Former F1 Champion Recounts Strange Michael Schumacher Deja Vu Moment At Belgian GP

Saajan Jogia | Aug 10, 2024

June 17, 2005; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Michael Schumacher #1 of Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro watches the scoring monitor while sitting in the cockpit of his car during the second practice session for the United States Grand Prix on Friday June 17, 2005 at the Indianpolis Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Photo By Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports Copyright (c) 2005 Jeff Hanisch / Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Former F1 driver Damon Hill recounted a hair-raising coincidence that occurred twice at Brussels airport, exactly thirty years apart, both times involving a sudden change in a Formula 1 race result due to the disqualification of the winner over car irregularities. Hill first experienced this unsettling deja vu with F1 legend Michael Schumacher, and remarkably, it repeated this year with George Russell.

The first incident goes back to 1994 when Hill raced for Williams and Schumacher was a Benetton driver. The pair were engaged in an intense season-long battle, only for Schumacher to triumph over Hill by just one point.

However, in the same season, Hill won the Belgian Grand Prix in a strange manner. It was only when he had reached Brussels airport after the race, fuming about his second-place finish, that he got to know about his victory. Recalling the encounter, which connects to Lewis Hamilton's victory at Spa-Francorchamps, Hill revealed on the F1 Nation Podcast:

“I had that experience of thinking I’d come second, and went dejectedly to Brussels airport.

“I sat, and fumed! I was stroppy.

“I got to the lounge in the airport and the [press officer] at Williams came up to me with a big smile, saying ‘congratulations!’"

The lady approached Hill and informed him that he had won the race, leaving him bewildered. When he inquired further, she explained that Schumacher’s plank had been found too thin during post-race scrutiny, leading to his disqualification. Hill then realized he had been declared the winner. This scenario eerily echoed the events of this year’s Belgian GP, where a similar outcome occurred with Russell and Hamilton. Hill added:

“They’d found that Michael’s plank was too thin. It had obviously worn out. I don’t know the real reason.

“He was disqualified, giving me the win.

“I was sitting in Brussels airport again when I found out Russell was disqualified, exactly where I was when I found out I’d been disqualified.”

Russell was disqualified after his car was found to be below the minimum weight limit of 798 kilograms, likely due to excessive tire and plank wear. As a result, Hamilton was declared the winner a few hours after the race concluded, securing his second Grand Prix victory of the season. Commenting on the event, Hill explained:

“That’s not the way you want it to happen.

“You want it clean cut and undisputed.

“But the fact is, cars have to comply with the regulations or be disqualified. You can’t be given a 10-second penalty, or you can’t judge what the value of the irregularity is. It’s the simple business of measurement, something is either one meter long or it isn’t. It can’t be ‘about’ one meter long.

“It has to be exactly within the regs. He can consider himself in an unfortunate club of people who have been disqualified from winning the Belgian Grand Prix, including Schumacher.”