De la Rosa: Hungary incident now clarified

As autosport.com revealed yesterday, a heated discussion took place at the drivers' briefing involving de la Rosa and several other drivers about the tactics adopted by Schumacher in the closing stages of the Hungarian Grand Prix.

A number of drivers backed de la Rosa's concerns about the way that Schumacher cut the chicane without penalty while defending his place at the Hungaroring - and this prompted a discussion yesterday with FIA race director Charlie Whiting.

But speaking in public about the matter, de la Rosa was keen to play down what happened and his unhappiness at Schumacher.

"It is not that I am happy or not happy," he said. "I just wanted to know what was the position of the FIA regarding any driver - not just Michael, any driver - jumping the chicane ahead of the driver planning an overtaking manoeuvre.

"That is what the fuss is all about. I have no problem. I think he was okay, defending his position, it is just whether we can all do that or not. All the fuss came from this question. I know now the answer - so what he did then was correct."

De la Rosa revealed Whiting has confirmed that Schumacher did nothing wrong in his defensive tactics - meaning drivers can cut chicanes under certain circumstances.

"The position is that if you are not side by side with the driver ahead of you going into the chicane, then the driver who is ahead of you can jump the chicane and keep his position without being penalised," continued de la Rosa.

"That is the outcome of the meeting yesterday, and it is something that we will all follow from now on. I just wanted a clarification. It is fair enough. If that is the case, then we can all exploit that area in the future."

When asked about his view on the climate of the meeting and the discussions with Schumacher, de la Rosa said: "No, it was fine. I never spoke with him, I spoke only with Charlie Whiting who is the representative of the FIA and has to answer any questions.

"It is just going fine. I am just surprised about how much interest there has been coming from this meeting. I found nothing strange from it. I was only asking questions and getting some answers."

Schumacher himself was equally keen to play down the matter - even though he was at the centre of the discussions.

"I was quite quiet," he explained. "They had a discussion with Charlie Whiting, they put their point of view to what happened in Hungary, and the FIA made it clear that they had a slightly different point of view."