Schumacher strikes back

[Gerard]

This is an excerpt from Thursday's press conference in Germany.

question: It has been confirmed that the so-called 'one move' anti-blocking rule is not so much a regulation as a piece of advice which is to be taken into consideration in the event of collisions on the track. Both David Coulthard and Jacques Villeneuve have now made it clear that they fear an accident at the start unless Michael accepts that he must sometimes back off. I would therefore like to ask Michael if, as the sport's senior driver, he feels comfortable to be taking advantage of such advice when he considers that his actions are likely to be followed by younger drivers.

Schumacher: Why don't you put this question to [FIA Safety Delegate] Charlie Whiting?

question: We have done that. Charlie indicates that this is not a firm rule in the sense that it has been written into the regulations ...

Schumacher: So it is a rule so far, about what we can do. And he has said that as long as you [make the move] in a safe way, it's OK. Correct? So what are we doing here? Is this Formula 1 or is it drinking coffee in a happy family situation? We are racing in a very hard and fair way, in my view. Nothing else. It has always been like this. If you want to change the rule, we can discuss it. But this is the way it is. And please don't suggest that it is only me who is doing it. That is completely untrue, because if you look through the field you will see many drivers doing it. And some of the same drivers who complain about me are people who have also done it themselves, maybe not at the start but in other circumstances during the race. I think we can discuss the matter, but don't try to create a story in the direction you're trying to go, because there is no point. If the rules allow us to fight like this, then that's how we will fight. It is part of the business.

question: There remains a clear disagreement between you on one side, and David and Jacques on the other, over the interpretation of the 'advice' ...

Schumacher: That's why we had a meeting before the race in Austria. At that meeting it was made quite clear by Charlie Whiting that what happened at Imola and Magny-Cours - where unfortunately an example was made of me on both occasions - was totally OK.

question: May I therefore ask David if he still believes that the lack of direction on this matter is likely to lead to a major collision?

Coulthard: Every time you put a car on a track, or every time a driver starts a race, there is the potential for an accident. So I don't think there is much point in making a distinction between what can happen in the first few hundred metres of a Grand Prix and what might happen over the course of the entire race. This is an issue of the rules that apply on every lap. As Michael says, there was a discussion about this in Austria. And Charlie Whiting, as an adviser to the Stewards, gave his opinion on what he felt was the line. As long as we all know where that line is, then we can go racing. This is something that needed to be clarified, and as far as the driving is concerned, it has been clarified.

question: Following Charlie's clarification, has the danger mentioned by David now increased? It seems that Michael has one opinion on this, while all the other drivers have an opposite opinion ...

Schumacher: Let me say that two drivers - Jacques and David - have a different opinion. The rest of the drivers have another opinion, and Charlie agrees with all those other opinions. Especially in England, I know that things have been turned to make it appear that I am some bad guy who does things which are not allowed to be done. This is not true. The [things I do] are OK. If not, the Stewards would tell me, and I would have to drive accordingly. But that is not the case. I therefore do not understand this casino. We can discuss within our group whether this should be the case. That is a different matter. But in all the years I have been involved in F1, that has been the case. Did you write something similar after Senna held off Mansell at Monaco in 1992? No! You all reported it as great racing! Didn't you?