 Villeneuve went into lap 48 less than a second behind Schumacher . Partway through the lap he attempted to overtake Schumacher at the Dry Sack corner . Braking later than Schumacher , Villeneuve held the inside line and was ahead on the track when Schumacher turned in on him resulting in a collision . ITV 's then pit lane reporter James Allen has noted that onboard footage shows Schumacher twitching his steering wheel left before turning right into Villeneuve . Martin Brundle , in the commentary box alongside Murray Walker , immediately saw that Schumacher 's move had been deliberate , saying , " That didn 't work Michael . You hit the wrong part of him , my friend " . The right @-@ front wheel of Schumacher 's Ferrari hit the left radiator pod of Villeneuve 's Williams — unlike the 1994 collision with Hill where Schumacher inflicted damage on Hill 's suspension — and caused Schumacher to retire . Villeneuve described the incident after the race " The car felt very strange . The hit was very hard . It was not a small thing . " He continued but the damage to his car meant he was slower than the cars behind him . 
