The FIA Stewards have decided that Michael Schumacher breached Article 40.13 of the Formula 1 Sporting Regulations. He was given a drive-through penalty. As the race ended this becomes a time penalty. The penalty was 20secs and so Michael drops to 12th place.
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joeblogsf1 
I agree he was not in the right to get 6th. Although the rule seems quite ambiguous and the length of time to reach the decision suggests it is hardly clear cut, so the 20 second penalty feels a bit meh to me.
Well deserved.
Isn’t it interesting that all the BBC TV pundits called this wrong – two former drivers and a former team boss.
I’m sure it’ll all become clear.
Still a good move though…
You were right!!
It’s nice to be right, isn’t it?
A fair result – the rule is poorly worded, but if we look to the spirit of the rule, I think it is clear that where safety car conditions exist up to and including the end of the race, that the safety car will come into the pits at the end of the last lap and allow the cars to take the chequered flag independently – albeit that the safety car conditions still exist and as such there should be no overtaking between the point when the safety car leaves the race track and the race cars pass the chequered flag.
Good call Joe (despite the negative comments in a previous thread). Looks to me like either the rules or the procedures need tightening to prevent similar misunderstandings in future.
Well, it looks like the time has come to stop following this closely organized procession which calls itself sport.
Even though “my team” benefited from it, F1 world can speak of Monaco and former glory, but the fact of the matter is that Senna would have at least a dozen races taken away from him with stewards of today.
Good bye F1, it’s been nice knowing you.
Disappointed Ferrari Fan
Very dubious. i did not see a message that the race was to be finished under SC; however I did saw green flags. So I think it’s wrong. Does green flags not indicate go and race?
I think these rules need to be made a lot clearer to all.
Good call Joe – thanks also for the information which you give to all of us, for free. The vast majority of your loyal readers respect that and whilst we are all entitled to our opinions, there is opportunity to express them politely, discuss them with other esteemed contributors and enjoy our favourite sport. I am only sorry one or two people spoiled it on the other thread. For what it is worth, I disagreed with you and agreed with Brundle/Coulthard that the race was on again, all be it for 500 metres. However, I am not going to come on here and call you names. As it happened, you had it right and I stand corrected. So moving onwards…
It seems what we really need is a rule clarification here by the FIA. This situation could have been avoided if either a) the Safety Car had continued across the line with the cars in tow or b) the course was covered by waved yellow flags, thus no overtaking. Ross Brawn was awake and read the rules as he thought. Fernando perhaps thought it was still the start/finish line which was the overtaking point. Then when he realised what was happening, so he tried to defend – actually Michael had wheelspin as well if you listen to the audio from his onboard footage. It was brave, it was sharp. And we now know it was illegal. I also feel it was unique to Monaco – anywhere else, the acceleration of all the cars would have allowed them to stay ahead of the car behind.
Oh well, this should keep us talking until Turkey comes round…
I’m no great Schumi fan, but this is just barmy. It brings F1 into disrepute.
The rulebook is not unclear – I interpreted it exactly as Joe did. The aspect most confusing are the lights going green and this lead to some confusion and opportunity for Ross to attempt to gain unfair advantage. Well this incident has the positive effect of now making it absolutely clear how the ruling should be applied. The 20 seconds is harsh under the circumstances but it is what is provided for under the rules. I cannot see how Mercedes can really contest this, they have no real chance of changing the outcome come the FIA meeting.
Grey area rules and the FIA , somethings never change, I had high hopes for Todt..:(
No choice for the stewards I think. They were caught a touch between a rock and a hard place by an ambiguous rule. The particular circumstances of the race conspired to bring up this ambiguity.
It appears that Race Control and or the Stewards have stuffed up….
Either:
The Race ended under safety car conditions… in which case while the car itself pulls into the pits, the “safety car in this lap” message should not have been given, green flags should not have been waved and the “SC” boards should not have been withdrawn….
Or:
The safety car period was ended normally, and racing was allowed for the last two corners…. and therfor no penalty should have been given.
The chances of these things being admitted at the enquiry? 50/50 at best?
And while I can see that drive-through penalties given during the race cant be rescinded for fairly obvious practical reasons…
And I can see how the same must apply to a penalty given DURING the race that has not been carried out… but to suggest the same is true for ones handed down post-race is ridiculous… (its the rule, I know, but it’s still ridiculous).
IF the penalty was indeed an error… there is no guessing or unfairness required to other competitors… you just re-instate the results as they actually crossed the line.
Guess drivers now have to check to make sure a green flag actually means racing…
I think going back to last years rule that no overtaking until the start finish line is a better rule.. But what ever. MS was wrong to make the pass in my book.
Steve
Although I would generally be happy to demote Schumacher just for that insufferable smirk, I think in this case it was unfair. The rule cited is all good and well, but the green flags and lights were just there for everyone to see.
Now, the fact that all the other teams did not interpret the rules the way Brawn did, does not make him wrong…
My bottom line: conflicting rules drawn up by the FIA, a cockup by the stewards and Schu takes one up his proverbial.
