Michael Schumacher came perilously close to throwing away his first World F1 Championship after a shocking incident in the British Grand Prix.
In 1994, the German driver was involved in a shocking incident at Silverstone that gave Damon Hill the chance to leapfrog Schumacher in the race for the Formula One Drivers' Championship.
Hill, who had stepped into the Williams hotseat following the tragic passing Ayrton Senna, had endured a stuttering start to the 1994 championship.
However, he was presented with the perfect opportunity to make up the ground on Schumacher after the then-Benetton driver was disqualified at Silverstone.
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Schumacher was found guilty of ignoring the black flag during the 1994 British Grand Prix, a race he finished second to Hill in.
As such, his disqualification saw Schumacher deducted the six points he won for finishing behind Hill.
Benetton and Schumacher appealed the decision so he could race in his home grand prix in Hockenheim the following week, a race he ultimately retired from.
Schumacher defence dismissed
The appeal, though, failed as Schumacher as the decision was upheld and his team fined £334,000 as FIA president Max Mosley dismissed the defence.
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“I can understand a driver not seeing the flag but then it's up to his team to tell him on the radio to come in by the next lap,” Mosley said in the wake of the ruling.
Schumacher would go on to win only one of the following five races after retiring from the German grand prix, emerging victorious in the Hungarian grand prix, where Hill finished second.
Schumacher was then disqualified from the Belgian grand prix, and then missed meets in Italy and Portugal, handing Hill and Williams the advantage in the run in.
Hill would go on to win in Belgium, Italy and Portugal, allowing the English driver to make up ground on his title rival.
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1994 Championship went to the wire
Schumacher, though, went on to win in Spain before finishing second in Japan, with Hill ending the respective races second and first, which saw the World Championship and Constructors’ Championship go down to the wire.
As both drivers chased glory, there was a coming together between the pair on lap 35 in Australia, which would ultimately force Schumacher and Hill to retire.
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In doing so, Schumacher finished top of the Drivers’ standings with 92 points to Hill’s 91.
Williams, meanwhile, went on to win the Constructors’ Championship having ended the season with 118 points, while Benetton accrued 103 points.
The British grand prix takes place this weekend with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri looking to extend his lead in the Drivers’ standings over teammate Lando Norris.
The pair made contact in Montreal last month and came perilously close to another collision in the Austrian grand prix in round 11.
Topics: Formula 1, Michael Schumacher, Motorsport
Ben McAleer