Michael Schumacher said he spun of his own accord on lap one, triggering the crash that put him out.
| Michael Schumacher | Nico Rosberg | |
| Qualifying position | 8 | 9 |
| Qualifying time comparison (Q3) | 1’40.516 (-0.073) | 1’40.589 |
| Race position | 4 | |
| Laps | 0/55 | 55/55 |
| Pit stops | 0 | 1 |
Open lap times interactive chart in new window
Michael Schumacher
Pipped Rosberg to eighth on the grid by less than a tenth of a second.
Tried to pass Rubens Barrichello into the chicane on lap one but found his team mate coming by on the outside.
Schumacher spun and was collected heavily by Vitantonio Liuzzi.
He said he lost control of the car himself:
I went off the line, spun and because of the dirt there, the back of the car just came around. It’s a shame obviously as I would have liked to finish the season with a more positive ending but I am already looking forward to fighting again next year.
I would like to say thank you to everybody in our team for all of their hard work.
Michael Schumacher
Compare Michael Schumacher’s form against his team mate in 2010
Nico Rosberg
Second and third in the first two parts of qualifying on the medium tyre, but was almost half a second slower when he switched to the super-softs in Q3, leaving him ninth.
Muscled his way past Schumacher on the first lap, then dived into the pits under the resulting safety car to switch to the medium compound tyres. After that he had a uneventful run to fourth place:
I’m very pleased with fourth place and it’s the best that we could have hoped for from my grid position. Special thanks to Ross and James Vowles for a great strategy today.
We had a good pace on the [medium] tyres, just like in qualifying, and I was able to make the most of that performance when it mattered.
Nico Rosberg
Compare Nico Rosberg’s form against his team mate in 2010
2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Mach1
15th November 2010, 16:42
For a second I thought Schumacher was seriously hurt.
It was quite scary for a few moments.
So very glad he was ok.
Having the nose cone of an F1 car plowing into your head would not have been nice. So lucky it missed. Even the front right tyre just missed him.
Mach1
15th November 2010, 17:05
edit: front left tyre (of force india)
d-d
15th November 2010, 17:32
In Monaco it was very scary as well, and Kobayashi crash into Glock in Australia also was very dangerous.
I would consider installing reinforced glass around driver seat so that driver’s head is not above it. Sounds lame but I think it could be done in clever way and save someone’s life.
wasiF1 (@wasif1)
16th November 2010, 3:49
Any on board video of Schumacher car,I really wanted to know how far was the head that was a scary accident at first but was really relief to see him walking after that incident.
beneboy (@beneboy)
16th November 2010, 19:54
When they showed replays of it on the BBC Forum it appeared to me that Schumi moved the car forward a couple of inches once it had stopped spinning.
I don’t know if he did it on purpose or if he just had his foot on the accelerator but I think that it was this forward movement that prevented the crash from being far worse and possibly saved him from getting the front wing of the Force India hitting the front of his helmet.
It was one of the scariest crashes I’ve seen in a long time !
AUB
17th November 2010, 17:33
OK I didnt follow every minute of the F1 this year, I also made some pitstops, but who exactly died?
robbiepblake (@driftin)
15th November 2010, 16:47
I’m glad he wasn’t injured and also disappointed because after a poor first half of the season he really picked himself up for the second half. It would’ve been great to see how the championship would’ve turned out if there was no crash but also I’d like to have seen where Schumacher could’ve ended up if Rosberg was 5th.
Fixy (@)
15th November 2010, 18:34
We’ll have to wait for next year.
US_Peter (@us_peter)
16th November 2010, 18:31
Well Rosberg only finished 4th because of the SC and his early pit, so I doubt Schumacher could’ve finished as high, but you never know. Rosberg was on SPEED right before the race telling Buxton his tyre strategy would be “Very brave… massively brave.” He certainly lived up to his promise.
Damon
15th November 2010, 17:15
To me it looked like barrichello brake tested schumi
PeriSoft
15th November 2010, 17:32
There’s such a brouhaha in a chicane on the first lap that it’s pretty tough to justify a conclusion like that.
Agreed that the accident looked really really bad at first – Even when I saw Schu’s head moving I wasn’t entirely sure. I know the HANS, high cockpit side, and helmets help a lot, but I’m not sure that those helmets could stand up to a direct hit like that.
The main thing that reassured me when it happened was that the cameras stayed with the accident for a little bit. When they switch away immediately it’s usually very bad – eg Burti a few years ago at Hockenheim, Massa last year. No cameras = bad news.
