http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5UnPeyzcHM Exactly when did the "thou shalt not shortcut a chicane" rule go into effect?
I believe that was Jenson Button's day as winner and Micheal Schumacher finished 8th a few laps from the end, his car failed.
That incident wasn't without controversy. Here's the discussion and interpretation for that situation: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/54084 "It is not that I am happy or not happy," he said. "I just wanted to know what was the position of the FIA regarding any driver - not just Michael, any driver - jumping the chicane ahead of the driver planning an overtaking manoeuvre. "That is what the fuss is all about. I have no problem. I think he was okay, defending his position, it is just whether we can all do that or not. All the fuss came from this question. I know now the answer - so what he did then was correct." De la Rosa revealed Whiting has confirmed that Schumacher did nothing wrong in his defensive tactics - meaning drivers can cut chicanes under certain circumstances. The position is that if you are not side by side with the driver ahead of you going into the chicane, then the driver who is ahead of you can jump the chicane and keep his position without being penalised," continued de la Rosa. "That is the outcome of the meeting yesterday, and it is something that we will all follow from now on. I just wanted a clarification. It is fair enough. If that is the case, then we can all exploit that area in the future." We might need a few more chicane rulings to figure this out; but it seems that, for the FIA, if you're in the lead the chicane lines are considered soft, but if you're overtaking the chicane lines are considered hard. A less charitable perspective would be that red cars get better interpretations of chicane rules by the FIA .
