Ex-Formula 1 team boss Eddie Jordan has accused the F1 Race Director of favouring Lando Norris at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix in an attempt to extend the title battle.
Jordan, known for his outspoken remarks, made the accusations on his Formula For Success podcast as he dissected the controversy that occurred at Interlagos.
It took Race Director Niels Wittich over 40 seconds to deploy a red flag after Lance Stroll crashed in the closing seconds of Q1 as multiple cars completed their laps.
Max Verstappen was eliminated as a result and seething post-session, while title rival Norris took an emphatic pole position, rubbing salt into the Dutchman’s wound.
But while Verstappen rebounded to win from 17th on the grid, the events earlier in the weekend lingered as the FIA announced Wittich had stepped down from his role.
Jordan debated the topic with his co-host David Coulthard, who argued that the current Virtual Safety Car rules could be improved amid an incident during the Sprint.
“I think it’s kind of found its natural place now where the luck of where the Safety Car comes out is the luck of the racing gods,” the erstwhile McLaren driver said.
“We have to assume that the race director never looks at things like where cars are as to whether…”
Open bias on display in Brazil?
Jordan interrupted, accusing Wittich of using his position as Race Director to calculate Verstappen’s position on the circuit in relation to his rivals.
“Of course he does! Of course he does!” Jordan exclaimed.
“Are you telling me that Max was dealt a fair deal? Was he dealt a fair deal when the red flag came out six cars, seven cars later?
“Come on David, don’t be stupid.
“You know the gods are in Lando’s hands. They want Lando to win this championship. But he’s not going to, because Max has outfoxed him. That’s it,” he concluded.
Coulthard refused to acknowledge the theory: “Well, look, I don’t know if it’s true. I think that sometimes the racing gods just are…”
At this point, Jordan cut him off, stating Wittich made a mistake in deploying the red flag.
The red flag was wrong! It was a mistake!” Jordan claimed. “He f***** up, didn’t he!”
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