> Alonso's Protest

Fernando Alonso planned to lie down in front of Michael Schumacher’s car on the starting grid at last year’s Monaco Grand Prix if the stewards did not penalise the German for intentionally stopping his Ferrari at Rascasse during qualifying.

The startling insight into Alonso’s character is provided by Mark Webber, who recounts a conversation with the Spaniard in James Allen’s new biography of Schumacher, Michael Schumacher: The Edge of Greatness.

The notorious ‘parking’ incident, in which Schumacher executed a clumsy half-spin in the dying moments of qualifying which ensured that his pole time would not be beaten, sparked an immediate furore and his insistence that it was an innocent mistake was derided by rival drivers.

After an in-depth inquiry the FIA stewards sent Schumacher to the back of the grid, issuing their verdict at 10.45 on Saturday evening.

But Alonso, who ultimately won a season-long duel with Schumacher for the title, was worried that the stewards would let the seven-time champion off the hook – in which case he planned to make his own very public protest…

“I want to lie down in front of his car,” Alonso told Webber at dinner on Saturday evening.

“I’m going to pull up on the grid, get out of my car and lie in front of his.”

Source - ITV [itv.com/f1 - Alonso planned Monaco '06 grid protest]