Michael Schumacher punished for last-gasp move on Alonso

Monaco: Michael Schumacher was stripped of sixth place at the Monaco Grand Prix for illegally overtaking Ferrari`s Fernando Alonso on the last corner of the race.

The decision by stewards, announced some two and a half hours after the race ended, to impose a 20-second penalty dropped Schumacher out of the points to 12th place and moved Alonso up into sixth instead. The Spaniard is now third overall in the championship, three adrift of Red Bull`s Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel. The stewards, who included Schumacher`s old rival and 1996 world champion Damon Hill, ruled that the seven-times champion had breached the rules in passing Alonso moments after the safety car had pulled off.They decided to impose a drive through penalty, translated into a time penalty due to the offence happening at the end of the race. The incident happened barely 50 metres from Rascasse, the corner where Schumacher caused uproar on his last appearance at Monaco in 2006 when, as a Ferrari driver, he blocked the track at the end of qualifying to deny Alonso pole.Alonso started that race from pole position after the stewards punished Schumacher by sending him to the back of the grid. Ironically, Alonso started Sunday`s race from the back of the grid after crashing his Ferrari in Saturday`s final free practice. Bureau Report