05/06/2006
NEWS STORY
Michael Schumacher might be hoping to leave the Rascasse incident behind him, but fellow drivers, not to mention certain sections of the media, have other ideas.
The German driver has been summoned to attend a special meeting of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA) at Silverstone this weekend, when he will be asked to explain his version of events to his racing colleagues.
Following the incident, in the final minute of qualifying at Monaco, when the seven-time World Champion was subsequently found guilty of deliberately stopping his car on track in an effort to hamper his rivals' qualifying laps, many F1 people were highly critical of the German, not least fellow drivers.
In the past week, several drivers have been exceedingly vocal in their criticism of the German, and considering that one of the main aims of the GPDA is to improve driver safety, Schumacher is being called to explain his actions. Of course, being racing drivers, the members of the GPDA are going to have far better insight as to what really happened than anyone else.
Although the GPDA cannot sanction any form of punishment, it could ask Schumacher to stand down as president, or possibly expel him, which would be highly embarrassing for the German, since it would demonstrate that his on-track colleagues no longer have faith in him.