Ralf Schumacher, a former Formula 1 race winner who now works as a pundit, has criticized security at the Miami Grand Prix. According to Schumacher, he was forcibly pushed aside in a “brutal” manner by security personnel following the race.
Schumacher stated that the incident left him feeling injured and upset. The security personnel were reportedly attempting to clear the way for Red Bull and Aston Martin representatives to reach the podium ceremony.
Security at the Miami Grand Prix has been the subject of scrutiny in recent days. During the race, three-time World Champion Sir Jackie Stewart was seen entering a restricted area on the grid in an attempt to speak with tennis legend Roger Federer.
This incident was widely reported, but Schumacher claims that there were additional problems after the race as well. He alleges that his former teammate Jenson Button was also affected by security issues.
Ralf Schumacher writing in his column for Sky Deutschland wrote: “The events after the race were unpleasant.”
“The securities cordoned off an area with ropes until the team bosses of the top three could gather. That was still okay. Jenson Button, for example, wanted to go through the area from the inside, but the security held him back in an unpleasant way until someone from Formula 1 apologised. There was no overview at all.
“The security pushed me over so brutally, which hurt me very much. We’ll forget about the scratches, but it just doesn’t work that way.
“I expect an apology. But it’s much more important that something like this doesn’t happen again.
“I said into the camera during the live broadcast that they were idiots. I stand by that as well. We will contact Formula 1 about this. That was the first time [it happened] in over 20 years of [being around] Formula 1.
“Like a steamroller, we were pushed to the side in this channel – and with a high level of brutality. That is simply not acceptable. We were not in the way at any time.
“They [the security] handle things disproportionately in the USA. They don’t know their way around and don’t know how the interaction in Formula 1 works.”
