In 1996, Schumacher signed a contract with Ferrari, which at the time was a highly risky move, given Ferrari's championship drought (the Italian giants had not won a title since 1979).
In his first year at Ferrari Schumacher finished third in the Drivers' Championship, behind the two Williams drivers, Jacques Villeneuve and Damon Hill. He won races in Spain, Belgium and Italy, the first one in the wet
In 1997, he again took the title fight down to the last race, narrowly leading the points for the Drivers' Championship title. Schumacher uncompromisingly crashed into Villeneuve's Williams Renault after Villeneuve attempted to overtake Schumacher, when the German left the door open under braking into the right-hand 'Dry Sac' hairpin curve at the end of the back-straight of the Jerez circuit. Schumacher ended up on the gravel and out of the race. Villeneuve's badly damaged Williams eventually finished third in the race, thereby winning the Drivers Championship title that year. In a controversial decision by the FIA, Schumacher was disqualified from the World Championship final classification that year, but his results and points were nevertheless kept in the official records
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