F1 Throwback: When Michael Schumacher's dirty driving on Lewis Hamilton forced the FIA to change rules

Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher's epic battle in Monza in 2011 where the German's somewhat marginal tactics were questioned, forced the FIA to change rules subsequently.

All of this happened more than a decade ago when the F1 ecosystem was quite different. Sebastian Vettel was the reigning world champion with Red Bull and was on a dominant spree. Fernando Alonso was trying to mobilize Ferrari and emulate what Michael Schumacher had done in his career.

Lewis Hamilton was at his first home, McLaren, where he teamed up with Jenson Button and was having a bad season. Back in those days, Red Bull, Ferrari, and McLaren were the three frontrunners, with Mercedes still looking to join the frontrunning group.

The German team had Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg as their drivers, with the F1 legend brought back from retirement to help the team grow perfectly. Mercedes were not there yet, far from it, and on a good day, the team were fourth fastest on the grid.

On that evening in Monza, however, a combination of Lewis Hamilton going for a higher downforce setup and Michael Schumacher going for a low downforce setup pitted the two F1 talents against each other. Michael Schumacher's ability to place the car in all the right places and fend off Lewis Hamilton with superior straight-line speed left the McLaren driver stuck.

Hamilton tried to make the move haplessly but found himself lacking the top speed to attack Schumacher. The issue started coming when the German's tires started wearing and a couple of times Lewis Hamilton got alongside. A slight change in direction on the Curva Grande meant that Lewis was forced to take evasive action and jump through the grass.

Michael tried with all his might and kept Lewis behind him even after the pitstop stage for numerous laps. With the German losing precious time defending against Lewis, on Ross Brawn's suggestion, Schumacher stopped defending so aggressively against Hamilton and let him go later in the race.

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What rule changes were brought in after the Michael Schumacher-Lewis Hamilton incident?

Schumacher's on-the-limit drive forced the FIA to issue a clarification and a slight rule change. The rules stated that a driver could leave the racing line and return, provided he left a car’s width. The FIA also firmly stated that a driver can only make one change of direction.

It is fair to say that while Lewis Hamilton could have been displeased by Schumacher's actions at the time, the German didn't do anything outside of the rules and this was what made him a special talent throughout his brilliant career.