Christian Horner welcomes FIA clarification on stewards' "lobbying"

Christian Horner en Toto Wolff. — Photo: © LAT Images

Red Bull

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Horner welcomes FIA clarification on stewards' "lobbying"

Both Wolff and Horner visited the stewards room during the British Grand Prix

Sam Hall

Tuesday 27 July 2021 08:00

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has praised FIA race director Michael Masi for his swift action to ensure the lobbying of stewards seen at the British Grand Prix is not repeated at future races.

Following the lap-one collision between championship rivals Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff made his way to the stewards' room after hearing comments from Horner to Masi over the radio.

This was done at the request of Masi, but in response, Horner also paid the stewards a visit.

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Since the event, Masi has sent an email communication, as seen by GPFans Global, explaining unauthorised visits will no longer be tolerated.

In response, Horner said: "The stewards themselves are, and always have been, a totally independent body and during the 16-and-a-half seasons I have been team principal, I have never walked into the stewards' room in the middle of a race or session.

"It was brought to my attention through the TV broadcast that Toto was going to see the stewards with information he had tried to email to Michael before they had ruled on a penalty.

"It is a little bit like trying to lobby a jury while they make their final verdict.

"The stewards are locked away to ensure they are independent of external influence in order to reach their own conclusions.

"So having heard that Toto was lobbying the stewards, I went up to see them and raised the point that neither of us should be there and it was not appropriate for anyone to interfere while the decision-making process was underway.

"It is also detailed in the sporting code that this is not acceptable and I am now pleased to see that the FIA have clarified that this sort of lobbying will not be tolerated in the future as it may well pressure the stewards into a decision that is not wholly fair or impartial."