Andreas Seidl gave his opinion on the FIA messages, saying that they shouldn’t be revealed to the fans.
There was an absolutely bizarre moment at the Saudi Arabian GP when the stewards negotiated a grid position deal with Red Bull. It happened immediately after the second red flag, when Max Verstappen had gained an unfair advantage.
FIA Race Director Michael Masi and Red Bull team manager Jonathan Wheatley engaged in discussion over the incident.
The message was played for fans watching the race, and it was heavily criticised on all fronts, with many likening it to a barter system between the two parties involved.
Seidl gave his opinion on the FIA messages, and said that it would be better if they remained a secret among the teams.
“I think the only reason why it is a debate now is because it gets transmitted,” the McLaren team principal said, as quoted by motorsport.com. “Before you didn’t hear that stuff. And I think that’s the big difference.
“To be honest, from my point of view I was never a fan to broadcast this communication, because there’s also things going back and forward regarding safety, etc., which I don’t think necessarily should always be broadcast, that is my opinion on it.”
Spill the tea, or not
Seidl also suggested that the reason the FIA faced incredible backlash was more to do with the message being public than it was for being scandalous and not in the spirit of racing.
“I don’t think that the communication in principle has changed,” he added.
“I would say, in terms of what’s going backwards and forwards it’s even more controlled than in the past because everyone knows it gets broadcast.”
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