Barrichello was not penalized for lack of time

One of the stewards of last weekend's Monaco race revealed that Michael Schumacher's maneuver at the end of the race prevented him from penalizing Rubens Barrichello. After the German driver was relegated six positions for illegally overtaking Fernando Alonso on the last lap, it was suggested by several people that Barrichello should also have incurred a penalty.

The TV images clearly showed the moment in which the Brazilian driver threw the steering wheel of his Williams onto the track. The object was then hit by Karun Chandock's HRT.

Barrichello defended himself by stating that that was an instinctive action given that his car was on fire and stopped sideways in the middle of the track.

But Paul Gutjahr, one of the four race commissioners, told Swiss newspaper Blick that the incident caught their attention.

“Actually, Barrichello was on our list,” admitted the Swiss.

Gutjhar confirmed that the issue has taken a back seat in the "frenzy" to resolve the issue linked to Schumacher's controversial maneuver.

Andre' Cotta