F1′s media and pundits are divided over Michael Schumacher’s late overtaking move on Fernando Alonso in Monaco.

The stewards, including Schumacher’s former title nemesis Damon Hill, penalised the seven time world champion for illegally passing the Spaniard during a safety car period.

But the safety car had actually pulled into the pits, prompting the message ‘track clear’ on the official monitors, and video evidence showed green flags and green lights.

Former driver Marc Surer told the German news agency SID: “I think the stewards have made a mistake, because they had shown green (flags).”

He insists there was at the very least no “clear” breach of the rules, given that the stewards took more than three hours to decide to impose the 20-second time penalty.

The Italian press was less sympathetic.

“Is he not 41 years old?” read an editorial in the Tuttosport newspaper.  “He should know the rules by now.”

Epsilon Euskadi boss Joan Villadelprat wrote in his El Pais column that Schumacher’s was a “monumental error”, but former German F1 driver Christian Danner said the mistake was the FIA’s for ordering that green flags be waved.

Bild newspaper published a photo proving that Schumacher drove past a green light in the Rascasse corner prior to passing the Ferrari, even though Ferrari’s Stefano Domenicali argues that the race ended “under yellow conditions”.

But Alonso insists he was “immediately certain” that the Mercedes driver would be penalised.

“That’s why I let him go,” the Spaniard told spox.com.

“My team had told me that you can’t overtake.  I had wanted to try to pass Lewis Hamilton but they told me I could not.”

And Sebastien Buemi told the Swiss newspaper Blick that Toro Rosso ordered him to hold position.

“I was surprised when the team told me not to attack Liuzzi, because there were green lights flashing everywhere!” he said.

(GMM)

Note from the Editor: There were two titles for this piece, “Schumacher’s Karma catches up with him” or “Have FIA bungled with Schumacher penalty?” Either would have been appropriate, we chose the one we did because in the end it is perhaps more apt…

Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix was overshadowed by an incident involving old sparring partners Michael Schumacher, and Fernando Alonso.

Due to the spectacular crash between Karun Chandhok and Jarno Trulli at Rascasse corner, the Safety Car was called upon 3 laps from the end. The flash point came when the German veteran slid up the inside of Alonso at the final Anthony Noghes corner after the Safety Car had peeled into the pitlane for the last time.

The Formula One paddock now finds itself in the situation where Schumacher has been given a retrospective 20 second penalty and dropped to 12th position in the final classification. Fernando Alonso was reinstated to his 6th position, and we head to Turkey with the Spaniard still in touch with the seemingly untouchable Red Bull duo of Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel.

However, the justification for this penalisation is hard to distinguish. It is true that Article 40.13 states: “If the race ends while the Safety Car is deployed, it will enter the pitlane at the end of the last lap and the cars will take the chequered flag as normal without overtaking”. The clarity of this rule is not in question.

There have been previous examples of this rule being enforced. The Australian Grand Prix of 2009 being one such example, where the Brawn cars of Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello led the field across the line after the Safety Car had pitted following an accident between Sebastian Vettel and Robert Kubica. In this case, the job of the trackside marshals was to signal to the drivers that there was to be no overtaking and that they were to stay in formation. This was signified by the continued use of yellow flags and Safety Car boards at each marshal post until the Start/Finish line.

Fast forward a year and five races, and we find ourselves in a similar situation. What seems incomprehensible is that following the end of the Safety Car period, green flags were waved and a green light was shown on the overhead light gantry of the last corner. Such a contradiction in actions seems confusing to say the least.

Under FIA Sporting Regulations, a green flag signifies “that any previous danger has been attended to. The track is now clear, and drivers may proceed at racing speed and may again overtake”. Why was this signal given? The green flag completely contradicted Article 40.13, and Schumacher acted accordingly.

Based on principle alone, a driver that sees a green flag or a green light is perfectly entitled to proceed at racing speed and make an attempt at an overtaking manoevre. It is worth noting that the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg also attempted an overtake after Alonso slid on the kerbs of the final corner, but was unable to.

Such a baffling decision decreases the credibility of the FIA stewarding panel, which had proved itself to be more than capable with a string of sound decisions so far in 2010. The accusation that Damon Hill was central to the decision-making procedure does not work, as his responsibility was to ensure a fair conclusion to any racing incidents. This was a decision based on the law of the FIA.

