F1 was left aghast and exhausted at Monaco on Saturday evening, with journalists using the eight-hour wait for stewards’ decision to find near-universal condemnation of Michael Schumacher’s qualifying tactics.
But, with the sun long descended and the Ferrari driver preparing to retire to his hotel, Schumacher told a flock of reporters: ”What happened is typical at this circuit.
”I know what I did. I know not everyone agrees but I will sleep well tonight.”
The 37-year-old tried to explain the dubious moves on his steering wheel, to which stewards ultimately concluded that he had faked in order to thwart the laps of rivals.
Schumacher said: ”I was already having some trouble earlier in the lap. The car felt more twitchy.”
The basis of some observers’ verdict of guilt was that Schumacher was about two tenths slower than he had been on his quickest lap in one sector. Others, however – like Fernando Alonso – were really flying.
But Michael argued: ”I had the feeling that I could improve. The last sector is crucial, so I was trying really hard.
”If you are punished for making a mistake, then I don’t understand that.”
Schumacher said his engine stalled because it does automatically after a ten second delay.
He suggested that many of those who condemned him as a ‘cheater’ have been long-standing ‘enemies’ of his success.
”I am guilty if the crime is driving too fast and making an error.”gmmf1 dAILYF1NEWS.COM
