Schumacher docked ten places for Japan

Schumacher has been handed a ten-place grid penalty ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix after stewards in Singapore ruled that the Mercedes driver was to blame for the dramatic crash which took out the Toro Rosso of Jean-Eric Vergne.

Just after the Safety Car restart, with cold tires and brakes, Schumacher was ruled to have misjudged the braking point of Turn 14. The impact left his Mercedes team confused and removed Frenchman Vergne from a points-paying position. After the race, the seven-time World Champion had put the incident down to a technical problem.

'The driver (Schumacher) admitted the collision was his error due to the failure to anticipate the braking performance of the car with lower tire grip following a Safety Car period. The penalty takes into account that this is the second similar offence by the driver this season (after hitting Bruno Senna in Spain),' reads an FIA report.

The driver representative steward for Marina Bay is ex Toyota driver Allan McNish.