Schumacher recieves 10-place penalty after Hungary race
Michael Schumacher of Mercedes GP was punished for his closing lap clash with Williams’ Rubens Barrichello at the Hungary Grand Prix on Sunday. The stewards at the Budapest race penalized Schumacher with a 10 place grid penalty for the Belgium race on August 27th - 29th at Spa Francorchamps.
The incident occurred when Barrichello tried to overtake Schumacher in the 66th lap. While driving down the main straight, Schumacher moved over towards Barrichello, pushing him towards the pit wall and up onto the grass. While traveling at speeds of 200mph, the maneuver was considered extremely dangerous. Upon review after the race concluded, Hungarian stewards decided that Schumacher “illegitimately impede car 9 during an overtaking maneuver.”
Mercedes GP has accepted the stewards’ decision, while many believe that the German driver got off easy.
“Horrible,” exclaimed Barrichello over his radio. “That should be a black flag.”
Barrichello has 299 grand prix starts and referred to former racing partner Schumacher’s moves as “a go-kart maneuver. It he wants to go to heaven before me he can; I don’t want to go to heaven.” But when asked if he will be confronting Schumacher Barrichello said he wouldn’t because it will not resolve the problem.
“You know Michael – you talk to him and he will always feel that he is right. He stopped [for] three years [but] he hasn't changed at all. He is still the same guy."
Schumacher’s driving style is cutthroat and ruthless. He won seven championships and 91 grand prix races before retiring three years ago. Since his return to the race tracks he is just as ruthless, although his speed is not what it used to be and perhaps one of the reasons motivating his life threatening moves on Sunday.
Schumacher started the season off well, earning points in six of the seven first races. However he has gradually gone downhill since, scoring twice in the past five races with only one top ten qualifying. Flak has fallen to the Mercedes car, which is not up to par with its predecessor driven by Jenson Button when he won the world title last year.
Current Mercedes GP team principle Ross Brawn has admitted his disappointment that the car is not performing where it should be, and the team have not been able to grasp the same speeds Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren are achieving with their rear wings and diffuser technology.
So Schumacher is feeling the pressure to perform when the tools he has been given are not coming through. Only problem is he isn’t behaving like a champion driver.
"You would not expect after so many races for someone to do that. You would expect someone with 10 races to do that kind of thing,” observed Barrichello, and considered Schumacher’s move an example of the worst kind of defensive driving.
Schumacher’s reputation as an aggressive driver has been evident throughout the season, and he has enraged other drivers in the past while trying to defend his position. At the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal Schumacher drove Renault’s Robert Kubica off the road in an attempt to maintain his position. He also ruined Felipe Massa’s race the same day when he chopped across the bows of his Ferrari car and damaged the front wing.
Schumacher made his Formula One debut at the Spa track where he qualified in seventh place. He will return to the track later this month, this time near the back of the grid. Schumacher responded to the incident and Barrichello’s comments in a statement that said:
"We know certain drivers have certain views, and then there's Rubens'. As far as I was concerned there was enough room for him to get through. But it's clear I wanted to make life for him as difficult as possible."
He has since written on his website that upon review and further contemplation, he agrees with the stewards and apologizes to Barrichello, "I didn't want to endanger him with my maneuver. If he had this feeling I am sorry, this was not my intention."
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