Singapore schumacher penalty?

[NowyszRacing6]

I read today that Schumacher got a 10 spot grid penalty for japan....does anybody else think this is crazy? Clearly michael didn't just take out JEV on purpose, and he said in an interview afterwards that he didn't really understand what happened himself (although it was a weird situation, it looked like he just slammed the brakes and didn't ease off of them to get some of the stopping power back). The idea of penalizing someone for accidental contact is too much, especially since the driver will already have the "penalty" of being out of the race or a damaged car. Kinda seems like the FIA has forgotten what the nature of racing is....do you guys agree or think they had a good reason for it?

[Pierce89]

I read today that Schumacher got a 10 spot grid penalty for japan....does anybody else think this is crazy? Clearly michael didn't just take out JEV on purpose, and he said in an interview afterwards that he didn't really understand what happened himself (although it was a weird situation, it looked like he just slammed the brakes and didn't ease off of them to get some of the stopping power back). The idea of penalizing someone for accidental contact is too much, especially since the driver will already have the "penalty" of being out of the race or a damaged car. Kinda seems like the FIA has forgotten what the nature of racing is....do you guys agree or think they had a good reason for it?

Should Grosjean have been penalized for accidental contact? A brain fart is a brain fart, regardless of the driver or his history. Oh, and I am an old Shumi/Scuderia fan, who still likes Shumi.

[strad]

Should Grosjean have been penalized for accidental contact?

NO!!!!!!!!

[Nickel]

I don't know if Micheal should or shouldn't have gotten a penalty.

What I do know is that
- The FIA are trying to crack down on petulant, brash maneuvers whose outcomes are fairly certain (crashes)
- Others have been similarly penalized, and that a precedent has been set to consider other incidents during the season.
- Consistency is something they (the FIA) have been criticized for lacking in the past.
- Micheal has been driving long enough to both account for the effects of a safety car period on the behavior of his car AND to take into account the altered cornering speed of two cars battling it out side by side through a braking zone.

Based on these factors plus the added assumption that no mechanical reason existed for the crash seeing as Mercedes did not offer up any evidence thereof, my opinion would be that yes, the old man deserves a slap on the wrist for not paying enough attention. It's not enough that his race was ruined, because another's race was ruined in an incident which was totally avoidable and where clear blame could be apportioned. Even Ross Brawn(I think it was...) got on the radio to ask what happened in disbelief.

[snoop1050]

+5 penalty at most imo.

but the stewards said they took into account he already had a similar accident this year even though he was already punished for that and imo it wasnt exactly similar.

schumacher had brake issues all weekend he even mentioned it after p2 and p3 and then again before qualifying.

looks like he either hit the bump funny or something unsettled the car when he hit the brakes.

[Stradivarius]

I think it's fair that Schumacher gets a penalty for causing what looked like an avoidable accident. Whether or not something was wrong with his car doesn't really matter, as long as it is the responsibility of the driver/team to make sure he doesn't drive around in a car with faulty brakes, as it might put others in danger.

What I don't think is fair, however, is that he is moved 10 grid places down for Suzuka. Why can't there be some consistency as to how the drivers are punished? There has been a lot of crashes the last year and the penalties have been ranging from reprimands and fines to drive-through penalties, 5-slot grid penalties, 10-slot grid penalties and race bans.

Whenever an incident like this happens, some times times there is doubt whether the driver will be punished at all. And then there is also doubt about what the penalty will be. And this is how it has been for ages, and there is still no systematic pattern in how penalties are handed out.

[snoop1050]

yup like webber got punished but nico gained 5 car lengths and no action was taken

[Dragonfly]

For me the incident is far from clear.
The fact that Michael took the blame without trying to argue does not mean anything. Everyone watching the situation can see that something was not right. And it is not as if he did not account for the restart - he was not chasing closely the two cars ahead, intended to brake earlier than usual, had already driven a number of corners to have the feel for the brakes. And dont tell me his tyres and brakes got colder in the process.
I am also wondering how many of the posters are able to save an ordinary car at ordinary speed if they are caught with ineffective braking to allow themselves such strong critics.

[Nando]

I think it was justified.

He´s done many of these demented crashes this year. Like he´s 90 and forgot where he was lol.

No doubt he´s quick but he´s done some strange incidents this year.

[MikeFromCanada]

What I am more surprised about is the lack of any comment from Mercedes GP management on this. You would expect someone in Mercedes to come out and say something on the issue, at least to take the heat off of Michael. Had they said "we suspect something had failed on the car", it may have saved Michael from a penalty at Suzuka, which of course would be in their benefit.

[FrukostScones]

This penalty is correct and not harsh. Schumacher was dreaming and could not control his car in a safe manner. The response from Brawn over the radio was "What was that?" Or something like it. Yeah what was it.
The car had no technical problem and it was only Schumacher to blame. Also, when you look at photos from the incident you see that this was a pretty massive shunt and not something harmless. And it also is the third (2011 Singapore the same crash, 2012 Senna crash Barcelona) time Schumacher did something like that in his second career. So there is nothing to complain about a 10 places grid penalty inmh.

[Nickel]

I am also wondering how many of the posters are able to save an ordinary car at ordinary speed if they are caught with ineffective braking to allow themselves such strong critics.

Would you not agree that in such a situation, you would do your utmost to not lock up your brakes? Schumacher slid roughly 30-50 metres with both front tires locked up. Would it not be logical that if there had been some sort of mechanical issue, it would have been mentioned as a mitigating factor by the team?

I do not mean to imply that Schumacher is not a driver of incredibly high caliber, because he most certainly is, past his prime or not. This does nothing to change the fact that for whatever reason, he dropped the ball and took someone out of the gp. To use your ordinary car analogy, the following car is ALWAYS at fault. You seem to be reaching for reasons he might not be deserving of a penalty. If you disagree with the system, fair enough, but based on the penalty system in place, I fail to see why he would not be penalized.

[zyphro]

No offence but some of you need your ears testing: that definitely was not RB on the radio. Listen to the tone/pitch of the voice - it is not him (go watch Monza 2011 TR again if you don't believe me). It's some random guy who I've never heard on the TR ever before: odd.

[zyphro]

He´s done many of these demented crashes this year.

Since when did many = 2? Many would be on Grosjean's scale of first lap incidents. I wish some folk would look at the bigger picture - he's done very little wrong this year.

The comment surrounding 2 Rosbergs would be beneficial for Merc is laughable - perhaps Minardi ought to go to primary school and learn how to do sum's again (check how many points have been scored since Canada - MSC's last real mechanical fault that ruined his points scoring).

[snoop1050]

No offence but some of you need your ears testing: that definitely was not RB on the radio. Listen to the tone/pitch of the voice - it is not him (go watch Monza 2011 TR again if you don't believe me). It's some random guy who I've never heard on the TR ever before: odd.

lol i dont understand how anyone could think it was ross. he sounds nothing like that and it sounded like a fairly young voice