Parting Words

Jacques Villeneuve, the Formula One World Champion in 1997, has never been a fan, or friend, of Michael Schumacher.

And the French-Canadian, who recently saw his place in the BMW team taken by the promising Polish driver Robert Kubica, and is likely to have driven his final race in Formula One, slammed Schumi in an interview with the F1 Racing magazine.

The final straw for Villeneuve was Schumi's questionable tactics during qualifying for this year's Monaco Grand Prix, where Schumi stopped his car in the middle of the track in the dying seconds of the session, ruining everyone's final chance to knock him out of the pole position. Although the officials and telemetry data on the car both confirmed that it was not an accident, and penalized Schumi by sending him to the back of the grid, Schumi never admitted that he did it deliberately. And Villeneuve was so furious that he decided to quit the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, which is headed by Schumi of all people.

"Michael simply isn't a great champion," said Villeneuve whose late father, Gilles, was known as a daredevil in Formula One in the late 70s' and early 80s' and have been compared with the great Ayrton Senna. "(And Schumi) isn't a great human being", he added.

Villeneuve also noted that while Senna had also played dirty tricks on the track, he was really open about it and even made it known that he would do so beforehand, just like his crash with Alain Prost at the very first corner in the Japanese Grand Prix in 1990. By doing so, Villeneuve regarded Senna's way of doing things has "more class" and "dignity".

In 1994, Schumi was leading the Championship going into the final race in Adelaide, Australia, and for Williams's Damon Hill to overtake him, he had to finish ahead of Schumi. Late in the race, when Hill was harassing Schumi laps after laps, Schumi finally cracked and inexplicably went wide in a corner, and Hill shot up the gaping hole on the other side of the track. Only for Schumi to swerve across the track, and the two cars collided. Schumi's car was thrown into the air and had to retire on the spot, and although Hill managed to continue, he also suffered damaged suspension which would put him out of the race. With Hill retired scoring no points, Schumi won his first World Championship title.

Villeneuve was himself nearly a victim of Schumi's gamesmanship (or ruthlessness, depending on your side). In the final race at Jerez, Spain of the 1997 season, where both drivers still had a shot to become World Champion, Villeneuve managed to overtake Schumi at the end of a straight, only for Schumi to deliberately drive into the side of Villeneuve's Williams-Renault, trying to force the latter out of the race, and thus preserving his lead in the Championship. Only this time his plan backfired, and Villeneuve escaped the scrap unscathed, and Schumi himself wound up stuck in the gravel trap, thus handing the Championship to Villeneuve on a plate. Schumi would later be stripped of his second place in the Championship as a result of this incident.

Villeneuve's biggest beefs was the supporters turning a blind eye to Schumi's tactics. "Michael takes advantage of the loyalty," he said, which has led to Schumi believing that he is bigger than the sports itself. Villeneuve also claimed that due to all the controversies, Schumi will be forgotten by the fans once he retires, which is unlike Senna who, despite his death 12 years ago, is still revered by fans all over the world.

In an era where political correctness is of utmost importance, it's rare that anyone can be so outspoken these days without worrying about the consequences. That is perhaps one of the reasons why Villeneuve has lost his seat with his team.

And it's also rare that a driver can sum up the sentiments of and speak out for so many racing fans that well.