Slap on the wrist for Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher's faltering conclusion to a glorious career hit another bump Friday when he was officially reprimanded for impeding two other cars in practice for the Korean Grand Prix.

The 43-year-old seven-time world champion was adjudged to have got in the way of the HRT pairing of Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan in the afternoon practice at Yeongam, where the Mercedes driver was fifth-fastest. Schumacher, who announced in Japan last week that he was retiring for a second time, was reprimanded after a similar incident earlier this year at Barcelona when he impeded Lewis Hamilton during final practice.

The German was handed a 10-place grid penalty for last week's Japanese Grand Prix after he ran into the back of Toro Rosso's Jean-Eric Vergne in the previous race in Singapore.

Then at Suzuka he took the blame for another high-speed accident during practice, saying he misjudged the entrance to the Spoon curve before sliding across the run-off area and plowing into the barrier, losing his front wing.

Despite the latest mishap, he said: "I was pleased with both sessions today. "As expected, it looks like our car is better suited to the circuit. The day went well, so I think we can get into the top 10 tomorrow and plan our strategy on that basis."