Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton believes bias exists among race stewards and it can sometimes make them take questionable decisions.
This theory has not found favour with team boss Toto Wolff, who has completely refuted the claim of the seven-time world champion.
Fans were left rather frustrated a number of times across the 2021 season owing to contentious calls made by Race Control.
To ensure that the sport moves in the right direction, the FIA has implemented a restructuring mission ahead of the 2022 season.
This year, two people will share the responsibilities held by Michael Masi last year.
However, this only seems like a quick fix to Hamilton, who believes the problem is more deep-rooted than just about an individual.
The Stevenage-born driver believes that certain stewards are biased towards specific drivers.
“We need to make sure we get non-biased stewards too,” Hamilton told Motorsport.com.
“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.
“I just think [we need] people who have no bias and are super-central when it comes to making decisions.”
Horner and Wolff on the same page
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner and Mercedes supremo Toto Wolff refuted these claims and shared the same opinion for a change.
Wolff, however, felt that greater consistency had to be shown by race stewards with respect to their decision making.
“I think we need professionalism in the stewards’ room,” Wolff said.
“I don’t think there is a bias, to be honest. [They are] intelligent people but, most importantly, there has to be a standard whenever we talk about Race Control, the support they will have from a distance or the stewards.
“That’s what we deserve and that’s what everyone expects.
“I think we can rely on very good people. The most important thing, and we all talked about this last year, was the issue of inconsistency.
“There shouldn’t be much room for interpretation of the rules. There shouldn’t be much flexibility depending on the potential outcome. The rules are the rules.
“As everything is being restructured, I trust Mohammed [ben Sulayem, FIA president] that we will optimise all these structures in the future.”
An interesting solution was offered by Red Bull driver Sergio Perez, who said that permanent stewards would be a better option as opposed to changing the panel for every race.
Do you believe Hamilton is right, or was 2021 just a coincidence? Let us know in the comments.
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