The McLaren driver won the race on the track, but was later given a 25-second penalty. He was judged to have gained an unfair advantage by cutting a chicane while disputing the lead with Kimi Raikkonen. That dropped Hamilton to third place and gifted victory to his closest title rival, Ferrari driver Felipe Massa.
Stewart, a three-times F1 world champion and former grand prix team owner, believes the race stewards made a mistake. “I was more than surprised by what happened,” he said, “and I really don’t think Hamilton did anything wrong.
“This decision raises questions about their ability and, indeed, about the sport’s very governance.”
Motor racing’s controlling body, the FIA, have a roster of stewards and appoint three to each grand prix, though the line-up alters from race to race. They work with a permanent adviser, Alan Donnelly, and F1 race director Charlie Whiting.
“F1 attracts the largest capital investment in sport,” Sir Jackie Stewart said, “but it’s being overseen by people who are not doing it full-time and we get inconsistent decisions.
“I am bound to ask where is the differentiation between the decisions of the stewards at the European grand prix at Valencia who deemed that [Felipe] Massa should not receive a drive-through penalty for pulling out alongside another car when resuming after a refuelling stop, and Bruno Senna, who received a drive-through penalty after doing the same in the GP2 race in Belgium which had the effect of dropping him from first to 12th place,” he said. “So Senna was given a much harsher penalty by a different group of stewards. There is just not enough consistency in these decisions. If you sit down and watch the US Open tennis, top-division football or rugby the jobs of umpire or referee are carried out by good people who are paid for their skills and are accountable by contract. Why is motor racing so very different?”
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