Todt, speaking at a press conference, said Schumacher cheated twice: at the 1997 European Grand Prix in Jerez and at Monaco in 2006. According to Todt, Schumacher intentionally collided with Villeneuve in 1997. Major media reports indicate Schumacher later admitted he made a mistake but never directly apologized.
The FIA found Schumacher guilty and stripped him of all his championship points for that season. ' He added that Schumacher's cheating was instinctive, not premeditated. 'When you evaluate a person who is in the heat of the moment, you have to give a little slack,' Todt said.
' Willi Weber, Schumacher's former manager, reacted with fury to Todt's remarks, according to major media reports. The exact content of Weber's response remains unknown.