Soldato
- Joined
- 22 Aug 2004
- Posts
- 7,606
the dirty **** got what was coming. certainly a low point in motorsport history.
vanpeebles said:the dirty **** got what was coming. certainly a low point in motorsport history.
NicktheNorse said:wow you are all taking this a little bit hard aren't you!?
and I love the fact that all us OcUK folk can sit here in our armchairs and criticise an F1 driver for making what could very well simply been a mistake. There is no way you can ever know what happened. In fact there is no way anyone can know, except for the man himself.
vanpeebles said:theres a nice history of him, hes done well to get away with so much]
vanpeebles said:theres a nice history of him, hes done well to get away with so much
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/5024532.stm
Schumacher will start from the pitlane
Michael Schumacher will start from the pitlane for this afternoon's Monaco Grand Prix after his Ferrari team decided to change the engine on his car following his qualifying punishment.
The seven-times world champion had initially secured pole position but saw his qualifying times deleted after the race stewards decided that he had deliberately stopped his car on the track at the end of the session to impede his rivals.
Ferrari insist Schumacher did nothing wrong, but with no right to appeal the decision, the Italians are trying to optimise what little is left of Schumacher's race hopes, changing the engine on his car and starting him from the pitlane.
The tactic will likely involve the team filling up the German's car with as much fuel as possible to try and gain position over those cars ahead of him that will be stopping earlier.
Ferrari have also decided to change the engine on Felipe Massa's car, after his qualifying crash, which does not change the Brazilian's position at the back of the grid.
Weber: Schumacher penalty a scandal
Michael Schumacher's manager Willi Weber slammed Formula One stewards and "paddock enemies" on Sunday for stripping the Ferrari ace of pole position in the Monaco Grand Prix.
The stewards ruled on Saturday that the seven times champion deliberately stopped his car at the slow penultimate corner of the track in the dying seconds of qualifying to prevent rivals from beating his time.
While Ferrari issued a statement defending the German, Weber blamed what he said were the driver's many enemies in the paddock for stirring up trouble.
"I think it's a scandal what has happened," Weber told reporters. "In my opinion, it was a driver's mistake in qualifying, and I think this could happen to anybody... For me it's too hard and I cannot understand why the stewards found this decision.
"Michael is not amused. If you know Michael, he's not an emotional man. It takes a little while and he will speak and say something after the race."
Weber said what had happened would have no bearing on Schumacher's future in the sport, with the 37-year-old yet to decide whether to carry on racing after the end of the season or call it a day.
"We had something like this in the past already, and we know the enemies, and we know how they react against Michael. I think this time they went too far, it was too much," he said.
"Yesterday there was so much emotion and it was planned by our enemies in the paddock. They don't like him."
Schumacher not a cheat, says Mosley
Michael Schumacher should not be branded a cheat for the incident that stripped him of pole position at the Monaco Grand Prix, the head of Formula One's governing body said on Sunday.
"I wouldn't go as far as to say it was cheating," FIA president Max Mosley told Reuters. "You've got to take the thing in its context - in the heat of the moment when you are desperately trying to get on the front row of the grid, and you've got a split second to take a decision."
Race stewards ruled last night that Ferrari's seven times champion deliberately stopped at the slow penultimate corner of the track in the dying seconds of qualifying to prevent rivals from beating his time.
The decision to send Schumacher to the back of the field angered the driver and his team, but Mosley defended the FIA-appointed stewards.
"The stewards have the advantage of having every detail, every piece of information, and being able to know on previous laps where he braked, where he steered, accelerated, how quick he was going and so on," he said.
"Armed with all that information, they come to a conclusion. It took them several hours, they went into great detail, it's how it should be done. That's sport.
"If you reach the conclusion that someone has done something that they shouldn't do, you've got to react. We've got to try and keep the playing field level. But these situations are always difficult."
The Briton defined what had happened as "a fairly small blip in the championship," a big drama at present but not in the overall scheme of things.
He recognised, however, that it had taken the edge off the showcase race of the season, depriving fans of a clash of champions between Renault's Fernando Alonso and Schumacher.
Alonso, the world champion who leads Schumacher by 15 points after six races, took over pole position in a race where overtaking is almost impossible.
Mosley rejected suggestions from Ferrari boss Jean Todt that the stewards had "no real evidence."
"It doesn't really stand up when they had all the telemetry, all the television images, listened to Michael and whatever he wanted to say... I don't think you could say they had no evidence," he said.
"I'm sure they did their utmost to be fair and they are fair-minded people."
Michael mugged by media
Media reaction to Michael Schumacher has been almost universal with all the major newspapers giving the Ferrari ace a bad time. The Sunday Times in London headlined its story "Cheating F1 ace banished to back of grid" and reported that Schumacher was" relegated to the back of the grid in disgrace after being found to have cheated in qualifying". The Sunday Telegraph said that "some of the most famous names in motor sport were united in calling for Schumacher to be thrown out of Grand Prix racing" while The Observer said that "Schumacher's credibility as a worthy champion and as example to young drivers came under question when, not for the first time in his career - the Ferrari driver committed a professional foul."
The Daily Mail headline was "You're a cheat", The Express led with "Schumacher in cheat row" while both the News of the World and The Daily Star used "Schu Cheat" headlines and The Sunday People followed the same theme with "Schu Big Cheat". The Sunday Mirror was more restrained reporting that the German had a "convenient breakdown".
Schumacher unmoved by penalty
F1 was left aghast and exhausted at Monaco on Saturday evening, with journalists using the eight-hour wait for Stewards' decision to find near-universal condemnation of Michael Schumacher's qualifying tactics.
But, with the sun long descended and the Ferrari driver preparing to retire to his hotel, Schumacher told a flock of reporters: "What happened is typical at this circuit. I know what I did. I know not everyone agrees but I will sleep well tonight."
Schumacher tried to explain the dubious moves on his steering wheel, to which stewards ultimately concluded that he had faked in order to thwart the laps of rivals.
"I was already having some trouble earlier in the lap. The car felt more twitchy," Schumacher said.
The basis of some observers' verdict of guilt was that Schumacher was about two-tenths slower than he had been on his quickest lap in one sector. Others, however - like Fernando Alonso - were really flying.
But Schumacher argued: "I had the feeling that I could improve. The last sector is crucial, so I was trying really hard. If you are punished for making a mistake, then I don't understand that."
Schumacher said his engine stalled because it does automatically after a ten second delay.
He suggested that many of those who condemned him as a 'cheater' have been long-standing 'enemies' of his success.
"I am guilty if the crime is driving too fast and making an error."
Livestrong said:
Memphis said:If Michael is to start from the pitlane, would it not make sense to do the same for Felippe as well? Would allow both of them to avoid any first corner troubles.
ITV website is OK.Stormrider said:Also looks like ITVs web site is down.
They had a poll going about whether the stewards decision was right.
Think it was running 51-49 against the decision last I looked.
Do you agree with the stewards' decision?
Yes
47.85 % (1625)
No
51.8 % (1759)
Webber light on fuel?
Mark Webber did little to dissuade those cynics who think his rapid qualifying pace at Monaco is the result of low fuel.
"We will find out tomorrow how much fuel we have got relative to the others," said the Australian driver, who has inherited the front row of the grid after Michael Schumacher's penalty.
Webber added: "All I can say is that things are going much better than they have in the last few races, which is good.
"
The 29-year-old recorded his first and only podium appearance in F1 at Monaco last year.