Surinder Thathi, one of the three stewards who stripped Lewis Hamilton of his victory in the Belgian GP has finally broken his silence to insist that the penalty was not a consequence of anti-McLaren bias.
"There was no conspiracy against anybody, McLaren included. We acted professionally and within the FIA rules. Hamilton took a short cut inside of the corner while off the track," Thathi told Reuters.
Thathi's partial explanation is consistent with the press release published by the stewards through the FIA that revealed Hamilton had been punished for leaving the circuit - breaking Appendix L chapter 4 Article 2 (g) of the International Sporting Code which states 'The racetrack alone shall be used by drivers during a race' - when he cut the chicane whilst challenging Kimi Raikkonen for the lead of Sunday's race. However, despite again stressing Hamilton's excursion as basis of their ruling against him, none of the stewards, including Thathi, have yet explained why they failed to impose a similar penalty against any of the other drivers who also left the track on Sunday.
"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," Thathi added, offering no explanation for why the stewards felt it necessary to impose the severest punishment available to them.
Apparently oblivious to the worldwide furore the punishment has caused, the Kenyan also intimated that it was only patriotic Hamilton fans who were unhappy with the decision.
"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," he stated.
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