Schumacher agrees with Montoya on Austrian clash
Reigning world champion Michael Schumacher has taken a back step on remarks about his clash with Formula 1 rookie Juan Pablo Montoya in the Austrian Grand Prix and has decided to agree with the Colombian in calling it a 'racing incident'
Schumacher attempted to overtake Montoya for the lead around the outside on the entry to the tight Remus Kurve, but the Williams driver refused to yield forcing both drivers to run wide and into the gravel trap. The pair re-joined in sixth and seventh place.
After the race Schumacher branded Montoya's actions as 'silly' and said that he would be having words with the 25-year-old, but on reflection the German appears to have had a change of heart.
"Having watched the race on television and seen what happened on lap 16," said Schumacher, "I can say that it was less serious than I had thought at the time. I want to make it clear that, in my opinion, it was a normal race incident, as indeed I said later on Sunday night. It has to be said that when you sit in the car, you don't get the overview of the situation which you can have looking from outside."
The triple world champ is known for his aggressive overtaking moves and the incident at the A1-Ring is the second tussle between the pair so far this year. Montoya caught Schumacher napping after the restart at the Brazilian Grand Prix and muscled his way past the Ferrari ace into the first corner after a period behind the safety car.
Montoya said of the Austrian incident: "I defended as best as I could, but we both went wide. It was a racing incident. I am racing to win not to let people by. It's not a case of him saying, 'I'm Michael, let me by'."
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