16 May – Monaco

Reports from Monaco suggest that Michael Schumacher was very lucky to only get a twenty second penalty for his illegal move on Fernando Alonso at the final corner of Sunday’s Grand Prix.

Race steward, Damon Hill, pushed hard for much sterner… penalties including a custodial sentence for the German, for what he might have called a ‘typically underhand action’ although we cannot be sure he even thought of saying that.

Apart from the Alonso move, Damon allegedly also asked for several other offences he saw over the weekend to be considered:

On many occasions the Mercedes driver was seen driving at 150 mph on Monte Carlo roads, most of which have a maximum speed limit of 30 mph.

Schumacher was also cited by Hill for not using his indicators or for slowing at pedestrian crossings.

Hill added that Schumacher’s misdemeanors where not confined to his driving but there were also offences in the paddock, where he said he saw him wearing ‘silvery clothes’ and  heard him talking with ‘a distinct German accent’.

The other stewards managed to convince Hill to ‘let it go’ and apart from the crime of overtaking another driver, all other charges were dropped.