With nine minutes of the session remaining, Heinz-Harald Frentzen crossed the line after his push lap, setting another identical time of 1:21.072. According to the regulations, in the event of drivers setting identical times in Qualifying, the order of the grid would be determined by the order in which the times were posted, meaning Villeneuve was awarded pole position followed by Schumacher and Frentzen.

Race

Schumacher had a better start off the line than pole-sitter Villeneuve, taking the lead of the race going into the first corner. Villeneuve’s tricky start also saw him lose another place to teammate Frentzen, however under the orders of the Williams team the positions were switched going into Lap 8.

Schumacher made his initial pit-stop on Lap 22, with Villenueve entering the pits to change his tyres on the following lap. Both drivers rejoined the track in their respective positions. During the first round of tyre changes, both McLaren’s swapped places with Coulthard leaving the pitlane ahead of Hakkinen, whilst Frentzen in the second Williams dropped to fifth position behind the pair. The order of the leaders remained the same after the second round of pit stops on Lap 43 and 44, however Villeneuve had now the gap down to Schumacher ahead.

Heading into Lap 48, the gap between the top two now sat at less than a second. At the sharp right-handed Dry Sac corner, Villeneuve made an attempt to pass Schumacher, braking later than the German to hold the inside line. Despite Villenueve being ahead on the track, Schumacher turned in on the Canadian driver resulting in contact between the front-right wheel of the Ferrari and the left-hand side pod of the Williams. The damage to Schumacher’s car caused him to retire from the race whilst Villeneuve was able to continue, albeit at a slower pace due to some damage to the mounts on his car’s battery.

With the incident occurring with 22 laps of the race remaining, by the last lap, the slower pace of Villeneuve’s Williams saw him caught by both McLarens – Hakkinen being the lead McLaren after regaining second place from Coulthard due to team orders. Despite taking the chequered flag in third place, Villeneuve had claimed enough points to finish ahead of Schumacher in the Drivers’ Championship and become World Champion – Villeneuve finishing the season on 81 points in comparison to Schumacher’s 78.

Post-Race

Schumacher-Villeneuve Collision

Before the race at Jerez, the then President of the FIA, Max Mosley, announced that penalties would be imposed to anyone who made an attempt to influence the outcome of the Championship. During the race, stewards reviewed video footage of the collision between Villeneuve and Schumacher, determining that the collision was “a racing incident” and no further action was taken in regards to Schumacher.

However, Schumacher was summoned to a disciplinary hearing by the FIA, and on the 11th of November 1997 it was announced that a decision was made to disqualify the German from the 1997 World Championship. This resulted in Schumacher losing his second place in the overall standings to Frentzen, although he would retain his race victories and other results and would not fined or face any further punishment in the following season – allowing Ferrari to remain second in the World Constructors’ Championship standings.

The disqualification was based on Schumacher’s breach of sporting regulations as, according to the FIA, Schumacher’s actions during the European Grand Prix were deemed as “deliberate” and “intentional”.  Max Mosley later stated that the panel had concluded that although the “actions were deliberate they were not premeditated”. With the rules explicitly prohibiting any maneuver that was deemed to be “dangerous”, Schumacher’s attempt to collide with Villeneuve fell heavily within this category.

The FIA justified their decision to disqualify the already two-time Champion by emphasising the need to maintain the integrity of the sport and ensure fair competition between all drivers. Schumacher’s actions were deemed to be an obvious attempt to prevent Villeneuve from challenging for the Championship title.

Ferrari escaped relatively unpunished despite Article 123 of the FIA International Sporting Code stating that the “entrant shall be responsible for all acts or omission on the part of the driver”, meaning that under this rule, Ferrari could have been punished for failing to control its driver.

Aftermath

Despite the controversy, Schumacher’s reputation remained largely intact as one of the greatest Formula One drivers, with many fans of the sport agreeing the incident was a result of the intense pressure of the Championship battle.

The 1997 season and Schumacher’s disqualification from the Champions seemed to highlight broader issues within the sport, including the role of team dynamics. Whilst being eager for success in the Constructors aspect of the sport, Ferrari faced criticism and scrutiny for its handling of the situation, with some arguing that the team should have made more of an effort to dissuade Schumacher from engaging in any risky maneuvers that could have jeopardised their Championship bid.

The 1997 European Grand Prix remains to be one of the most dramatic and controversial season finales in the sport – most recently challenged by the events of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the conclusion of the 2021 World Championship season – being the second time in only four seasons that an accident in the final race would decide the World title.