Michael Schumacher did not apologize, according to Rubens Barrichello
Michael Schumacher, the former seven time World Champion, was involved in a dramatic incident this past Sunday when he was defending his position against Rubens Barrichello in the Hungarian Grand Prix before turn 1. He tried to push Barrichello into the wall at 180mph. Schumacher was highly criticized about his act. He made a very difficult maneuver against Barrichello that almost caused a perilous accident. Barrichello also said that this was the scariest moment of his career.
After the incident, Schumacher seemed reluctant to apologize and thought that he was just trying to defend his spot. He admitted that it was a difficult maneuver but this was not a good enough explanation for such a reckless move. It was after the widespread criticism that an apology was issued in Germany on the former World Champions official website a day after the incident.
Rubens however, told the reporters during a karting day in his native Sao Paulo that he did not receive a phone call from the German and that Michael did not apologize. It was quite a controversial statement as an apology was issued on Michael's official website. Barrichello said that he had no regrets, and he wants to move on without saying anything. He said that he has comments he'd like to make, but does not want to share them as both drivers were former teammates and Barrichello said that their time together in Ferrari cannot have any hostility on the track.
Barrichello added that he had no lasting desire to be friends with Schumacher while talking to the Agencia Estado and said that life is all about forgiveness and respect for others.
Rubens Barrichello being one of the most experienced drivers, has had one of the most consistent careers in Formula 1 history. He has the record of the most race starts (299). He will start his 300th race in Belgium. He has scored 11 wins and 68 podiums along with 14 pole positions in his enormous career and has a total of 637 points in his career. He joined Jordan in 1993 which was his first team in Formula 1. He stayed with the team until 1996 and joined Stewart in 1997. He left Stewart in 1999 and joined Ferrari.
This was very promising for the Brazilian as Ferrari was one of the front-runners at the time. Many critics believe that Barrichello would have done better without Ferrari, as he was just a sidekick for Michael Schumacher during this period of time (2000-2005(.
Statistically, this was the best time for the Brazilian as he scored 9 out of his 11 wins and a large amount of podiums and poles. Barrichello left Ferrari in 2005 and joined Honda in 2006. He then joined Brawn in 2009 and again, had to ensure victory for his teammates in the Championship. He came 3rd in the Championship this year, joined Williams in 2010, and believes he will go for the title with the team.
Barrichello is currently in 11th place amongst the drivers’ championship, with 30 points. He is 5 points behind Adrian Sutil, the German driving the Force India Mercedes. Team Williams Cosworth is in 7th place with 40 points, which is just 7 points behind Force India Mercedes. Barrichellos’ best performance this year was at the European Grand Prix where he came 4th after qualifying in 9th place.
Barrichello was clearly making a valid move on Michael Schumacher in the Hungarian Grand Prix. It was quite lucky that he did not hit the pit wall. There is no doubt that Michael Schumacher made a terrible mistake. He got a 10-place penalty for the next race (Belgian Grand Prix). Michael should try and clear things up in the near future, as this will dearly affect the Champions image.
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