“I saw Toto who was lobbying the stewards”– Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has alleged that stewards are being lobbied.
According to Red Bull, Lewis Hamilton’s 10-second penalty was not the justice, and the Briton deserves to have a one-race ban at least to match up the damage he brought to their race.
Now, Red Bull’s boss has alleged that Mercedes’ boss Toto Wolff was lobbying the stewards to give a decision in favour of the current world champions.
“I saw Toto who was lobbying the stewards, which I heard that’s what he was going there to do,” said Horner in response to a question from RaceFans.
“So I went to make sure that our view was represented because I don’t think it’s right that team principals should be able to go and lobby the stewards. They should be locked away so that they’re not influenced.
“For me, that was unacceptable that he had gone up there to lobby the stewards. So I wanted to make sure that there was a balanced opinion given, rather than trying to influence pressure on the stewards to make a menial sentence.”
Stewards should not be bothered.
During the race, the conversations between FIA race director Michael Masi and the team representatives were open to the public telecast, and Masi was heard saying that Wolff is free to approach the stewards, and Horner finds it inappropriate.
“I don’t think the stewards should be interfered with. They need to be there clear-headed to be able to make those decisions. I went to see the stewards because I heard that Toto was up there presenting a case and you want it to be fair and balanced but I don’t think anybody should be allowed to see the stewards during the course of a grand prix.”
