• Monaco Grand Prix

Airbox fire ends Schumacher's race

ESPNF1 Staff
May 29, 2011 « Hamilton hit with penalty but holds on to sixth | »
There were contrasting fortunes for Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel © Sutton Images
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Michael Schumacher said that an airbox fire caused a premature end to his Monaco Grand Prix.

Schumacher had a poor start when he got bogged down on the line and proceeded to run in to the back of Lewis Hamilton under braking in to turn one. The damage to his front wing meant he struggled throughout the first stint, before an airbox fire on lap 34 caused his engine to cut out on the entrance to the pit lane. Schumacher admitted that it had been a weekend to forget.

"Unfortunately, there are not a lot of positives we will be able to take away from this race," Schumacher said. "At the end, there was a fire inside the airbox and the car simply stopped, but the beginning of the race was not satisfying either. At the start, the anti-stall system suddenly kicked in which meant I had to re-do the whole starting procedure.

"Then I had a rendezvous with Lewis at turn one which left my front wing not working properly, so I lost downforce which also handicapped my tyres. That meant we had to stop much earlier than we had planned and, from then onwards, the race was obviously compromised. All in all though, the race was quite exciting, and I am happy that Vitaly Petrov seems to be well."

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