APRIL 14, 1997

Jordan and Michael Schumacher settle

FORMULA 1 team boss Eddie Jordan and star driver Michael Schumacher have finally managed to settle a dispute, which has been going on since Schumacher walked out of a Jordan drive in September 1991 to join Benetton.

At the time Schumacher had taken part in only one Grand Prix event, qualifying a Jordan seventh on the grid for the BelgianÊGP at Spa, Benetton decided that it needed to have Schumacher signed up and offered him a four-year deal. The team then had to pay off its driver Roberto Moreno so that a seat would be available for Michael. At the time it was a crushing blow for Jordan, who thought he had Michael under a long-term contract.

According to Jordan, Schumacher has agreed to pay a large sum of money - believed to be $1m - to Jordan as a settlement.

The case led to the establishment of the FIA Contract Recognition Board, which judges whether or not an F1 contract is binding or not.