Half a second penalty for Ralf Schumacher

Half a second penalty for Ralf Schumacher
Michelin made two mistakes!

Ralf Schumacher received a 0,5 second penalty after using an unmarked tyre during Thursday's free practice session, announced the FIA.

The Toyota driver's 0,5 sec. penalty will be added to his qualifying performance for this weekend's Monaco Grand Prix.

Michelin immediately admitted making two "regrettable" mistakes. The first one was the lack of marking on the left front tyre during the moulding process at the factory and the second mistake was made by a Michelin technician, who noticed the problem and asked for the tyre to be removed from Schumacher's car... without advising the FIA of the situation.

The tyre in question - used by Ralf Schumacher on Thursday - had the same compound as the other tyres except that it was not properly marked.

Michelin "accepts the decision of the FIA stewards" and admitted its full responsibility in the incident.

Toyota also accepted the penalty and will not appeal the decision, according to a team's spokesperson.

Fuente