SEPTEMBER 11, 2005

Takuma Sato to lose 10 places on grid in Brazil

Takuma Sato has been given a 10 grid slot penalty in Brazil for taking Michael Schumacher out at the Belgian Grand Prix. Sato made a mess at the restart and ran into the back of the Ferrari. Bizarrely, the FIA Stewards in Spa decided that Antonio Pizzonia should be given an $8000 penalty for his accident with Juan Pablo Montoya, which was a much more significant accident than the Sat-Schumacher crash. The logic is also odd given that Sato was fighting for position and on the same lap as Schumacher while Pizzonia was trying to unlap himself because his Williams was going much faster than Montoya's McLaren.