Schumacher caught out by the 110% rule
The FIA`s new `110 percent` qualifying rule may have cost Michael Schumacher victory in Bahrain.
Ferrari`s veteran driver had expected an extra 2.75 kilos of fuel to be added to his car prior to the race - which would have been enough for one more lap before his decisive last pit stop in the heated duel with Fernando Alonso.

But, after getting held up in traffic on one top ten qualifying flyer on Saturday, the FIA deleted the lap - and therefore the fuel allocation - because it was not within 110 per cent of his pole position.


"Maybe that extra bit would have been enough to stay ahead," principal Jean Todt said.

Schumacher himself was more adamant, reporting that the FIA omission was the `decisive factor` in the loss to Alonso.

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