Neither is the common misconception that the stewards could have put Schumacher back into 7th position, as under Article 16.3 of the Sporting Regulations, only three possible sanctions are legally allowed; a drive-through penalty, a grid drop for the following race, or a ten-second stop and go penalty.

It appears that Schumacher has been penalised for a communication mix-up, which is why Mercedes have attempted to appeal the decision.
Based on the precedent set by the Lewis Hamilton decision at Spa in 2008, time penalties cannot be appealed. The only conceivable outcome for Mercedes is that they can lodge a protest of the result to the FIA. A 2,000 Euro fee is attached to this and is the only option that resembles an appeal procedure in this instance.

The two underlying themes are that the large reaction to this incident reflects more on the bland nature of the race itself, and that the nonsensical decisions taken by those working in this arm of the FIA are still commonplace. Perhaps if there was no need to interpret so widely the rules that are put forth by the FIA, decisions like this would not cause such debate. With the spectacle provided by the racing being put on the backburner, the spectacle of events off track have reared their ugly head once again.

Those who believe in Karma, your time has come.

(James Rossi)

The McLaren mechanic who cost Jenson Button his championship lead has kept his job but is “devastated”, according to team boss Martin Whitmarsh.

On the Monaco grid, the mechanic forgot to remove a cooling bung from the sidepod of Briton Button’s MP4-25 and the engine overheated.

“When you are trying to do your best and you make a mistake it is devastating,” said Whitmarsh.

Button, 30, was initially angry but he later acknowledged that mistakes happen.

“I’m sure the guy who did not pull it out is gutted.  I feel sorry for the guy.  We all make mistakes,” he said.

It also emerged that, on Saturday, Button had to throw a remote control for his garage monitor out of the cockpit at the Rascasse chicane.

“This one (the cooling bung) was a race stopper,” said Button, who is now fourth in the championship and 8 points behind the new leader Mark Webber.

(GMM)

Lewis Hamilton has revealed that he intends to leave formula one with a better legacy than Michael Schumacher’s.

Despite showing a reluctance to wade into the rekindled ‘Rascasse scandal’ of 2006, the McLaren driver admitted in Monaco that Schumacher’s reputation as a cheat is not one he wants to emulate.

“When I think about history, it is not just about me, it is about how my family raised me, where we came from,” British newspapers quote the 25-year-old as saying in Monaco.

“For that to be tainted by something like that would devastate me.”

When asked if he wants to be thought of in a better light than seven time world champion Schumacher, the 2008 world champion admitted: “Absolutely.

“I want to be remembered as a fair driver, a clean driver, one who always drove with his heart, who battled through thick and thin to score the points and the championships I will hopefully earn.”

He also denied he is now desperate to get back on terms with his teammate Jenson Button, who despite not always looking as quick as Hamilton has won two races and is leading the world championship.

“I don’t feel I’m at the point where I need to ‘turn it around’ because what needs turning around is just my fortunes,” insisted Hamilton.

(GMM)

May 13 (GMM)  Four years after the ‘Rascasse scandal’, the British media on Wednesday demanded an apology as Michael Schumacher returned to the fabled Monaco circuit.

During the seven time world champion’s last visit to the Principality as a race driver in 2006, he was famously accused of ‘parking’ his Ferrari in the Rascasse corner during qualifying in order to prevent his title rival Fernando Alonso from beating him to pole position.

The stewards agreed with the charge and penalised Schumacher, but he has never owned up to having cheated.

“They say that sorry is the hardest word.  Is there any reason you are not able to say sorry for four years ago?” one British tabloid reporter asked the 41-year-old following several questions in the Mercedes driver’s media round on Wednesday.

Schumacher neither admitted his culpability nor denied the charges, insisting only that the F1 world should move on.

“I think you can keep trying, absolutely, but as I said before I am not in 2006 any more,” the German answered.

Asked if he regretted the manoeuvre, Schumacher said: “It doesn’t change things if we go back into it.”

And he said only the reaction of the media marked out the event as a low point in his long and successful career.

“You made it (a low point), yes,” said Schumacher.  “You journalists.  Some of you guys … let’s look forward and not backwards.”

Asked if he would be willing to try a similar move in 2010, he told a BBC reporter: “You’re boring.”

Also on Wednesday, Alonso also sounded unwilling to think about the 2006 controversy.

