The 1991 Belgian Grand Prix is fondly remembered for the debut of Michael Schumacher, who instantly impressed the paddock with his raw speed.

Schumacher was handed his debut by Jordan, who was also enduring its first season on the grid.

The Irish team had a strong run on the build-up to the race around Spa-Francorchamps, scoring points at five of the six races that preceded it.

Schumacher is best known for his stint with Ferrari and the unprecedented success he enjoyed at the time.

The German was destined to reach the heights of F1 through his impressive junior career – but the circumstances that allowed him to make his debut remain very peculiar to this day.

Gachot jailed after taxi driver fight

The 1991 season was Bertrand Gachot’s third in F1, but his first for Jordan as he made the move to the squad after two uncompetitive campaigns with now-defunct teams.

Gachot had four championship points to his name on the build-up to Belgium, which included what would be a career-best fifth place in Canada (albeit he was the final car to take the chequered flag).

However, the Belgian racer had a big worry on his shoulders as his home race approached as he was due to stand trial for an incident that occurred the previous year.

On December 10, 1990, Gachot was due to meet with team owner Eddie Jordan in London when he became involved in an altercation with a taxi driver.

Driving his girlfriend’s car, Gachot tipped the back of a taxi on Hyde Park Corner as he travelled to the meeting, which escalated to a physical altercation.

Gachot claimed the taxi driver threatened to “kill me” as they came to blows, which led him to make use of a CS gas (or more commonly known as tear gas) canister he had in the car.

Gachot was later arrested and charged with actual bodily harm as well as the use of a prohibited weapon.

Several months later, he appeared in court where he was advised by his lawyers that he would likely be handed a fine or a suspended sentence.

That was not the case however, as Gachot found himself being issued an 18-month prison sentence.

It meant he would miss the upcoming race from Belgium, where Jordan employed the services of Schumacher who starred in qualifying to end the session in seventh.

His grand prix lasted just a few hundred metres, however, as his clutch failed on the opening lap. It would mark Schumacher’s last involvement at Jordan as he switched to Benetton for the following race after where he would eventually win two F1 titles.

Gachot’s jail sentence was reduced to two months on appeal and he returned to the F1 grid later that season at Larrousse.