Rubens Barrichello narrowly avoided a penalty for throwing his steering wheel into the path of Karun Chandhok, the third race steward has revealed.
After a heavy crash in Monaco at turn three, Barrichello proceeded to toss his steering wheel out of his car, which was then dragged to the tunnel entrance by Chandhok, before being run over a second time by team mate Bruno Senna.
It’s an FIA regulation that all driver’s replace their steering wheels, which cost around £40,000. Barrichello explained that he wanted to exit the car as quickly as possibly as it was in a dangerous position and on fire.
Whilst such a move would usually warrant a heavy fine, Barrichello avoided any such penalty after the race stewards concentrated on the last lap incident between Micheal Schumacher and Fernando Alonso.
FIA race steward Paul Gutjahr told Blick: “Actually I had Barrichello on my list,” but he fell of the agenda “in the rush to sort Schumacher’s [penalty],” he explained.
