Twenty years ago today, Michael Schumacher found himself at the centre of one of F1's most infamous qualifying scandals.
The setting was the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix and in the dying moments of Q3, Schumacher held provisional pole with a 1:13.898, but Fernando Alonso was breathing down his neck, just 0.064 seconds adrift and on a flying lap that was over two tenths quicker through sector two.
Schumacher's Ferrari appeared to lock a front wheel at the tight La Rascasse right-hander, sliding wide before coming to rest inches from the barrier.
Yellow flags flew and Alonso's lap was ruined, securing pole position for the seven-time champion.
Schumacher insisted it was a genuine mistake. "No, I didn't cheat, and I think it is pretty tough to be asked if I did," he told reporters afterwards. The paddock was unconvinced.
Keke Rosberg called it "the cheapest, dirtiest thing I have ever seen in F1." Renault boss Flavio Briatore, now Alpine team principal, was equally scathing: "It wasn't like he hit the barriers. He just parked the car. I can't believe it."
The stewards sided with the doubters and reviewing telemetry and onboard footage, the stewards noted Schumacher had used "absolutely unnecessary and pathetic counter-steering" at just 16 km/h, behaviour deemed completely unjustifiable for a genuine loss of control.
The verdict was that all of Schumacher's qualifying times were deleted, sending him to the back of the grid.
He fought back to fifth on race day, but the damage, both to his weekend and his reputation, was done.
Years later, former teammate Felipe Massa revealed a pre-qualifying discussion in which Ross Brawn had jokingly mentioned the idea of creating a yellow flag, lending further weight to what most already believed. Schumacher, for his part, never publicly admitted it was intentional.
Originally published by RacingNews365 —
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