Schumacher Penalized by Race Stewards at Hungarian Grand Prix
Troubles for the prodigal son of Formula One do not seem to end. The 7-time world champion Michael Schumacher was earlier penalized by the race stewards at the European Grand Prix at Valencia for a dangerous move, and dropped down 6 places. Schumacher will be pushed back 10 places in the next race (the Belgian Grand Prix) after he made another dangerous move to get past Williams’ Rubens Barrichello at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
In a bid to get ahead, Schumacher almost pushed his former teammate into the concrete wall on the side. Barrichello called it the most dangerous move ever made on him in his entire career. The two drivers were running at close to 180 miles per hour, and if an accident would have occurred, it would have been detrimental and possibly fatal to both of them.
Right after the race, when asked a question by the reporters, Schumacher replied by saying that he was well within his right to overtake Rubens, and that he was not at fault at all. However, there was immense criticism from the people watching the race. One of them was the former F1 driver Alex Wurz; he said that Michael had stepped too far over the line in not just Formula One but the code of any sport.
The incident in question took place when Schumacher’s former teammate at Ferrari, Rubens Barrichello, was in pursuit of Michael and was doing everything within his abilities to get past him to clinch the 10th position. The final berth for points in the race was at stake, it was around turn 14 when Barrichello tried to make his move, when Michael slipped up. Schumacher, on the turn, could not control his car and went a bit wide, and Barrichello tried to seize the opportunity, but Michael was not willing to give up his spot and pushed him to the corner. Barrichello was fortunate to escape without crashing in the pit wall as the wall ended and he was able to get back to the centre of the track. The incident at first glance looked very dangerous, and it was obvious that Schumacher would be dealt with harshly after the race.
Later on, Barrichello, while on his team radio, said that it was one of the most dangerous manoeuvres he has seen in his career, and Schumacher should be black flagged for this.
After the race, while talking to a news channel, Barrichello said that he was very disappointed by his former teammate, and expected better from him.
Schumacher, however, did stand by his actions; he said that he was well within his right to do everything he could to not let Barrichello through. The German driver went on to say that he has been in the sport long enough to know the rights and wrongs of the game. He said that whatever happened was there for everyone to see. Schumacher said that Barrichello was running on fresh tyres and he actually chose the wrong side of the track to get past him, and there was no menace in his intentions.
The race stewards, though, saw the incident differently and investigated the incident in detail. The decision came afterwards and according to the verdict, Michael Schumacher will be pushed back 10 places after the qualifying round at the next race.
Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello were teammates at Ferrari for 6 years. Barrichello, during those 6 years, often complained of playing second fiddle to Michael, and said that the team treated him as just a supporting driver.
The season that was built up to be the big comeback season for Schumacher, has unfortunately been anything but that. Schumacher, though, has maintained that regardless of what happens this season, he would still continue for atleast one more year and prove his worth.
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