03/08/2010
NEWS STORY
Derek Warwick, the former F1 and Sports Car driver who was one of the official race stewards at Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix has revealed that Michael Schumacher came close to being black-flagged for his controversial move on Rubens Barrichello.
In the closing stages of the race, Schumacher was struggling to hold his former teammate at bay as they battled for tenth position and the sole remaining point. When Barrichello finally got close enough to make his move, having exited the final corner right behind the Mercedes and getting a tow for the first part of the straight, Schumacher moved across the track forcing the Brazilian towards the pitwall. Speaking after the race, Barrichello, who partnered the German for six seasons at Ferrari, described the manoeuvre as the most dangerous he has encountered in his entire career.
Speaking to BBC 4 Live, Warwick admitted that in the wake of the incident he and his colleagues came close to disqualifying Schumacher.
"Throwing a black flag would have shown a better example to our young drivers, he said. "But by the time we got the video evidence we had run out of time and we had to do it retrospectively.
"We interviewed Rubens and Michael and it was kind of disappointing how Michael handled it," he admitted, "and we had no option but to give him a 10-place penalty. If we had enough laps (we could have disqualified him) but you have to have video evidence and make sure all four stewards are in agreement.
"You have to view the evidence you have and you could disqualify him from the next Grand Prix, or two Grands Prix," he continued. "But we felt a 10-place penalty is a big penalty to carry for Spa. It kind of puts him out of the race at Spa, and hopefully he will learn from that and remember that the new stewards will not tolerate that driving."
Schumacher has since apologised for the incident on the German version of his personal website, admitting that the move on his former teammate was "too severe".
For his part, Warwick, who contested 162 Grands Prix over 11 seasons, refused to join in the general baying for Schumacher's head. "Let's not forget he has won 91 races and seven world titles," he said "He is a great champion, a legend, and is up there with the greatest and we need to give him time. He has been three years out of the car and come back alongside Nico Rosberg who has done a great job."