Lewis Hamilton in the F1 paddock.

Ex-Haas boss Guenther Steiner says Formula 1’s governing body the FIA “have ceased being culpable for their mistakes”, Lewis Hamilton being a glaring victim.

The FIA has found itself featuring prominently in the F1 headlines as of late, after president Mohammed Ben Sulayem called for a clampdown on swearing in Formula 1, to differentiate the sport from “rap music”. Max Verstappen was the first victim, ordered to carry out “some work of

Guenther Steiner slams FIA in Lewis Hamilton ‘eight-time Champion’ claim

Hamilton called Verstappen’s penalty a “joke” and urged him not to serve it, with Verstappen having protested against the FIA by keeping his answers very short in the Singapore press conferences which followed, tactics adopted by WRC legend Sébastien Ogier after he felt the FIA’s wrath, later claiming “we have been told by the top of the FIA to shut our mouths.”

And the FIA has not found much support from Steiner, who in his new book ‘Unfiltered’, to be released in October, claimed the FIA “have ceased being culpable for their mistakes and have lost their humility”, which “isn’t a good situation”.

He pointed to the highly controversial F1 2021 title decider in Abu Dhabi – where Max Verstappen snatched the crown from Hamilton on the final lap to become World Champion for the first time – after race director Michael Masi’s actions attracted fierce criticism.

Masi replaced Charlie Whiting after his sad passing shortly before the 2019 season-opening Australian Grand Prix, Steiner claiming that Hamilton would be a record eight-time World Champion if Whiting had been calling the shots.

“Wherever your loyalties lie with that one (and yes, I agree, it was amazing entertainment), from a regulations point of view it was a sh*t show of biblical proportions,” Steiner stated, “and regardless of what decision Charlie Whiting might have made in Michael Masi’s position, there would have been far less controversy and embarrassment.

“Oh, fok it. We all know what Charlie would have done. Had he been at the helm Lewis would now be an eight-time World Champion.”

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has not taken kindly to the recent criticism of the governing body, which he claims lack the deserved “credit”.

“We will never get the credit. Impossible,” he told Motorsport.com. “We’ll only get rubbish. That I know.

“When you look at it, everybody made money out of the FIA, everyone except the FIA. Everyone gets the credit, except the FIA.

“It’s true. When I took over, we had a running operating cost of minus 20 million. Why? Because we have our income as everybody. But look at the promoters… And good on them and I congratulate them, they are smart enough to do that.”