F1 title rivals too much argument, says Seidl

Horner was called to the stewards after the race in Losail for attacking a “rogue marshal” whom he held responsible for setting the yellow flags in qualifying, which resulted in Max Verstappen being given a starting penalty.

It was clear to the FIA ​​that they could not accept such criticism of their officials, and Horner apologized duly for his words – both privately to them and later publicly through the media.

Horner admitted his comments were made under pressure from competition as his team was in a close battle with Mercedes for the F1 title.

The utterances are the latest in a series of volleys fired between Horner and Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff as their teams’ scrutiny increased.

But while Seidl accepts that the soap opera, which takes place off-track, is part of the attraction of Formula 1, he believes his team wouldn’t cross a line when it came to expressing themselves.

“If you look at everything that’s going on at the moment, it’s clear that a lot is at stake,” Seidl explains when asked for his opinion.

“It’s different from the battles we’re in further back and of course, to a certain extent, it’s great for the fans and for the show because it’s supposed to be entertainment in the end.

“But I definitely think that some of the comments we’ve seen over the past few weeks are definitely not something I could think of in a situation like this.

“I think it’s very important, and it doesn’t matter whether you’re fighting for wins or finishing last, that you always have respect for the competition, the FIA, the F1.

“We do this together, and it’s important that the volunteers who end up helping us run these race weekends are respected.”

Michael Masi, race director

Photo by: Jerry Andre / Motorsport Images

F1 Race Director Michael Masi announced after the race in Qatar that he had alerted the stewards to Horner’s comments from Marschall, which Sky had been given prior to the race.

Masi stated that he could not accept criticism of the safety officers who do their job to protect the drivers.

“I think you shouldn’t attack a person, especially when we have thousands of volunteer marshals all over the world who are sacrificing a lot of time around the world,” he said.

“Without them, this sport, which everyone cares about very much and which everyone gives up a lot of time, would not exist.

“I will defend every honorary official and official on every racetrack around the world. [and stress] that this will not be accepted. “