Date set for Williams appeal hearing 06 Aug 2003
The Williams team's appeal against Ralf Schumacher's ten-place grid penalty will be heard by the FIA in Paris on August 19. Schumacher was handed the punishment following last Sunday's German Grand Prix, after he was judged to be at fault in the first corner accident.
According to the stewards, Schumacher admitted "paying no attention to the position of other cars" as he altered his line for the first corner, triggering the incident that eliminated Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello, McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen, plus himself from the Hockenheim race.
However, at the appeal Williams is expected to question whether Schumacher alone was to blame for the accident, as well as the severity of his punishment, which, if enforced, will see him drop ten grid places on his qualifying position for the Hungarian Grand Prix on August 24.
The FIA will announce its decision on the afternoon of Wednesday August 20.
