Jordan: Schumacher not a cheat

Race stewards stripped the Ferrari driver of pole position and sent him to the back of the starting grid after he stopped at the penultimate corner in the final seconds of qualifying at last May's event.

His action, which stewards ruled was deliberate but the driver said was a simple mistake, prevented Renault's championship leader Fernando Alonso from setting a faster time.

"One month on, I've been thinking a lot about Rascasse-gate, and I think most people have got it all wrong," the Irishman wrote in his column in F1 Racing.

"There's gamesmanship and there's cheating. A cheat has a preconceived plan which I don't believe Michael had in Monaco qualifying. It's important to be a 'sportsman' but also to take every advantage: sometimes even the unfair one.

"That's as true of our sport as any other. I don't need to remind anyone of Maradona's 'goal' against England in the '86 World Cup."

Jordan gave Schumacher his Formula One debut at the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix before the German was snatched by the Benetton team just days later.

"As a former insider, this is my take," continued Jordan. "Alonso was threatening the pole, so when Michael locked up at Rascasse, he thought, 'Holy Shit!' then in a split-second unsporting moment, parked the car. I notice he later apologised to Fernando, which was correct.

"Why on earth did other drivers not within seconds of Michael's time, think they should get involved? The fact is, the finger pointers are jealous of Michael.

"Let every driver be honest and ask himself, have I ever blocked anyone or tried to keep a car behind me for 20 laps? We've all seen brake tests, blocking, weaving and other dubious moves."

In the wake of the incident, several former and current drivers condemned Schumacher, with some calling for his resignation from being a director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association.

"I was particularly surprised by Jackie Stewart's and Keke Rosberg's remarks," added Jordan. "They went too far, as did others who demanded his resignation from the GPDA. Most of those whingeing drivers aren't fit to tie Michael's boot laces.

"Everything in this business is about getting to the line first. That makes a champion and Michael has displayed that constantly over the years, despite some unpalatable moves to which Damon [Hill] and Jacques [Villeneuve] can testify."

Schumacher came under fire for an accident he had with Hill at the 1994 Australian GP, the last race of the season, when the two were separated by only one point. Their retirements from that event gave Schumacher his first World Championship.

Three years later, a similar accident with Villeneuve at the last race in Jerez de la Frontera was not enough to stop the Canadian from taking a podium and the 1997 title. Schumacher was later penalized with his second place in the championship being erased.

The former team boss concluded: "Yes, Michael's move was questionable. But he was punished so let's not have a witch hunt. He's already lost credibility, which is a pity, because Michael is the cleverest and the quickest and doesn't need to play tricks.

"In years to come it would be a crime if he was remembered as something he wasn't: a cheat."