Watch it again closely. Reubens got the jump and got his left front inside Shumachers right rear. Barichello has more speed and his front moves up the sidepod. Shumacher responds by moving right right down to the line, forcing Rubens completely off the racing surface, onto dusty concrete, inches from the wall. The only way back for Reubens was across pit out, a highly dangerous location, and across infield grass. If a car was comming out of the pits, Michael should have prosecuted criminally.
OK, I’ve watched it closely a couple of times and I can understand Rubens was not happy/crapped his pants.
I have also listened to the comms from Rubens before he made that pass. He already complained earlier that Schumacher shut the door late in the corners. So he knew Schumacher would try to block any passing attempt. Schumacher moved to the right on the straight, generally an allowed move. He didn’t weave back and forth, which is not allowed.
Rubens is quoted after the race (formula1.com): “I had to work pretty hard for the point in a fight that wasn’t fair or clean, but I will let others be the judge of that. All I am clear about is that I am a racer and in such situations, I never back off.”
I could’ve highlighted the second sentence there, but guess some would rather emphasize the first sentence. Draw your own conclusions. Never back off = maybe crash. Don’t whine later. (Oh, Schumacher would’ve gone off right along with Rubens. He doesn’t strike me as suicidal.)
A more general observation:
Schumacher can be ruthless. 7 world championships.
Rubens really isn’t ruthless. 0 world championships. Won’t ever happen.
Demi-god Ayrton Senna was ruthless (1989, 1990 - forced, championship-deciding collisions with Prost. Etc, etc.) 3 world championships.
Alonso, 2 world championships, just slammed past his team mate Massa ON THE FREAKIN’ PIT ENTRANCE a few races ago. Pretty ruthless.
And so on...
Nice guys are mostly not the guys that keep winning.
But then, F1 has gone from Grace Kelly to Lindsay Lohan in as many years...;-) What’s with all those races in countries with no motorsport history whatsoever these days? Arabia, Turkey, Malaysia, China, etc. Meh, who really cares anymore. The “sport” part is mostly gone, it’s only about money. /rant
Well, at least Spa is something to look forward to. Chances of rain are good, and if you’ve ever stood at the bottom of Eau Rouge you’ll know just how frickin’ steep that hill really is. Amazing to see the drivers blast through there.
OK, I’ve said my part.