Making the headlines - 2001-04-02

By Erica Southey - Motorsport.com

Verstappen fined $15,000

Following the incident on Lap 39 where Jos Verstappen took out Juan-Pablo Montoya after he let Montoya through, the race stewards concluded after interviewing both that it was Verstappen's fault. Verstappen claims that Montoya breaked early, but did apologise for the incident.

Mika Hakkinen fined $5,000

The Brazilian GP turned out to be a lucrative business for the FIA after Häkkinen got fined $5,000 for stalling on the grid. The reason for the fine was: the Finn did not replace his steering wheel, which prevented stewards from pushing his car off the grid.

Ralf Schumacher vs Barrichello - again

Following an incident between Ralf Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello in Malaysia, the two had another coming together in yesterday's Brazilian GP, which saw Barrichello retire and Ralf replacing his rear wing and using the race as a testing session. One would expect a war of words, but none so far has been exchanged. According to the driver's representatives both said it was a racing incident. The stewards expressed concern regarding the quality of driving from both Schumacher and Barrichello and warned them, that action will be taken if the same thing happens again.

Explanation came in the form of a statement issued by the stewards: "Having heard the competitors' representatives and the drivers' explanations, the Stewards decided that the matter was a racing incident," a statement read. "However the Stewards expressed concern as to the driving standards of both drivers and warned them of their future conduct."