Asked if he had forgiven Schumacher for 2006, the Spaniard simply answered “yes”, insisting that F1 history is littered with famous on-track incidents.

“There’s nothing really to think about.  It’s a small incident.  That’s all,” the Ferrari driver added.

Lewis Hamilton also played down the media’s attempt to make the controversy a hot topic in 2010.

“That was a long time ago,” said the Briton.  “I wasn’t involved then.  I think we need to look forward.”

Higher kerbs have been installed at key sections of the Monaco circuit ahead of this week’s formula one race.

Last year, race director Charlie Whiting warned the drivers about cutting the kerbs and installed observers at the Nouvelle and Swimming Pool chicanes.

It is at those corners that new “higher elements have been added behind the existing kerbs” for the 2010 event, the governing body confirmed on Tuesday.

F1 photographer Mark Sutton inspected the new kerbs on Tuesday and remarked on Twitter that the drivers will “not want to touch them!”

Sutton was also disappointed to find new debris fencing at the Rascasse corner, recalling that in previous years “you could just lean over the barrier and shoot as the driver went past at speed”.

The Monaco circuit has also been resurfaced in the pitlane, from Ste Devote all the way up the hill, from Place du Casino to the tunnel entry, and from the tunnel exit to the chicane.

(GMM)

From his Swiss office on Tuesday, the 41-year-old’s day-to-day manager Sabine Kehm confirmed that the seven time world champion had reconsidered his earlier decision not to rejoin the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association in 2010.

Kehm said in March that, with the German having played a leading role in his initial career until 2006, Schumacher now wanted F1’s new generation to carry the baton.

It was rumoured that the Mercedes driver did not get along with the GPDA’s chairman Pedro de la Rosa, who quit the association in protest after Schumacher’s Monaco ‘Rascasse’ parking incident four years ago.

In Melbourne, Spaniard de la Rosa stepped down and was replaced as chairman by Mercedes reserve driver Nick Heidfeld.

But on Wednesday, Kehm denied that Schumacher’s decision to rejoin the GPDA has anything to do with the Sauber driver.

She said: “Michael always supported the work of the GPDA, for many years as a director. After he retired the work had been successfully taken over by the younger drivers, and at first Michael was hesitant to join as he did not want to be involved again.

“But after some thoughts and discussions, mainly with Felipe Massa, he reconsidered this initial decision and will now be a silent member,” added Kehm.

Schumacher’s friend and former Ferrari teammate Massa, as well as friend and countryman Sebastian Vettel, are the new directors of the GPDA, replacing Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso.

Michael Schumacher’s spokeswoman and day-to-day manager confirmed on Tuesday that the seven time world champion has rejoined the F1 drivers’ union, Grand Prix Drivers Association (GPDA).

We reported on Sunday that the 41-year-old signed up during the course of the Sepang race weekend.

Spokeswoman Sabine Kehm said last month that, with the German having played a leading role in the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association in his initial career, Schumacher now wanted F1’s new generation to carry the baton.

“Now he really wants the others, who have taken over in the meantime, to continue,” she said.

It was rumoured that the Mercedes driver did not get along with the GPDA’s chairman Pedro de la Rosa, who quit the association in protest after Schumacher’s Monaco ‘Rascasse’ parking incident four years ago.

In Melbourne, Spaniard de la Rosa stepped down and was replaced as chairman by Mercedes reserve driver Nick Heidfeld.

Schumacher’s countryman and friend Sebastian Vettel, and his former Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa, have also now replaced Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso as directors.

Kehm confirmed on Tuesday that Schumacher is once again a member of the GPDA. It is believed the only non-member on the grid now is Schumacher’s countryman Adrian Sutil.

Earlier this season, the returning 41-year-old hesitated to rejoin the Grand Prix Drivers Association, despite playing a leading role until his retirement at the end of 2006.

It was rumoured that the Mercedes driver did not get along with the GPDA’s chairman Pedro de la Rosa, who quit the association in protest after Schumacher’s Monaco ‘Rascasse’ parking incident four years ago.

In Melbourne, Spaniard de la Rosa stepped down and was replaced as chairman by Mercedes reserve driver Nick Heidfeld.

Schumacher’s countryman and friend Sebastian Vettel, and his former Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa, have also now replaced Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso as directors.

Schumacher’s spokeswoman Sabine Kehm was not immediately available for comment.

GMM