"If someone wants to kill you, he should do it in a different way": When Michael Schumacher wasn't impressed by Damon Hill's driving standards

Seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher infamously had one of the most aggressive styles on track, where the German wouldn't give an inch of space to another driver. However, when Damon Hill tried swerving on the straight to prevent a pass from Schumacher, the German driver came out and slammed the Briton for his driving standards.

Chaos was embraced at the 1998 Canadian Grand Prix from the word go, with Ralf Schumacher stalling on the grid, followed by a multi-car collision involving Alexander Wurz. Michael Schumacher started the race in P3, but lost out a position to Giancarlo Fisichella at the restart, whom he managed to pass on the first racing lap.

Michael made his pitstop on Lap 20 and came out side by side with Heinz-Harald Frentzen. The seven-time champion moved across to block a pass from Frentzen, but ended up pushing the Williams driver off the track and beached in the gravel trap. A safety car was called out as the German ran ahead of Damon Hill.

However, on Lap 35, Michael Schumacher was given a 10-second stop-and-go penalty for the incident with Frentzen and came out behind Damon Hill. Schumacher, who was faster than Hill, made a move on the Briton on the back straight and passed him going into the final chicane.

Grand Prix of San Marino - Source: Getty

Before the overtake, to avoid giving a slipstream to Schumacher, Damon Hill was swerving all over the back straight, which led to the then Ferrari driver slamming the 1996 champion after the race. Michael Schumacher said,

“That was purely dangerous driving. If someone wants to kill you, he should do it in a different way. We are doing 200mph down there and for someone to then move off the line a total of three times is completely unacceptable.” (via MichaelSchumacher.com)

Schumacher went on to win the race with over a 16-second gap to Giancarlo Fisichella in P2.

“Not going to let second or third place go”: Damon Hill’s comments on racing Michael Schumacher at the 1998 Canadian GP

Just a few laps after Michael Schumacher passed Damon Hill, the British driver faced an electrical issue and eventually had to retire from the race. Hill had a tough five races in the lead-up to the 1998 Canadian GP as he finished 8th on three occasions and retired on the other two.

It was Hill's first real chance of the season to battle for a podium, and hence, he battled Schumacher hard. Speaking about the same, he said,

“I was running beautifully on a one stop strategy and then I got a misfire. It felt so fantastic to be up at the front again. This was the first time this year that I have been able to race for the top three positions and I was not going to let second or third place go that easily, so I enjoyed some racing with Michael!” (via AtlasF1)

Michael Schumacher finished the 1998 season as the runner-up, whereas Damon Hill finished sixth in the Drivers' standings.