05-27-2006, 02:24 PM
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Sent to the back of the pack
Quote:
Schumacher sent to the back
Ferrari stripped of pole
Michael Schumacher has been stripped of pole position for tomorrows Monaco Grand Prix, and will start from the back of the grid after the Stewards of the meeting deleted all his times from qualifying following a lengthy consideration of evidence.
Schumacher stopped at the Rascasse corner in the dying seconds of the session, having seemingly locked up and subsequently stalled the engine, bringing out yellow flags which ruined the final laps of Fernando Alonso (Renault), Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren) and Mark Webber (Williams) all of whom looked likely to eclipse the Ferrari driver.
Immediately after the incident it was clear that most observers considered it a deliberate move, and the Stewards immediately launched a detailed enquiry.
Tony Scott-Andrews, the permanent steward, and his two fellow stewards heard evidence from the driver himself as well as Ferrari Technical Director Ross Brawn, Team Manager Stefano Domenicali, and Schumachers Race Engineer Chris Dyer. They also considered video evidence, data supplied to them by Ferrari and the FIA, and the views of Alan Prudom, software analyst for the FIA, and Race Director Charlie Whiting. The deliberations took over eight hours.
The conclusion of the stewards was that Schumacher had “lost time in sector two, arrived at Turn 18 at a speed little, if any, different from his previous fastest lap, and braked with such force that his front wheels locked up, requiring the driver to regain control of the car.”
The statement when on to add: \"The driver ultimately did so without hitting the barrier on the outside of Turn 18. The engine of the car subsequently stalled, with the result of the car partially blocked the track.\"
\"Having compared all relevant data, the stewards can find no justifiable reason for the driver to have braked with such undue, excessive and unusual pressure at this part of the circuit, and are therefore left with no alternatives but to conclude that the driver deliberately stopped his car on the circuit in the last few minutes of qualifying, at a time at which he had thus far set the fastest lap time.\"
The stewards have penalised Michael Schumacher under Article 112 of the Sporting regulations, which they explained “allows the stewards to delete any number of a driver\'s qualifying times for a driving infringement, which decision is not susceptible to appeal.\"
The decision means that Mark Webber will now start on the front row, alongside new pole position man Fernando Alonso, with the two Mclarens of Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya lining up on row two. Rubens Barrichello, in the Honda, and Jarno Trulli’s Toyota now start on row three, and David Coulthard in the Red Bull will start alongside Nico Rosberg in the second Williams on the fourth row.
The final two top ten positions will be occupied by Giancarlo Fisichella, who has also been stripped of his three best times, and the second Toyota of Ralf Schumacher.
This article was written on Saturday, May 27, 21:07
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