One of the three stewards who stripped Lewis Hamilton of victory in the Belgian Grand Prix has rejected suggestions of an FIA conspiracy against McLaren.
Hamilton won last Sunday’s race at Spa on the road but was demoted to third place after stewards adjudged him to have gained an advantage by short-cutting the track during his epic battle with Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen.
The ruling has proved hugely controversial, with fans and some British newspapers claiming it is part of a pattern of decisions that show the powers-that-be are biased against McLaren.
But Surinder Thathi, a Kenyan who was one of the three FIA-appointed stewards at the Belgian GP, insists he and his colleagues were simply doing their job without fear or favour.
“There was no conspiracy against anybody, McLaren included,” Thathi told the Reuters news agency.
“We acted professionally and within the FIA rules.
“Hamilton took a short-cut inside of the corner while off the track.”
Thathi revealed that the stewards considered giving Hamilton a grid penalty for the Italian GP before settling for a retroactive 25-second time penalty.
“We had a choice to mete out a time penalty or 10 grid places in the next grand prix race.
“We opted for the former and handed a time penalty of 25 seconds.
“I know I am a very unpopular person in the United Kingdom now, but then I was doing my job and I know I acted professionally.”
In the wake of the controversy former world champions Jackie Stewart and Niki Lauda have called for Formula 1’s officiating system to be overhauled and permanent stewards appointed.