from the F1 Racing Magazine:
Williams came close to protesting 94 title
Sunday, 18, June, 2006, 13:00
Williams engineering director Patrick Head has revealed that his
team would have protested Michael Schumachers 1994 world title
victory had it not been for Ayrton Sennas fatal accident earlier
that year.
Schumacher won the championship in acrimonious circumstances,
colliding with Damon Hills Williams in the Adelaide season finale
seconds after running off the track and clipping the wall.
The contact forced both cars to retire, giving Schumacher who had
a one-point lead going into the race his first world
championship.
There were widespread accusations at the time that Schumacher had
turned in on Hill because he knew his Benetton was damaged after
hitting the wall, but the German denied any malice and the FIA took
no punitive action.
However, the stewards damning verdict on Schumachers antics at
Monacos Rascasse corner this year reopened all the old questions
about the seven-time world champions on-track etiquette, and
prompted a re-evaluation of his part in previous controversial
incidents.
For Head, however, it merely put an official stamp on what he had
always believed to be glaringly apparent about Schumachers
character.
The Monaco stewards verdict indicates that they and the FIA
believed Michael was guilty of foul play, Head said in the July
issue of F1 Racing.
And, in a sense, I suppose youd have to say that if a man is
capable of foul play once then hes potentially capable of foul
play any number of times.
But, as far as Australia 1994 is concerned, Monaco 2006 doesnt
really make any difference.
And thats because, that day in Adelaide, we at Williams were
already 100% certain that Michael was guilty of foul play.
It was so blatant.
He was about to drive his stricken Benetton up the slip-road when
he spotted Damons Williams about to pass him and abruptly veered
across the track to prevent that happening.
Head told the magazine that it was only unease over the tragic
legacy of the 1994 season that prevented Williams from officially
protesting Schumachers title.
We seriously considered lodging a formal protest there and then,
on the grounds that it had been so blatant, but decided against it
simply because of what had happened earlier in the year, he
said.
Because 1994 was the terrible year it was in other words,
because Ayrton Senna had been killed in one of our cars at Imola
we didnt really think it would have been right for Damon to win
the world championship that year, especially if hed done so in
court, so we didnt protest.
But had it been any other year or had Ayrton not been killed in
one of our cars then most certainly wed have lodged a formal
protest on the very grounds on which Michael was found guilty at
Monaco in 06.
Head expressed disbelief at those doubting whether Schumacher would
really resort to underhand tactics, claiming that a ruthless will
to succeed at any cost has always been part of his make-up.
What I find remarkable is the mood of righteous indignation
adopted by some people in the Ferrari team about what Michael did
at Monaco, he said.
Im not one of the extreme ones calling for him to be kicked out
of F1, but what this episode proves just as it did at Adelaide
1994 and on a number of other occasions is that he isnt a
sportsman in the sporting sense of the word.
He has an overwhelming urge to win and it seems quite clear that
he doesnt care how he achieves that aim.
But Im just amazed that people are surprised that he does these
things, given the track record.
This sort of behaviour is clearly just part of Michaels
persona.
