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F1 fraternity divided on Bernoldi/Coulthard incident
The incident between Enrique Bernoldi and David Coulthard at the Monaco GP has been widely publicised, but the F1 fraternity remains divided on the issue.
It was reported that both Jackie Stewart and Jody Scheckter sided with the McLaren team, saying that although the two drivers were fighting for position, Coulthard is the driver in contention for the driver's title.
The Telegraph quoted Jonathan Palmer, former McLaren test driver, saying: "While I have great sympathy for the huge frustration McLaren must have felt, the question that needs to be answered is, where do you draw the line? If Coulthard was behind Kimi Raikkonen, running 12th, say, should Raikkonen move over? If he was behind Olivier Panis, who happened to be running fourth but was not a championship contender, should Panis feel obliged to move over? No. It's part of Monaco, I'm afraid. Overtaking is difficult. It was a stall on the grid, but a puncture, a spin or an off could just as well have put him to the back. David may complain but he didn't seize on the windows of opportunity as vigorously as I would have expected him to. He should have been right up behind Bernoldi when Schumacher came round to lap them. With a more carefully planned strategy he could then have jinked in behind the Ferrari, but he was too far behind to use the lapping situation well. It has to be said Raikkonen found his way round Bernoldi pretty easily."
He added: "Drivers at the front of the grid have different pressures but in many ways it's a comfortable environment. They don't have to fight for position in the same way and when they come round to lap the field, they are used to cars moving serenely over to let them through. And David has always been in a front-running team."
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