Michael Schumacher is a godly figure in F1. At the turn of this millennium, he had already cemented himself as the legend of the sport. By 2004, he was the seven-time world champion, smashing every record.
A big reason behind this success was Schumacher’s extremely competitive nature. He even risked crashes to win the races, and his rivals often called him out.
His first championship win was controversial as he airlifted Damon Hill’s car during the last race of the 1994 season, which was a title-deciding race. The crash forced both drivers to retire from the race, and the German won the championship by a point.
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Juan Pablo Montoya called Michael Schumacher stupid
10 years later, to Schumacher’s first championship win, the Ferrari superstar was vying against Williams driver Juan Pablo Montoya. Schumacher dangerously shoved Montoya out of the latter’s racing line to get an overtake.
The move could have been life-threatening, as Montoya could have lost control and could have crashed somewhere. Though, the Colombian, after a few shakes, got himself stable.
Schumacher defended himself by saying that he didn’t see him. But it rattled Montoya, prompting him to call the seven-time world champion stupid in front of the whole media while the Ferrari superstar was sitting right next to him.
“Well, he said he didn’t see me. He thought I wasn’t there. So I’m amazed. Actually, I got in front of him we were braking a little bit. No chance, You know you gotta be either blind or stupid not to see me,” said Montoya.
Jacques Villeneuve accuses Schumacher of bringing dirty driving culture
Over the years, there have been drivers who have resorted to reckless driving. Even the current world champion has been labelled careless on the track and often got multiple penalties.
In 2021, he collided with his rival Lewis Hamilton twice, which resulted in massive damages to both teams. Both drivers were accused of harming safety over title win at that time.
At that time, former world champion Jacques Villeneuve, who had contested against Schumacher, accused his former rival of setting a precedent for such nasty driving.
In 1997, Schumacher was disqualified from the season when he crashed into the Canadian race driver while competing in Jerez. His wins, podiums, and poles were included in his career statistics.
Also read: Adrian Newey recalls how 4-time World Champion learnt a lesson after Canadian GP loss
