Schumacher the opportunist penalised, Mercedes appeals

Schumacher the opportunist penalised, Mercedes appeals Yesterday’s Monaco GP saw plenty of action, right till the final corner of the race when the safety car returned to its bay for the fourth time. Everyone else took the last corner in procession, except for one Michael Schumacher, who couldn’t help but to display his opportunist streak to the world again when he overtook Fernando Alonso for sixth.

The stewards did not find it funny and handed the seven-time champion a 20-second penalty, pushing the German to 12th place and with zero points after an otherwise good day at the office.

Stewards deemed the race was still finishing under the safety car. Rule 40.13 states that “if the race ends whilst 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.”

Mercedes boss Ross Brawn revealed a different interpretation of the situation. “There’s a regulation which is new this year that says you can race between safety car line one and the start/finish line. We were advised before the end of the race that the safety car was coming in. There was no instruction that the race was going to finish under the safety car, so for us as soon as we got the instruction ‘safety car in this lap’ at 15:51 we considered the race was now on again.

“And I think you saw the reaction of all the other drivers. If what Stefano (Domenicali, Ferrari boss) has said was true, they would just cruise to the start/finish line because they knew they couldn’t be overtaken, but everyone went for it and I’m afraid Fernando was a little asleep and we took advantage,” he told the BBC.

Mercedes GP Petronas has appealed the decision, which will now be handled by the FIA’s Court of Appeal.

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Danny Tan

Danny Tan loves driving as much as he loves a certain herbal meat soup, and sweet engine music as much as drum beats. He has been in the auto industry since 2006, previously filling the pages of two motoring magazines before joining this website. Enjoys detailing the experience more than the technical details.

 

Comments

  • bmpower on May 17, 2010 at 9:40 am

    FIA love ferrari more than schumi. haha

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    • Tiadaid on May 17, 2010 at 11:33 am

      Well if FIA love Schumi it would be SIA (Schumi International Assistance). But then Singapore Airlines will cry foul…

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  • Rovert on May 17, 2010 at 9:52 am

    The main culprit here is the marshalls who waived green flags after the safety car headed into the pits.

    Technically after the safety car enters the pits racing resumes only after crossing the start-finish line. Since crossing the start finish line meant that the race was over, the move is therefore illegal.

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    • raybrig on May 17, 2010 at 1:49 pm

      as for this season..the rules has changed…after the safety car enter the pitlane,drivers can overtake in btween pitlane entry and finish line…so thats what michael is doing..but i really dont understand why they penalised him…in a logical way, if they want to finish the race behind safety car, so safety car should not enter the pit…what do u expect the drivers to slow their speed till finish line where they still have the opportunity to overtake…FIA IS REALLY STUPID..PLEASE DONT CHANGE THE RULES AGAIN AND MAKE EVERYTHING CLEARLY…im sick of fia…

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      • kugan on May 21, 2010 at 3:14 am

        just a small correction..drivers can overtake in between “safety car line” and finish line..

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  • trav_da_man on May 17, 2010 at 10:51 am

    Ferrari International Assistance as ur service! Need help for Alonso? No problemo!

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  • trav_da_man on May 17, 2010 at 10:51 am

    Ferrari International Assistance at ur service!

    Need help for Alonso? No problemo!

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  • kuntakinte on May 17, 2010 at 11:19 am

    I thought that was smart thinking and even smarter driving by the wily old fox.

    This guy knows every damn rule in the book and exploit the slightest advantage in its intepretation.

    Honestly dont think he should be penalised just bcos Alonso was napping

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  • youngman on May 17, 2010 at 11:38 am

    cool…. my Great Schumi is back !!!
    it’s the endless-fighting spirit, I adore the most :D

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  • azrai on May 17, 2010 at 11:42 am

    That’s what make him 7 world champion. he know when and how to do it.

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  • Peter on May 17, 2010 at 11:50 am

    There is a wide 80/20 concensus, including among schumi’s opponents, that the marshalls made a mistake by showing the green flag instead of yellow as they should have made if the race was really finishing under safety car and that schumi is being punished for a mistake done by them. You completely omit this fact. Plus no one was in “procession”, they all obviously were racing hard including Alonso who lost control of his car because of it. You are either dishonest in your depiction or don’t know all the facts. I think the former as the facts are overwhelmingly available. This reflects terribly bad on you and discredit whatever else you may be writing.

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  • Schumi overtaking Alonso is definitely legitimate. If you look at it again, clearly the green light was flashing just right in front of Alonso before Schumi overtook him. And as I expected earlier, Jean Todt is the FIA President and Jean Todt = Ferrari…

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  • JULIAN LOO on May 17, 2010 at 12:13 pm

    alonso told me that he deliberately slowed down he car to let schumacher pass.. he knew that he would be penalized… f alonso!

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  • youngman on May 17, 2010 at 12:19 pm

    Ross Brawn:
    “With regard to the penalty given to Michael, we believed that the track had gone green and the race was not finishing under a safety car when article 40.13 clearly would have applied. The reason for the safety car had been removed, the FIA had announced ‘Safety Car in this lap’ early on lap 78 and the track had been declared clear by race control. This was further endorsed when the marshals showed green flags and lights after safety car line one. On previous occasions when it has been necessary to complete a race under a safety car, full course yellows are maintained, as in Melbourne 2009. On the last lap, we therefore advised our drivers that they should race to the line and Michael made his move on Fernando for sixth place. We have appealed the decision of the stewards.”

    >>> marshals showed green flags and lights after safety car line one….
    >>> when it has been necessary to complete a race under a safety car, full course yellows are maintained….

    FIA made a huge mistake over-looking these important points

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  • MyCarMyLife on May 17, 2010 at 12:35 pm

    Rules are made and meant to be tested and broken.

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  • i tink its legal..even the commentator said ‘mark surely will win this gp unless vettel sneak in’ and he said it on the final lap, when the SC were still on the track…green flag = race is on…d moment the SC entered the pit, the green flag waived…so???? schumi = cheeky move but pity him…alonso = desperado :)

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  • Let’s hope the FIA reinstate Schumi. I thought it was a brilliant move considering the facts. As mentioned before by a couple of others, a driver should not be penalised for someone’s mistakes especially if they’re the marshalls or officials.

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  • bmpower on May 17, 2010 at 7:53 pm

    he didn’t broke the law. he just bend it!
    I think it’s legal. ;)

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  • osh_kosh on May 17, 2010 at 10:13 pm

    obviously Hill want a revenge on Schumi… Boo Hoo

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  • Jarum on May 18, 2010 at 12:14 am

    Damn! Schumacher should just quit Mercedes can join Lotus Racing. If he did that we all know Tony Fernandes would have screwed Damon Hill in the backside and cried “we need to compete on level playing grounds” like a little bitch!

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  • Watcher on May 18, 2010 at 6:25 am

    Lets evaluate the situation objectively. From FIA steward’s perspective they had their rule changes viz Rule 40.13 which i understand that racing is on the moment Safety Car enters pit lane. Secondly, between pit lane entry and finish line, there is a distance of maybe 100-150m for the car to go racing. Thirdly, FA was caught napping taking the last corner, while MS saw an opportunity to overtake. Also as a driver, MS notices that the green flags are being waved by marshals as well as the safety light viz under the Shell banner.

    Therefore, I’d say the FIA steward had made a wrong decision interpreting their own rules. MS needs to be reinstated as no.6 and FA as no.7 since the racing is still on and rule provides the opportunity.

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  • Mad Cat on May 19, 2010 at 6:47 am

    A packet of Twisties was spotted in Schumacher’s hand-carry bag.

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