The FIA Stewards Speak Out !

This was just released by the FIA on Autosport's website. Seems there was little doubt among the three stewards what went on. Apparently they did in fact review the telemetry and agreed with what many of us posted prior about Michael's in car hand movements.

Monaco steward says decision 'painful'

By Michele Lostia Monday, May 29th 2006, 16:53 GMT

One of the race stewards at the centre of the Michael Schumacher qualifying controversy in Monaco has admitted that it was a 'painful decision' to punish the seven-time world champion, but claimed there was no choice after finding out that Schumacher had lost control of his car at just 16km/h.

Joaquin Verdegay, who is vice-president of the Spanish motorsport federation and one of the three stewards on duty last weekend, has revealed that all the evidence pointed towards Schumacher having acted deliberately in stopping his car.

He claims that the speed at which Schumacher went off, allied to the sequence of events that led to the car stalling, all pointed to the fact that the Ferrari driver had tried to deliberately block his rivals by leaving his car on the track.

"It was a painful decision because we could not make a mistake and put the reputation of a driver at risk," he told Gazzetta dello Sport.

"We don't know if the entire manoeuvre was deliberate, but in that spot he had certainly not done anything like it throughout the weekend: he braked over 50% more heavily than on the other laps.

"Then he performed some absolutely unnecessary and pathetic counter-steering, and that lasted five metres, until there was no more chances of going through the turn normally.

"He lost control of the car while travelling at 16km/h! That's something completely unjustifiable. And the engine shut off because he wanted it to, by losing enough time before hitting the clutch. And the excuse that he did not engage reverse because there was traffic doesn't make sense."

Verdegay added that if Schumacher had actually hit the barriers then the stewards would probably have given him the benefit of the doubt that the entire incident was accidental.

"If he had damaged the car we would have probably filed the matter as an error. As it is, to 'park' it that way, you only do it deliberately," he added.

"We've only applied article 116 of the sporting regulations: if a driver affects the results of other drivers by committing an error, you can cancel all his lap times."

 

Yet you punish him by taking away all his times.

Article 116 says the driver must have stopped deliberatly. If the stewards don't know if it was deliberate, then you cannot punish the driver. It is left to the opinion of the stewards, but they don't seem to know for sure.

Bunch of amateurs.

 

I just read this on Autosport also - very fitting that one of the stewards is the VP of the Spanish Motorsport Federation - of course he's going to say all evidence pointed to MS.

Carol

 

Look guys, I am dyed in the wool tifosi since I was four. I've owned two Ferraris, I've rooted for Ferrari since I started watching F1 in 82/83. I've rooted for anyone wearing or driving for the red guys.

I've raced a lot of different cars at a lot of different levels (karts, Formula cars, tin tops.....) Not F1 but hey I can give a better opinion than someone whose racing is limited to XBox.

I am just curious what leads you all to believe he's innocent since I've posted numerous times why I think he's guilty. Don't just be blinded by faith, back up what you believe. Tell me why I am wrong and where the evidence is. The telemtry has been released and it showed that he braked 50% harder in the same corner. Only excuse given the telemetry would be a mechanical problem and he's never made that claim (though now might be a good time to do so since his other theory is blown).

 

Guilty as charged.
What more do these guys have to do! A seven hour investigation of the telemetry, in car footage and interviews - isn't that enough.

Why the suprise - MS is not the Mother Theresa of motor racing, he has proven before that when needs be he is prepared to resort to un-sportsmanlike behaviour.

 

I've thought all along that it started as an accident, and then he may have "not tried as hard as he otherwise might have" to clear the track...

Unfortunately I don't understand from the press release at which point he hit the brakes 50% harder than usual. was it the first back end "wiggle" or later. If you're losing the car in a place you haven't lost it befor of course you going to brake different! But if that's what started it... The more i look at the video, to me it looks like he countersteered toward the wall when he didn't need to (but you can't tell what the car is doing from those in car shots). Bottom line for me... what i said above. he may have seen an opportunity and taken it. is that wrong? hey all wings flex a little....

I'm a 100% MS fan. I'm pleased that the stewards had a hard time with the decision... they're human. they made the hard call. I can respect that.

IMO time to move on....

 

The only thing the evidence shows, is that Schumacher made a mistake and that -therefor- he is human. The evidence shows not he did it deliberatly, yet that is exactly the reason for punishment, and if even the stewards say they don't know he did it deliberately, then there were no grounds to punish Schumacher whatsoever.

Apperently there were no competent lawyers present that day.

 

Only at times when the worldchampionship was directly at stake. In Jerez 1997 and (to a much lesser extend) Adelaide 1994. How does this set Schumacher apart from the rest of the pack? It doesn't? Only the rest of the pack usually doesn't find itself in the position where a championship is directly on the line.

 

Its not us who have to back up but rather them who have to prove , with absolute faith that what he did was deliberate . And apparently , it wasnt the case .

 

Drivers stall on the grid; the car isn't even moving! That's a driver error, so the rationale that losing control at 16 kph is unjustifiable is ridiculous. I'm not saying that MS didn't do it, but the evidence just doesn't add up. And if you're going to affect the World Championship, you damn well better be 100% sure with eveidence beyond a shadow of any doubt.

This is going out on a limb, but what the heck, the entire weekend was bizarre anyway. How could the FIA let any non-French team win on a day when a victory was needed to dedicate to the unfortunate CEO of Michelin?

 

You guys are too bias.

The Stewards said:

"We don't know if the entire manoeuvre was deliberate, but in that spot he had certainly not done anything like it throughout the weekend: he braked over 50% more heavily than on the other laps.

