F1: Mercedes Gives Up On Monaco Penalty Appeal

Formula 1

F1: Mercedes Gives Up On Monaco Penalty Appeal

Michael Schumacher's 12th-place finish in the Monaco Grand Prix will stick...

Adam Cooper | http://www.speedtv.com | Posted May 18, 2010 Balen (BEL)

The penalty issued to Michael Schumacher is Monaco will remain in effect. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Mercedes GP has dropped its appeal against the decision that dropped Michael Schumacher from sixth to 12th at the Monaco GP.

While the team (and some of its rivals) believe it has a good case, it has accepted that is is unlikely to win a legal battle, despite the obvious anomalies in the rules. This was the first time that a safety car had been withdrawn on the last lap of the race under the new rules that allow drivers to race from the safety car line at the pit entry.

What the FIA should have done to avoid any confusion was to use the message "The race will be completed under the safety car" on the timing screens, instead of saying that it would be "in this lap."

Had the stewards not acted on Sunday, rival teams would have protested - and Toro Rosso, which stood to gain 10th-place, were literally first in the queue. However two teams, not surprisingly those with nothing to gain from Schumacher's penalty, told SPEED.com that Ross Brawn's interpretation was perfectly valid.

Mercedes has also questioned the scale of the penalty. Logic suggests that swapping of Schumacher and Fernando Alonso in the results would have been fair, which could have been achieved by a 1sec penalty. However, the only weapon the stewards had was a drive-through. Mercedes says the FIA has agreed to look into both that and the safety car rules at the next meeting of the Sporting Working Group.

The team's statement reads as follows: "On the final lap of the 2010 Monaco Grand Prix, MERCEDES GP PETRONAS instructed our drivers, Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg, to race from safety car line one until the finish line as permitted under articles 40.7 and 40.11.

Seven time World Champion Michael Schumacher was stripped of a sixth-place finish in Monaco. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

"MERCEDES GP PETRONAS were fully aware of article 40.13 which states that no overtaking is permitted if the race finishes under safety car conditions. However we believed that the combination of the race control messages 'Safety Car in this lap' and 'Track Clear' and the green flags and lights shown by the marshals after safety car line one indicated that the race was not finishing under the safety car and all drivers were free to race.

"This opinion appears to have been shared by the majority of the teams with cars in the top ten positions who also gave their drivers instructions to race to the finish line.

"It was clear from our discussions with the stewards after the race that they understood the reasons for our interpretation and acknowledged that this was a new and previously untested situation but ultimately disagreed with our interpretation.

"MERCEDES GP PETRONAS would like to emphasize that we fully support the inclusion of past drivers on the stewards panel and are completely satisfied that the Monaco Grand Prix stewards acted professionally, impartially and properly in this matter.

"The FIA has agreed to include article 40.13 on the agenda of the next Sporting Working Group for discussion and to consider the scale of post race penalties. We believe that the 20 second penalty imposed on Michael to be disproportionate in the circumstances.

"Whilst we cannot be happy with the outcome, we are pleased that the FIA has recognized the reasons for our interpretation. Therefore in the best interests of the sport, MERCEDES GP PETRONAS will not be submitting an appeal."

Adam Cooper notched up his 25th season as a racing journalist in 2009. Born in London, England, he saw his first F1 race at age 10 in 1976. He began freelancing for Autosport magazine in 1985 and was on the fulltime staff from 1987-92. He then went freelance again, initially spending two years in Japan before following the 1994 Champcar series from a base in Indianapolis. He has not missed a Grand Prix since Suzuka ‘94, a run that has extended to Abu Dhabi ’09. Adam has written books about Eddie Irvine, Piers Courage and Michael Schumacher and hosts a race preview show on Sirius XM. He has written about F1 for SPEEDtv.com since 2005. Check out Adam's Blog or follow him on Twitter