GreenBkk Formula 1 | Dirty driving clampdown will hurt Schumacher - Moss

Dirty driving clampdown will hurt Schumacher - Moss

Michael Schumacher puts the squeeze on Rubens Barrichello in Hungary © Sutton Images

Sir Stirling Moss believes the FIA's stricter stance on dirty driving should cut Michael Schumacher down to size in 2011.

The FIA announced a clearer set of rules regarding on-track behaviour in the 2011 sporting regulations and has given the stewards more ways of punishing drivers who step over the line. The rule changes came after Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello came close to a huge accident at the Hungarian Grand Prix because the German squeezed his ex-Ferrari team-mate up against the pit wall.

"I see that they've done something about dirty driving and that'll probably lessen Schumacher's chances," Moss told ESPNF1. "It was disgraceful what he did at the Hungarian Grand Prix; Formula One is now one of the safest sports there is, but if somebody had been coming out of the pits at that moment it could have been a disaster."

Moss also believes that lifting the ban on team orders is the right thing to do, after Ferrari got away with nothing more than a $100,000 fine for swapping its drivers at the German Grand Prix.

"It's stupid that they ever had to make a ruling on it," he said. "Team orders were always there and they always will be, and I think they always should be."

The FIA also recently rubberstamped the return of KERS and the introduction of moveable rear wings, which should revolutionise the way drivers fight for position. Moss believes the new regulations could produce one of the most entertaining seasons in recent years.

"I'd like to hope that this coming year is going to be even better than last year, and I think last year was one of the best seasons we've seen for a long time," he said. "With all these changes the driver input, it would seem to me, is going to be much higher than in previous years. I think that's a good thing because the driver input has been cut down so much that two seconds can cover the whole field [excluding the new teams] which is unreal."

Moss said that allowing KERS, which stores energy otherwise lost under braking and allows the driver to use it as a boost, is a no-brainer.

"I'm very pro KERS because I think in 10 or 15 years it will be on every road car," he added. "You're getting something for nothing and that's always a good thing. Racing is the best environment to prove and test things before they go to the public - like disc brakes which I was connected with when I was racing. There's no doubt that the teams will find out a tremendous amount about the technology as they use it."

He said the added cost of the systems was worthwhile.

"It's expensive, but it's difficult to feel sorry for the teams because the money they are spending is already enormous. They are the people that have allowed spending to get to this point and if they'd dug their heels in 10 or 20 years ago I'm sure they could have slowed up the spending. But I'm not criticising because Formula One in my mind should be the best of everything."

Credit: ESPN F1 (espn.com)