Expiloto critica a Michael Schumacher

What happened on lap 36 of Adelaide, in the Australian Grand Prix held on November 13, 1994, will forever remain in history. Michael Schumacher, aboard his Benetton, left the track and grazed a wall, which ended up damaging his vehicle. This gave, in the last race of that year, a golden opportunity to Williams’ Damon Hill, who was fighting in the close fight for the title.

However, the German surprised everyone and returned to the track, with all the difficulties of his machine, and tried to block his opponent’s overtaking, which caused a collision. The scene ended with both pilots outside. This week marked 30 years of that day in which Schumi won the first of his seven Formula 1 titles.

Because of this date, The Sun precisely interviewed the British Damon Hill, who, despite the time, did not hesitate to criticize Schumacher’s sportsmanship: “It has really become a stain on his incredible career. What happened in Adelaide was a bit disappointing, the way it ended, disappointed in him. Let’s just say, that’s how he approached things.”

“You look at someone like Roger Federer, who has had an outstanding career, and there is not a single blemish in it, a total athlete from start to finish. Why wouldn’t you want that for your legacy? We knew they were a little on the limit in terms of how they ran, but I had no idea he was willing to cut me off like that. “That was the next level, really,” he added.

Hill even mentioned that he received threats before the race: “Some guy had written to the police and said, ‘If Damon Hill qualifies before Michael, I’m going to shoot him.’’. So we were with security personnel throughout the weekend. “They had to secretly take me to Hockenheim in the back of a police car, they literally took me through the forest.”

However, Ralf Schumacher, brother of the seven-time world champion, defends his relative’s maneuver and blames the Briton: “Under the current rules, Damon Hill would be to blame because he simply arrived too late, realized and got out. “I just watched it again, the replay, and I have to say: it was clear to me that when it comes to the championship, you don’t give up position that way,” he told Motorsport-Total.com.