F1 champion excluded from season after controversial FIA punishment

Twenty-eight years have passed since one of Formula 1's most controversial championship moments, yet the memory of Michael Schumacher's desperate lunge at Jacques Villeneuve remains as vivid as ever.

The 1997 European Grand Prix at Jerez delivered a season finale that would see Schumacher stripped of his championship position and subjected to an unprecedented punishment that left even his homeland's media crying foul.

The German had arrived at the Spanish circuit with a slender one-point advantage over Villeneuve, transforming the season's final race into a winner-takes-all showdown.

After 16 races of fierce competition between Ferrari and Williams, the title fight had boiled down to this singular moment on October 26, 1997.

What unfolded on lap 48 would forever alter the championship's outcome and Schumacher's legacy. Following pit stops that had bunched the pair together, Villeneuve seized his opportunity at Dry Sack corner, diving to the inside with fresher tyres and superior pace.

Rather than defend conventionally or concede the position, Schumacher made a calculated decision that backfired spectacularly.

"I was surprised that he turned in on me," Villeneuve later reflected. "But he didn't do it well enough because he went off, and I did not."

The Ferrari struck Villeneuve's Williams before careering into the gravel trap, Schumacher's championship hopes buried in the Andalusian sand.

Remarkably, Villeneuve's car remained drivable despite the impact, and the Canadian nursed his wounded machine home to third place, securing the four points needed to claim his maiden world title.

The stewards see no evil

Initially, race stewards ruled the collision a racing incident, taking no immediate action against Schumacher.

The decision seemed to vindicate the German's aggressive move, even as television replays suggested a deliberate attempt to eliminate his rival, echoing his championship-clinching collision with Damon Hill at Adelaide three years earlier.

But the reprieve proved temporary. Two weeks later, the FIA World Motorsport Council convened to examine Schumacher's conduct more thoroughly.

Max Mosley, the FIA president, acknowledged the seriousness of the incident whilst offering some mitigation for the German's actions.

"It was an instinctive reaction," Mosley explained. "If we thought it was premeditated, then we would have to take a very serious view. It is still a very serious matter, and it is a major penalty we have imposed."

The council determined that whilst Schumacher's manoeuvre was deliberate, it was "not made with malice or premeditation." This distinction proved crucial in shaping the punishment that followed.

An unprecedented penalty

On November 11, 1997, 28 years ago today, the FIA delivered its verdict. Schumacher would be excluded from the final results of the 1997 drivers' championship, effectively erasing his runner-up position behind Villeneuve.

The German retained his five race victories and accumulated points for statistical purposes, but his championship standing was eliminated entirely.

The decision represented an unprecedented punishment in Formula 1's modern era. Never before had a driver been retrospectively removed from an entire championship's final standings for a single incident, regardless of how controversial.

Yet the FIA's creativity didn't end there. Rather than imposing a hefty fine or race ban for the following season, the governing body mandated Schumacher's participation in a road safety campaign for seven days during 1998.

The unusual punishment reflected the FIA's desire to extract some public benefit from the controversy whilst avoiding a ban that Mosley described as "futile."

The aftermath divides opinion

The decision to strip Schumacher of his championship position, whilst requiring his participation in road safety initiatives, struck many as an oddly proportioned punishment.

Even Germany's tabloid Das Bild branded the FIA's verdict as "crazy," reflecting the bewilderment that greeted this unconventional disciplinary approach.

Schumacher's exclusion elevated Heinz-Harald Frentzen to second place in the final standings, completing a Williams one-two behind champion Villeneuve.

Ferrari retained its constructors' points, finishing second to Williams by 21 points in what had been an exceptionally competitive season.

The incident crystallised the perception of Schumacher as a driver willing to cross ethical boundaries when championships were at stake.

Following his 1994 collision with Hill and now this deliberate strike on Villeneuve, a pattern had emerged that would shadow his reputation even as he claimed five consecutive titles with Ferrari.

For Villeneuve, vindication came not just in the championship trophy but in the FIA's acknowledgement that his rival had indeed attempted to eliminate him from contention.