21 years ago, Michael Schumacher suffered one of the biggest crashes of his F1 career. In the two decades that have passed since the crash, the sport has undergone some monumental changes. This includes a heavy reduction of private testing, a factor that was commonplace in past eras. These tests often took place away from the glare of television cameras, and the test that featured in Schumacher's major crash was no different. Fresh from clinching his seventh championship at the Belgian Grand Prix, Schumacher was quickly back in action behind the wheel. He joined team-mate Rubens Barrichello at Monza to prepare for the final European race of the season in what should have been a routine session. His running, however, was brought to a premature and dramatic end. The dominant F2004 was pitched off the circuit and into the barriers at a speed of almost 305 km/h. The German's press officer, Sabine Kehm, later confirmed that the incident on the start-finish straight appeared to have been caused by a failure of the left-rear tyre. Schumacher's car spun in the braking zone for the first chicane before hitting the wall hard with its rear. Despite being visibly shaken by the incident, Schumacher managed to climb out of the cockpit under his own power. He lay on the grass to compose himself as the medical teams arrived at the scene. After a brief check-up on-site, the German was able to stand and get into the medical car for the short journey back to the pits. Despite the severity of the impact, he decided against a visit to the circuit's medical centre and instead took a flight back to his home in Switzerland. Schumacher would return to Monza for the Italian Grand Prix soon after and finished the race in second place, behind team-mate Barrichello. View the images of the incident below!
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