F1 steward Derek Daly regrets lack of Schumacher penalty

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F1 news: Derek Daly has admitted that he, as part of the stewarding team at the Italian Grand Prix, should have handed Michael Schumacher a penalty for blocking.

Credit: Mercedes GP

This is F1Minute - F1 steward Derek Daly regrets lack of Schumacher penalty.

Derek Daly was the chosen driver steward at last week’s Italian Grand Prix, and the ex-F1 driver has admitted he regrets not giving Michael Schumacher a penalty for his defensive driving. Taking to Twitter, Daly said simply: “Schumi should have had a penalty for blocking in Monza - we blew it.”

Michael Schumacher was informed over the radio several times to leave room for Lewis Hamilton, who was chasing him for many laps, but the stewards did not give the incidents any closer investigation.

The Telegraph reports that Daly has said: “On lap 20, race director Charlie Whiting asked the stewards to look at an incident between Massa and Trulli... While looking at 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 continued: “We, as stewards, probably let Charlie down with this one.”

With the number of stewarding controversies rising again this year, and this admission from Daly, it raises the question whether the current stewarding processes need a rethink.