“I certainly don’t think there was any bias from stewards,” Christian Horner makes his disapproval with Lewis Hamilton’s comment evident


“I certainly don’t think there was any bias from stewards,”  Christian Horner makes his disapproval with Lewis Hamilton’s comment evident

Red Bull Racing's Team Principal Christian Horner

After a crackling end to the 2021 Formula One season, there were a lot of eyebrows raised regarding fairness in the decisions carried out by the stewards during the course of the races throughout the season, particularly the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix where Dutchman Max Verstappen clinched his maiden title.

This was followed by Lewis Hamilton taking a social media hiatus followed by rumors about him not returning to Formula One which was put to rest with him coming back on social media. Hamilton who was denied a record 8th world championship title by Red Bull driver Max Verstappen has raised the need for independent stewards on the grid so as to ensure fair decisions play out on the tracks without any biases towards any driver.

“We need to make sure we get non-biased stewards too,” mentioned Hamilton in an interview with reporters at Barcelona ahead of testing. “Racing drivers, some are very, very good friends with certain individuals. Some travel with certain individuals and tend to take more of a keen liking to some of them.”

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Horner denies claims of stewards playing out biased decisions

Lewis Hamilton who made the claims of steward biasness
Lewis Hamilton who made the claims of steward biasness

What is surprising is that along with Horner, Mercedes’ Team Principal Toto Wolff is also of the opinion that there’s no “conscious biasness” taking place by the stewards. They’re both vouching for a certain rule set that ensures consistency in the decisions taken in the sport throughout the year.

Red Bull’s Team Principal Christian Horner came out in support of the current president of the FIA, Mohammed ben Sulayem, and has complete faith in the Emirati to make decisions that are fair and for the best for all the teams on the grid.

“I think a lot of issues are to do with the regulations themselves because you’ve got very complicated regulations that then leave room for interpretation,” Horner told reporters, mentioned by Crash.net. “I think the circuit limits one is an obvious one wherein any other sport being over a white line and you’re out. And you have a situation as we have currently where some corners it’s OK, some corners it isn’t.”

“I think for the fans, and even for the drivers and the teams, it’s confusing. So what you need are clear rules which are then easier to police. Now we’ve all been on the receiving end of stewards’ decisions that we’ve been unhappy about. I would agree with Toto that I don’t think there is an intended bias, I’m not aware of any stewards traveling with drivers to races.”

Also Read: Christian Horner and Toto Wolff agree it’s time to move on from the intense 2021 season