Monaco Grand Prix, Monte Carlo

Lewis Hamilton under fire from Jackie Stewart after Monaco manoeuvres

• Former F1 world champion says moves were 'questionable'
• 'When you are a driver, you don't see if from the other side'
Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton fell foul of the F1 stewards once more after an incident-packed Monaco Grand Prix. Photograph: Crispin Thruston/Action Images

As Lewis Hamilton waited to see if he was to receive further punishment from the FIA, following his outspoken comments on race stewards and other drivers after Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix, he came under fire from another British world champion, Sir Jackie Stewart.

Stewart, when asked about the manoeuvres that led to collisions with Felipe Massa and Pastor Maldonado, told Autosport: "I think both were questionable – and he was lucky to get off without any front wing damage in the final incident.

"You make your own luck and you create your own situations, but the key is that you should not put yourself in a position where the other driver can retaliate in a fashion that will be negative to you, or will be seen by the stewards as negative.

"You also have to listen to the stewards, because there has been a big improvement in having a driver [on the stewards' panel]. Allan McNish is a very experienced driver so if that is their opinion you have got to go with it.

"When you are a driver, you don't see if from the other side. They get all the angles. They get the videos, and they can sit up there and get all the replays. So they analyse it even better than the man in the cockpit."

Hamilton was penalised three times in two days in Monaco. After dominating the first two qualifying sessions on Saturday his best run in Q3 was erased because he had gone over a chicane. And he was twice penalised during the race following the incidents with Massa and Maldonado.

Afterwards, the frustrated Hamilton said: "Out of six races, I've been to the stewards five times. It's a joke. It's an absolute frickin' joke. It's just ridiculous. These drivers are absolutely frickin' ridiculous. Just stupid." He added: "Maybe it's because I'm black. That's what Ali G says. I don't know."

Later, a calmer Hamilton said: "It was a bit of a joke, which wasn't funny at the time. I made them aware that when emotions are high, and it's very intense at the end of those kind of races, you don't always say the right thing, and the joke [the reference to his colour] didn't come at the most appropriate time."

Hamilton and the McLaren team principal, Martin Whitmarsh, are both confident that there will be no further action taken against the driver. Whitmarsh said: "Immediately after the race he was very down, and during a post-race TV interview he made a poor joke about his penalties that referenced Ali G.


However, neither Hamilton nor Whitmarsh – or the stewards, for that matter – can speak on behalf of the FIA. The sensible course of action would be for them to speak to the driver and then move on. But some people are annoyed that Hamilton's ill-chosen words dominated the news agenda after one of the most exciting Monaco Grands Prix seen in years.

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