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Schumacher's extraordinary but controversial '99 comeback

Michael Schumacher's 1999 title bid was derailed by a broken leg, and by the time he returned team-mate Eddie Irvine was firmly Ferrari's championship hope. A breathtaking - and controversial - return at the Malaysian GP showed what might have been for Schumacher. We relive it using Autosport magazine's original report

Twenty years ago, Michael Schumacher looked poised to finally end Ferrari's Formula 1 title drought in his fourth season with the team. A crash in Canada cost him his points lead, but he was still right on the tail of McLaren's reigning champion Mika Hakkinen.

Then a brake failure sent Schumacher into the Stowe barriers on the first lap of the British Grand Prix and left him with a broken leg that sidelined him for three months and appeared to have handed Hakkinen a second title unopposed.

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