Petrov handed tough punishment
Vitaly Petrov have been given a five-place grid penalty for the next race in India following his collision with Michael Schumacher at the Korean Grand Prix
The 27-year-old flew into the back of the German as he started to brake far too late for the right-handed Turn 3 on lap 17, sending the pair of them out of the race.
The Renault driver seemed to be distracted by Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, who was on his outside, however he had no hesitation in taking the blame for the crash and apologised to Schumacher for forcing him to retire.
“I tried to defend my position from Fernando,” Petrov said. “But I was in the braking zone on the dirty side of the track which meant I locked my wheels and hit Michael.
“I was focused on my battle with Fernando as there was potential for me to be ahead of him, but we both braked too late as he missed the corner too.
“I apologise to Michael, it was not his fault. It was absolutely my fault. Once my wheels were locked there was nothing I could do about it, but that’s racing and tomorrow is another day.”
Schumacher said the incident was “another unfortunate end” to his race as he believed he was on course for a top-10 finish after starting from 12th on the grid.
He said: “It’s a big pity as the car was again very good in race trim and I had already gained some positions.
“It would have been interesting to see what was possible, and I think we could certainly have taken some points.
“As for the incident, I didn’t see Vitaly coming. I was suddenly spun into a direction I had not intended to go, and then I saw my rear wing hanging off. It was unfortunate, but these things happen when you fight hard.”
