6 Years of Regret Pushed Michael Schumacher to Admit “One Thing” He Would Do Over Again

One does not win 7 World Titles by driving around the track just like every other driver. There has to be that one special thing about a driver. Like Max Verstappen had the aggression in 2021 that won him the championship. Michael Schumacher was clinical and had a sharp edge about himself. Despite being labeled as a perfectionist, Schumacher finally acknowledged the one thing that he would change if going back in time was a thing, after 6 long years of regret. 

The 1997 F1 season came down to the wire. It was Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve separated by just 1 point as they went into the Jerez GP. Schumacher, who started P2, overtook Villeneuve at the start, taking the lead in the race. After making the final pit stops, it was straight to the end of the race. When Villeneuve finally got close enough to Schumacher, he dived on his inside. The German was surprised by the move and, in an attempt to protect his position, turned into Jacques Villeneuve.

Unfortunately, Schumacher turning into Villeneuve resulted in the 7X champion being bumped off track and then getting stuck in the gravel trap. Schumacher was later disqualified from the 1997 championship for deliberately turning into the Canadian. We can only imagine how much regret Schumacher would’ve been in. Nonetheless, after 6 years of suffering from regret, Michael Schumacher in 2003 finally advised that he’d go back in time and do the race all over again.

According to the book, Michael Schumacher, the Edge of Greatness, the German driver said, “It took me a long time to see what I had done, I probably didn’t want to admit it. If there was one thing I could do over again in F1 it would be that race in Jerez.”

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Jacques Villeneuve was expecting Michael Schumacher to not give up his lead that easily. The Canadian explained the same in a video uploaded on the Formula1 YouTube channel. 

Jacques Villeneuve was expecting Michael Schumacher to turn in on him.

Even before the race began at Jerez in 1997, Jacques Villeneuve was playing mind games with the driver. The driver admitted to telling other drivers and talking to them about how Michael Schumacher crashed into Damon Hill in 1994 to win the championship. As a result, Villeneuve knew that he knew Schumacher will make contact with him if he tried to overtake him.

According to a video uploaded by Formula 1 on their YouTube channel, Jacques Villeneuve said, “I knew I had to surprise him, which meant pulling out at the last moment possible when he wasn’t looking at his mirrors anymore. That’s what I did when we went into the breaking zone, I pulled out, went inside and braked as late as I could. And when I went next to him and he hadn’t turned in on me, I couldn’t believe it. Half a second later, I felt a big jolt, he did run into me.”

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What do you think about Michael Schumacher admitting to his mistake?