"Then he performed some absolutely unnecessary and pathetic counter-steering, and that lasted five metres, until there was no more chances of going through the turn normally.

"He lost control of the car while travelling at 16km/h! That's something completely unjustifiable. And the engine shut off because he wanted it to, by losing enough time before hitting the clutch. And the excuse that he did not engage reverse because there was traffic doesn't make sense."


They showed things that don't add up, all of the things they mention are true and now way no how should he have lost it, made the mistakes, then stalled it. That was a planned event. MS has never made 10 errors in 2 seconds brfore. NEVER.

HANG HIM HIGH!

 

Do these phrases sound unbiased?
("we don't know...) Then how can you penalize?

("Absolutely unnecessary and pathetic...) Very professional. Witch hunt is on!

("... and the engine shut off because he wanted it to, by losing enough time before hitting the clutch. And the excuse that he did not engage reverse because there was traffic doesn't make sense.") Again, very professional. And, how many racers out there would back up, blind, in a 90 degree corner?

I think FA had better hold on. Michael will be on a mission now!

 

This was a judgement call and there is no way to be certain although you can have an opinion. This isn't like speeding in the pits that can be measured. The penalty was harsh.

 

No one but him knows if the "entire" thing was deliberate. Maybe the first half was an honest mistake, which I can see. It's the part after that that I have problems with. He could've easily pulled away at 10mph and let others complete their laps. Instead, he saw the situation that he got himself in and saw that he could make an advantage by making the corner a little more difficult for others. He was caught and penalized. He didn't seem to have any problems during the 78 times he went through that corner yesterday. Time to move on. Get over it.

 

Hey, Jon, where can one see the tracings?

-Peter

 

I too have watched Formula 1 since the late 70's and have raced single seaters, am a Ferrari fan through and through plus admire MS as a driver. BUT

LMAO ... Honestly, ANYONE who can drive can plainly see from the in-car footage alone that he did it on purpose. No discussion required. Thats precisely why all the other drivers (Keke Rosberg, Jackie Stewart, Mark Blundell, Martin Brundle, Montoya, Weber, Alonso, Coulthard etc etc) are all of the same opinion. It really comes down to your knowledge and ability as a driver, if you think MS was innocent, or if you think there isnt enough evidence then, sorry, but you are wrong and clearly know very little about driving a racing car. Personally I think he got off lightly (5th place) - could easily have been charged with bringing Formula 1 (& Ferrari) into disrepute.

 

MS may be a great driver, but he has always been a self-absorbed jerk willing to do anything, including running others off the road, in order to win.

 

Give me a break. They have to go on the video they have. He flailed his arms like he was sinking to the bottom of the ocean and cut the wheel all the way over and slammed on the brakes. Then he waited and from my angle he could have rolled back 2 feet and drove off.

And as for backing up on course, it would be better if he did that and blocked the track for 10 seconds rather than 10 minutes sitting there.

Weak and lame points aside, what's done is done and I'd like to hear your take on the Hill and Villeneuve collisions.

 

which current active F1 drivers who have been cheating (and get caught) like michael?

 

Indeed. That penalty was too lenient.

 

MS is without a doubt a great driver, but he does have a history of mental lapses:

1. Running into the back of DC at Spa
2. Sliding off the track at Monaco during the parade lap
3. Hitting the wall onto the front straight in Canada while leading
4. Stalling on the grid (correct me if I'm wrong) in Japan

Just because he went through that turn 78 times before doesn't exclude him from messing it up just once.

I understand the point being made about driver's insights, but there's a difference between consciously deciding to "park" the car in that turn and just messing up and then taking advantage of the situation. As far as the other drivers condemnation, IMO, they have absolutely no class. Again, they had no proof, and should have kept their mouths shut. They could just as easily be in the same situation one day.

 

Man you are quite the ass. How do you think you can possible know exactly what happened? Don't be so condescending. If you knew so much about racing you might still be doing it. Everybody is an armchair quarterback. I only think ( get it THINK as opposed to you who knows everything for a fact) the penalty was pretty extreme with no exact proof. The next thing you know a bunch of high dollar lawyers will get involved and probably win a couple hundred million more for Michael. After all what is the value of a world championship ? If the Stewards don't know for sure then penalize him 5 or ten spots.
My friend you are exactly what is wrong with these chat sites. All you know is fact, and everybody else is a bumbass.

 

If folks would stop looking at the incident through rose coloured ferrari glasses, its pretty obvious from the in car footage and telemetry, from seasoned observers, and from the initial smugness of MS himself what happened...

Arrogance and cheating reared its ugly head and for once, was punished...

Hats of to FIA and the Stewards for making a gutsy call..

Forza Ferrari !

 

Actually I agree with him. He is what is RIGHT about these chat sites; people who actually have an *informed* opinion rather than talking out of their asses.

 

...and I disagree with him and you

The guy was really condescending. He says that if you don't see it his way then obviously you don't know anything about racing. I've done my fair share of racing including in single seaters and I don't see it his way, so I guess by his judgement I am a moron.

The telemetry says a lot, but IMO it's not an open and shut case, however after seeing the further evidence I do think MS was in the wrong and should have been penalized. I think that a 3 grid-position penalty would be more appropriate than sending him to the back. I think he only should have been sent to the back in the case of a hugely egregious and obviously intentional maneuver designed from the start. I think he probably got out of sorts in the car and thought "hey I can use this to my advantage!" and that's what he did. He figured because it was an initial mistake he'd be all set in terms of scrutiny. On the contrary, they learned the latter part was bogus and inferred the former part was too, and punished him accordingly.