"People who have no bias" - Lewis Hamilton sets requirements from F1 before 2022 season opens

Lewis Hamilton has suggested that F1 needs an unbiased group of people stewarding races.

The seven-time world champion has said that often stewards have social connections with many of the drivers. That makes it difficult for them to carry out their duties without being biased. The Briton suggested that several drivers are close to stewards, making the latter partial towards them.

Speaking to Autosport during the Barcelona pre-season testing, Hamilton said:

“We need to make sure we get non-biased stewards too. 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.”

Most stewards are retired drivers who have social connections with many active drivers, and some of them also travel with drivers to races.

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Lewis Hamilton’s take on unbiased stewarding is different from Fernando Alonso

While Lewis Hamilton demands unbiased stewarding, it is an issue his former teammate Fernando Alonso has been ranting about throughout the 2021 season. However, the Spaniard’s take on the matter is very different.

The double world champion suggested in the past that stewarding depended on nationality, and there were cultural biases that were reflected in the penalties.Speaking to Autosport after the Russian GP, an angry Alonso said:

“There are different rules for different people, or different, let's say, talks the week after for different people. Let's see, the next one that crosses the white line on the pit entry, let's see which nationality he is and which penalty he will get.”

The Alpine driver suggested that there was a lot of partiality towards British and English-speaking drivers. He believed that the European majority was often treated unfairly by stewards, and that their decisions reflected cultural bias.