1994 saw a change to the circuit in response to the deaths of Senna and Roland Ratzenberger at Imola. The Esses corner before the Parabolica was made into a 3 corner sequence; the race was won by Williams driver Damon Hill, and 1995 saw a huge accident at the start involving Ukyo Katayama in a Tyrrell; the race was won by David Coulthard. 1996 saw Canadian rookie Jacques Villeneuve in a Williams pass Schumacher on the outside of the Parabolica, and the Canadian won the race. The track tended to promote close racing and the weather was usually good although as Estoril is only a few miles from the westernmost point of Europe, it tended to be affected by stiff breezes and rain storms coming off the Atlantic Ocean. A bigger problem, however, was the local attitude towards the circuit. The FIA asked time and again for the track's facilities to be improved, but nothing was done. In 1997 the governing body called Portugal's bluff; promised renovation work was not done and so the race was cancelled. Estoril was planned to be the final race of the 1997 season, but it was replaced with the European Grand Prix, which was held at Jerez in Spain. Portugal's Economy Minister Augusto Mateus immediately announced that the government was going to provide the $6 million necessary for the work and that the race was not going to be cancelled but he was wrong. In an effort to speed up the work the Portuguese government bought a controlling interest in the company that owned the track. The Portuguese GP was listed on the calendar but was cancelled when the upgrading work could not be completed in time.