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In the photo's above...there appears to be yellow flags when the leaders pass the last corner, but by the time Schumacher reaches that point there's a Green flag being waved 
Mercedes will not appeal Monaco penalty
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/83721
By Jonathan Noble Tuesday, May 18th 2010, 13:31 GMT
Mercedes GP has decided not to press ahead with its appeal against Michael Schumacher's 20-second penalty at the Monaco Grand Prix, after the FIA agreed to talks about tidying up the safety car regulations.
Schumacher grabbed sixth place from Fernando Alonso at the final corner of the Monaco Grand Prix, shortly after the safety car had pulled into the pits at the end of the last lap.
The Mercedes GP team believed that the move was legitimate because racing is this season allowed from safety car line one at a safety car restart, rather than just from the start-finish line.
The FIA believed, however, that Schumacher's move was not allowed because it breached Article 40.13 which states that no overtaking is allowed if the race finishes behind the safety car.
The rule says: "If the race ends whilst the safety car is deployed it will enter the pit lane at the end of the last lap and the cars will take the chequered flag as normal without overtaking."
Mercedes GP argued that the race did not finish under the safety car because there were 'Safety Car in this lap' and 'Track Clear' messages from race control, plus green flags and lights after safety car line one - suggesting that racing had briefly restarted.
In a statement issued by Mercedes GP on Tuesday, the team stated: "This opinion appears to have been shared by the majority of the teams with cars in the top ten positions who also gave their drivers instructions to race to the finish line."
The team's claims were not supported by the race stewards in Monaco, however, who reported that Schumacher had breached Article 40.13 and handed him a 20-second penalty in lieu of a drive-through from the team. That dropped him down to 12th in the standings.
On Sunday night, Mercedes GP notified the FIA that it planned to appeal the stewards' decision - even though drive-through penalties cannot in theory be protested. It needed to confirm its appeal plans by the end of Tuesday, but has decided not to follow it through.
In its statement, Mercedes GP said it understood why there could be differing interpretations of Article 40.13, which is why it welcomed an agreement from the FIA to discuss and clarify the rule at the next meeting of think-tank the Sporting Working Group.
"It was clear from our discussions with the stewards after the race that they understood the reasons for our interpretation and acknowledged that this was a new and previously untested situation but ultimately disagreed with our interpretation," said a Mercedes GP statement.
"Mercedes GP would like to emphasise that we fully support the inclusion of past drivers on the stewards' panel and are completely satisfied that the Monaco Grand Prix stewards acted professionally, impartially and properly in this matter.
"The FIA has agreed to include article 40.13 on the agenda of the next Sporting Working Group for discussion and to consider the scale of post race penalties. We believe that the 20-second penalty imposed on Michael to be disproportionate in the circumstances.
"Whilst we cannot be happy with the outcome, we are pleased that the FIA has recognised the reasons for our interpretation. Therefore in the best interests of the sport, Mercedes GP will not be submitting an appeal."
Certainly not....but I have not read any quotes from the other stewards talking to the press. He is keeping himself in the spotlight by talking about it and having been around the press his whole career, he knows this and is enjoying the attention. Its also entirely possible that none of them noticed the green flags during playback. We (the internet experts of F1) have the advantage of hindsight and a lot of spare time to look over video. I applaud them for making an immediate decision rather than spend days deciding. I think they may have gone the wrong way but that is what the appeal process is for. The stewards should be encouraged, if not required, to act quickly like that and if they get it wrong because of the quick action...it should not be held against them. I retract my earlier skepticism and congratulate them on a quick decision...right or wrong.
When a decision has millions of dollars/pounds hanging in the balance...there is going to be heat if it is controversial. If you can't stand the heat...stay out of the kitchen. If you can't take the emails, don't put yourself in the position where a decision might be yours. A plea for sympathy after the fact is all the more pathetic. I was on Hill's side when reading the rulebook, but after seeing video of the green flags waving....how a driver of his standing could rule against Schumacher (the devil incarnate) is beyond me.
Certainly not....but I have not read any quotes from the other stewards talking to the press. He is keeping himself in the spotlight by talking about it and having been around the press his whole career, he knows this and is enjoying the attention. Its also entirely possible that none of them noticed the green flags during playback. We (the internet experts of F1) have the advantage of hindsight and a lot of spare time to look over video. I applaud them for making an immediate decision rather than spend days deciding. I think they may have gone the wrong way but that is what the appeal process is for. The stewards should be encouraged, if not required, to act quickly like that and if they get it wrong because of the quick action...it should not be held against them. I retract my earlier skepticism and congratulate them on a quick decision...right or wrong.
Maybe this is why they wanted driver stewards. Not because the real stewards will listen to them, but because the drivers will get all the blame when the stewards chicken things up.
The rules themselves were clear, last lap no overtaking. But race control themselves clearly diddn't know that.
40.13 If the race ends whilst the safety car is deployed it will enter the pit lane at the end of the last lap and the cars will take the chequered flag as normal without overtaking.
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