Derek Daly, the driver representative on the stewards panel in Monza last weekend, is being quoted today as saying he regrets not punishing Michael Schumacher for a "blatant double-block" on Lewis Hamilton on lap 20.
Interestingly Daly's change of heart is not down to the fact that he sees the incident differently to how he did on Sunday – it's down to the fact that he didn't see the incident at all.
“On lap 20, race director Charlie Whiting asked the stewards to look at an incident between Massa and Trulli at the second chicane,” explained the former Tyrrell and Williams driver.
“While looking at the slo-mo video of this incident, I missed the Schumacher/Hamilton incident that happened at that moment.
“When I looked at it again at home, I believe that Schumacher should have been given a drive-through penalty. He was warned repeatedly, and this style of driving is not what you want the future generation of drivers to perfect.
"We as stewards probably let Charlie down with this one.”
Whether you agree with Daly or not regarding Schumacher's driving, his admission raises certain questions.
Clearly stewards cannot investigate one incident and simultaneously monitor everything that is happening out on track. But with the high-profile Hamilton-Schumacher battle being shown to millions on the international race feed – and with the lap 20 "double block" replayed and discussed by commentators all over the globe – surely the first time Daly analysed it should not have been at home?
It will be of no consolation to Hamilton now, but had Daly convinced his fellow stewards at the time that Schumacher was deserving of a drive-through, the Briton may have caught Alonso or even Button before the chequered flag??
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