Hill gets hate mail

Damon Hill claims he received email after incorrectly penalizing Michael Schumacher in Monaco

Damon Hill says he has received hate mail in the wake of penalizing Michael Schumacher for not making the Monaco GP a complete bore-fest by passing Fernando Alonso on the last lap Sunday.

Hill was the driver representative on the panel of stewards at Monte Carlo and was thus part of the quartet of judges who meted out punishment against Schumacher. Such has been the abuse he has suffered since that Hill has even begun to question whether former drivers should be included in the process.

"It was a fascinating experience but I wonder whether it is right that drivers are put in the position of interpreting the regulations," Hill has told The Times. "I imagined I would be there as a consultant providing driver insight to the stewards, who would then make the decisions. My expertise is as a driver rather than a lawmaker or interpreter of regulations.

"Partly, of course, my discomfort was because I was called to make a ruling on an incident involving Michael. I acted entirely properly but I have already received some stinging e-mails accusing me of prejudice."