The infamous Crashgate scandal of 2008 has come back to light after former F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone admitted in a recent interview that the sport and the FIA knew about the incident. However, they did not take any action to protect F1 from getting into controversy over a huge scandal. While this pivotal moment that decided the 2008 championship has been making headlines recently, there was another incident that took place 14 years prior to this event. That incident took place in 1994 when former Benetton boss Flavio Briatore almost allegedly got legendary F1 driver Michael Schumacher suspended during his maiden title-winning season, as per a report from Business F1.
The 1994 campaign was a huge moment for Schumacher as he won his maiden championship that season when he beat Damon Hill for the title. The German would go on to defend his championship also in the following season before winning five consecutive titles from 2000 to 2004.
However, Schumacher’s first championship title was not easy and was followed by immense controversy. Not only did the 54-year-old crash into Hill in the season finale in Australia but also then Benetton team principal Briatore allegedly almost got him suspended.
How did Flavio Briatore almost got Michael Schumacher suspended?
The 1994 season was marred by immense controversy because there were cheating allegations against Benetton. According to a report issued by autosport.com, there were allegations that the team fueled the car without a filter.
As a result, their pit stops took a much shorter time, giving their drivers an advantage. The same was only discovered when Jos Verstappen’s Benetton caught fire during the 1994 German GP.
However, since the company in charge of the fuel rigs had allegedly told teams not to use the filter, no action was taken against Benetton.
Flavio Briatore almost got Michael Schumacher banned in 1994! How different things could have been. 🤯
Source: Business F1 pic.twitter.com/UgbIPvV0hk
— F1 Library (@dnf_fastest) August 20, 2023
Moreover, Business F1 has also reported that then-FIA president Max Mosley was aware of the same. Despite that, no action was taken against Schumacher or Benetton. The report states that although Mosley thought of suspending Schumacher, he never did so because the German got the sport a higher viewership.
That is not it, as the report also states that the issue was eventually brought to the notice of Flavio Briatore. And, instead of addressing the issue, he was supposedly involved in covering it up. It is this reason why the 73-year-old allegedly almost got Schumacher suspended back in 1994.
Schumacher beat Hill for the 1994 championship amid huge controversy
The cheating allegations were not the only part of a controversy that took place during the 1994 season. This is because many believed at the time that Michael Schumacher deliberately crashed into Damon Hill during the season finale in Melbourne to win his maiden championship.
Since the two crashed, Hill, who was behind in the championship by a point, could not outscore the German. As a result, the 62-year-old failed to win his maiden title that season but did manage to win it two years after in 1996.
