Product Description
The 1997 season saw a season long championship battle between the Williams of Jaques Villeneuve & Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher.
Michael led the championship by a single point going into the last race. This European GP had everyone sat on the edge of their seats from start to finish - with more than one Jaw-dropping moments...
The first moment that surprised the f1 world came in qualifying. When the one-hour qualifying session started, Jaques Villeneuve set an early & very fast time of 1:21.072. Fourteen minutes later Michael Schumacher set a very fast time to try & match his Championship rival - and he literally matched the time. 1:21.072. The two championship protagonists had set identical times in qualifying ahead of their end of season showdown. Just for a laugh - the second Williams driven by Heinz-Harald Frentzen thought he'd join the fun and also set a 1:21.072. In this scenario the grid is set by who set the time first.
Going into the race, Villeneuve & Schumacher lined up on the front -row. Schumacher took the lead from the start and opened up a gap to the Williams' behind. The gap fluctuated over the next 40 laps, as he stopped for the second time with a lead of just over 2 seconds on his Canadian rival. Villeneuve put in some of his greatest laps, and on lap 47 pulled up behind Schumacher - and into Curva Dry Sack went for a move on the inside. The move was from a long way back, and clearly caught Schumacher of guard. What was even more unexpected is that Schumacher would deliberately turn into Jaques Villeneuve...
Villeneuve carried on and went onto take 3rd, whilst Schumacher went into the gravel & beached himself. Ferrari team boss, Ross Brawn, said in an interview that Schumacher came back to the pits convinced that Villeneuve crashed into him - demanding that the Canadian be disqualified. It wasn't until the Ferrari Team Principle showed 'Schumi' the footage that the reality of what had really happened, set in.
The result from this incident meant Schumacher did not win the 1997 World Championship.
Despite what the official hat says.
After the race, an enquiry took place that deemed Schumacher's actions to be reckless & he was disqualified from the Championship.
This hat should have never been given away, and much less signed by a man who was confident that he would win the championship.
The cap not only features the signature of a dismayed Michael Schumacher, but it has also been dated with "Jerez 1997" - the place and time where he lost his first shot at a Championship with Ferrari.
This is a genuine relic of Formula 1 history. Whether you see it as a reminder of not celebrating too early - or that despite his skill that seems super-natural; Schumacher is only human.
* Michael Schumacher anticipated 1997 World Champion Hat
* Signed & dated by Michael
* Jerez 1997
* Ferrari Cap
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