Not that I mind, though 🙂 just sayin’
Oh please. A good decision?! Overtaking, in a beautiful move, under green lights and flags? WTF? What if a car crashes, or even slithers semi out of control – does the field bunch up, scared to pass it lest they fall foul of some technicality that ought, in the minds of racers, to be overridden by the over-arching rule that says that GREEN MEANS GO?!
F1 today demonstrated that they’ve utterly forgotten that they’re in the entertainment business, and they shot themselves, yet again, badly in the foot. When it’s ok for Alonso to pounce on Massa entering the pitlane, when it’s seemingly fine for Barrichello to fling his steering wheel in the path of an oncoming HRT, yet Schumacher gets penalised harshly for a beautiful, surgical, forensic move like this on an out-of-shape Alonso when the SC has gone in and the code is green – well this is just shameful and pathetic. It’s no wonder the layman thinks this so-called sport is a farce.
IF safety car conditions remain in force, yellows should be displayed, not greens. Green means race. Pretty simple. FIA’s cockup, but the driver gets punished. The ridiculous thing is that even if the WMSC rule in Schumacher’s favour, the penalty stands.
The WMSC has nothing to do with this.
“Safety car conditions still exist”! NOT SO!! Track was declared cleared and green flags/Light flashing. Safety car reported in on this lap. Racing speeds as green flags. There where no safety car conditions existing…FIA wrong again.
I think it was a mistake to turn the flags green, but that probably isn’t enough to let Schumacher off the hook.
This is complete and utter BS. I am NOT a Michael Schumacher fan, nor am I anti-Schumacher either, but as Joe points out in another article, article 40.13 states:
“if the race ends while the Safety Car is deployed, it will enter the pit lane at the end of the last lap “and the cars will take the chequered flag as normal without overtaking”.
The simple truth is that the race did NOT end while the safety car was deployed. Ross Brawn showed us the evidence on TV after the race (clearly showing that the Safety Car was being brought in before the end of the race) and I haven’t read or seen anything to the contrary since. In addition, I’m fairly sure the telemetry will show that the cars were racing at the time and not making their way to the flag as if under a safety car.
What’s your view, Joe ?
I’ve also just noticed that other websites are stating that article 40.13 reads:
“drivers must not overtake if the Safety Car has controlled the race on the final lap”
Which obviously means something different. I just checked this out and in fact, Article 40.13 is exactly as Joe states.
The very fact that some of the news site are changing the rules to match the Stewards’ decision tells me everything I need to know !!
I can see that according to the letter of the regulations that rule 40.13 appears to have been breached – and 40.13 overrides rule 40.7 in the condition of the last lap.
…but I think Ross has a pretty good point regarding the ambiguity of this ruling. Firstly green flags were shown when the SC went in, and secondly I’m not aware that the teams were indicated that the race would finish under the safety car. All we were told was ‘safety car in this lap’. Did that mean the intention was to finish the race under the safety car (which will always come in if it’s the last lap according to the rules)? It’s not clear and I have a feeling the appeal may be successful due to this ambiguity.
Although I think Schumacher’s move was legit, I can at least still see the stewards’ basis for disallowing it based on article 40.13 which governed that particular situation. But the 20-second penalty is simply too harsh given the level of rule & situational ambiguity that many experts believed was present The stewards should’ve done no more than merely reverse their final positions.
Although article 40.13 may have been clear by itself, it does not make sense when viewed in the larger context of the rest of the rules, the on-track situation, and the “spirit” of racing. “Proof” to this was the overwhelmingly unanimous view among F1 pundits & journos (never mind from numerous F1 forums) that it was a brilliant piece of opportunistic overtaking that should’ve been allowed to stand.
Still, the decision is what it is, and it will probably stand despite the appeal lodged by MGP. It’s just a bit of a shame how this becomes the latest among the “little” things that’ve hampered Schumacher’s comeback. After all, seeing Michael attain some moderate degree of progress & success in his comeback would’ve added some spice in a season that’s fast turning into a “Red Bull Runaway Show.”
I guess if that’s the rule, that’s the rule. For me personally, I would have just switched their positions back.
Why can’t the FIA implement a rule in a common-sense way?
If the race has to finish under the safety car, finish it under the safety car. Don’t throw a green flag and forbid cars to pass – it’s ambiguous and asinine…
Schumacher and Brawn have to take this on the chin…and Schuys is big enough, ha ha!. The rules are confusing and it looks like the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing because there are so many rules.
Todt is in a Delmer here. If it had gone Schuys way cynics would have cried favoritism because of Todts close relationship with Michael. Ferrari could also be favoured but Schumacher is the biggest target for Todt to punish in this situation. Todt has been waiting to show he is FIA president for the sport and not his favourite driver or team. I believe he was a big force in this questionable decision. It was bound to happen. When Schumacher was at Ferrari he would have won the stewards decision, he now knows what it’s like when the decision goes against him. It’s all about powerful politics and the Brawn team needs to move forward. They have been an important chess piece in Todts job – and he is doing a good job – as president of the FIA.
Also, Hill can say “what goes around comes around…” 😉
S.
“… that the safety car will come into the pits at the end of the last lap and allow the cars to take the chequered flag independently.” Then what’s the point of pulling the safety car at the end, honestly?