"I told Michael Schumacher 'if you do it, do it right'": When the German's manager talked about the controversial 1997 Jerez incident

Michael Schumacher's manager, Willi Weber, defended the German driver in 2019 regarding his controversial incident at the 1997 European Grand Prix, which saw him get disqualified from that year's championship. This came in response to Bernie Ecclestone claiming that Schumacher did not know where the limit was when he was driving.

During the celebrations for the 1,000th F1 Grand Prix in China back in 2019, Bernie Ecclestone was asked to comment on Michael Schumacher's legacy in the sport. The founder and former CEO of the Formula One Group claimed that the 7x world champion did not know the limit when it came to his driving at times, alluding to his incident at the 1997 European Grand Prix, when he collided with Jacques Villeneuve on purpose.

This drew criticism from many people at the time, including Schumacher's former manager Willi Weber. He claimed that he actually advised Schumacher to "do it right", if he was going to, taking inspiration from the battles between Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna.

"As a racing driver, you have to go to and sometimes beyond the limit. Nobody knew this better than Michael. Bernie knows it too," said Weber. [via The Independent]

"The fact is that Villeneuve actually invited him to drive into him. I told Michael 'if you do it, do it right, just as Prost and Senna did a dozen times', but he did it half-heartedly, because as a German he knew it was s***," he added.

Michael Schumacher had come into the final race of the 1997 season as the championship leader, but saw the dreams of his third world title fade away when the Williams of Jacques Villeneuve attempted an overtake for the lead on lap 48.

The Ferrari driver turned in on his championship rival at the Dry Sac corner, causing a collision between his front right tire and Villeneuve's left sidepod. While the Villeneuve's Williams was okay to continue, Schumacher suffered terminal damage and was forced to retire.

Villeneuve finished third in the end, which was enough to secure him the title. Schumacher was later disqualified from the 1997 world championship by the FIA for this move, but was allowed to keep his race victories.

---

Willi Weber also highlighted Michael Schumacher's influence on F1

Michael Schumacher with Willi Weber at Round 7 of the 2009 GP2 Series at Valencia - Source: Getty

Speaking in 2019, Willi Weber also highlighted that Michael Schumacher took F1 to astronomical heights, while defending him after Bernie Ecclestone's comments. He also mentioned how it was disrespectful of the Briton to speak about Schumacher when he cannot defend himself.

Adding to his aforementioned statement about Ecclestone's criticism of Schumacher, Weber said:

"Michael put F1 in a place it had never been before and may never be in again. Yet now he (Ecclestone) talks like that about Schumi who cannot speak for himself."

Weber was, of course, alluding to the fact that Schumacher has been bed-bound and non-verbal ever since his unfortunate skiing incident in 2013. The 56-year-old remains in home-based care, with only his family and a handful of close friends having met him since 2013.