It was rather remarkable to see Schumi and Liuzi strolling down the pit lane, Schu laughing and slapping Vitantonio on the back 15 minutes later – not because Schu would have blamed Vit, of course, just because of the seriousness of it. I’d love to know what their conversation was…
Schumacher: “Hey, Vitantonio! Honestly, I’m glad you didn’t kill me. I think it’s a good result for me! I think honestly next time we will all work hard at the team, honestly, to not have my head squashed. Hah hah!”
Liuzzi: “Arh blubl blreb elbl heheh bleml ahh blubl!”
Todfod (@todfod)
15th November 2010, 20:16
Thats the best Luizzi impression ever
Phil
15th November 2010, 18:22
Thank goodness someone has come out and said this. Everyone on the tv coverage said Rosberg had caused this accident by clipping Schu. I could tell there was no contact at all, but they all seemed hell-bent on pointing the finger at him. Brundle was certain, but I never saw any contact in any of the replays that he also watched. As for Barrichello brake testing him, that’s a right load of old cobblers.
John M
15th November 2010, 18:29
I may be getting ahead of myself here, but I believe next year’s Mercedes will probably be a contender.
This year’s car suffered from the lack of funding at Brawn last year and the focus of the team on winning the WCC and WDC.
With the technical reset coming next year, I suspect that the team was already working hard on the 2011 car by mid-season 2010, much like Ross Brawn focused on the 2009 car during the 2008 Honda season. Having Mercedes money and resources behind the team will have a big impact.
I think Rosberg has shown he can be consistent and given the right equipment, I think he’s capable of contending. Schumacher seemed to regain form throughout the season. He may not be his old self, but he’s certainly no slouch. I look for good results from Mercedes next year.
US_Peter (@us_peter)
16th November 2010, 18:34
Ross Brawn has certainly hinted that he feels it will be.
beneboy (@beneboy)
16th November 2010, 20:24
I really hope so John, it has been brilliant having three competitive teams this season and it would be even better if Mercedes could make it four.
Schumi seems to be very happy about the return of Pirelli and with a car he has helped design he should be much more confident about what he can do with the car next season. If the car is anywhere near to the front running pace then I wouldn’t be surprised to see him and Nico putting in a serious challenge for the Championship which would then give us eight drivers with a decent chance of winning a race without outside intervention (SC, rain etc).
Damon
15th November 2010, 20:44
If you watch it barrachello brakes really early and veers to the left which ruins schumacers momentum through the chicane Which let’s rosberg get on the side of schumi
chris sz
15th November 2010, 21:47
to me it’s very obvious what an imortant role Shumi had in the battle WDC! even though he wasn’t a contender he sure was an unexpected factor which had big influence on the results.(if you can’t beat them, screw them up)
US_Peter (@us_peter)
16th November 2010, 18:35
To imply that his crash was intentional is absurd.
chris sz
16th November 2010, 20:00
it wasn’t intentional but it did play a great role.
Brawn-Mercedes fan
16th November 2010, 18:46
I love that motto. (If you can’t beat them, screw them up)!!!
dianna
16th November 2010, 19:26
Michael,Your Worldwide fans will patiently wait until next year,thanks be to God you were uninjured.
Another World Cup awaits you for 2011,you can do it,so don’t forget to leave enough room on your helmet for the “8th” Star……………!!!!
Bruno
16th November 2010, 20:32
Go Michael! F1 is worth to watch with a legend like you… Fight for the WDC next year!!
Sanjay
17th November 2010, 13:32
Go Schumi GO !!
Sanjay
17th November 2010, 13:34
I watched the replay many times and I can confirm that Rosberg’s front wing end plate did clip Schumi’s car… not sure why Mercedes (Schumi included) defending Rosberg.
kpcart
17th November 2010, 16:43
I think this crash wasnt as dangerous as some people make out. When i saw i t i was 100% certain Schumacher was fine. the constuction of the car worked perfect so the driver wasnt injured, they are designed to prevent exactly this type of accident. Even if a wheel somehow did hit schumachers helmet, which wasnt really possible, i think he would not have been injured, as the speed wasnt very high, and the helmet would have protected him, afterall they are tested with shotguns from 1 meter away to be bullet proof.
There was a much more serious such accident in Champcars a few years ago and at higher speed, where one car came directly over another and they had to lift the car off to get to the driver.