Sharkmans post about the Schumi incedent pompts this.
On the original topic. It certainly looked a clumsy and deliberate effort to foil Alonso. Schumi has been occasionally given to these dumb ideas in the past, although I personally thought he had grown out of it. Renault must have him rattled. He got what he deserved.
Now that Herr Schumacher hasn't the best car on the grid and he sees the end of his career in sight he has become perhaps a little desperate.
Now the rant.
The regulations have become so silly in the past few years as to endanger F-1's status as the pinnacle of motorsport. I believe the underlying motives of many rule changes to give others some chance to compete against Ferrari.
Quali especially is intended to upset the grid. It's better this year but only when an open session for everyone is reinstated will qualifying be an accurate indication of ultimate performance from the teams.
Ferrari continued to succeed in spite of changes made by the FIA until 2005 when Bridgestones tires where not competitive. A natural change of power that didn't require any fiddling with the rules.
If the FIA doesn't stop making poor rules changes in the interest of providing a show then F-1 will become a mediocre spectacle like NASCAR.
Before you start shooting allow me to clarify. NASCAR is so regulated that the cars are essentially identical which is great if your idea is to provide a venue for strictly a drivers competition. NASCAR prior to the eighties was a different animal. The car was part of the equation then. If you are looking for an athletic competition then remove the motors and install pedals.
I'm no fan of NASCAR but mean no slight either, it's just that the cars are pigs. If you don't believe me look at Jeff Gordon's face after he did a few laps in Juan Pablo Montoya's Williams (BMW) a few years back!
One common reason cited by FIA for rule changes is to reduce speed and costs. Neither has been accomplished. The cars have been narrowed,slick tires abolished,engine displacement reduced and asked to live longer.Yet speeds are up and cost even more so. And sheer spending isn't the answer anyway,the Japanese can attest to this. This is is a game where natural selection should be the rule. The strong survive to fight the ultimate battle,the weak go to GP-2.
The money is certainly there and the desire to compete is in most.I wish the GD FIA would stop meddling! Now that Ferrari is not dominating maybe they will. But rest assured if Schumi pulls a miracle from his ass, Bridgestones will be square for 2007.
If there weren't such retarded qualifying procedures Schumi would have needed to save that move for the race.