Fabio Quartararo hits out at €1000 fine: “Stewards choosing people they don’t like”
The Yamaha rider was slapped with a🃏 €1000 on Saturday at the Malaysian MotoGP for undoing his helmet str🥀ap as he arrived in the pitlane during practice.
He had an encouraging fifth-place finish in Sunday’s grand prix before making🌺 his feelings known about the pu🀅nishment inflicted by the stewards.
“The stewards are not doing their job,” Quartara𒆙ro💦 told TNT Sports.
“I think they [give] penalties by closing their eyes and choosing the people that they♑ don’t like. That’s me.
“I did it [untie my helmet strap]🌺 a lot of times. All the years I was doing it.
“And just yesterday they gave me a fine. So I don’t think they are doing their j🏅ob properly.”
Suzi Perry labelled the decision to fine Quartararo🌱 “utterly pathetic”.
Her TNT Sports🦩 colleague Michael Laverty commented: “There is a rule that says you have to have all of🎀 your safety equipment on, in the pitlane and live track.
“But it is harsh. As 🔯he said, he’s been doing it for years. It was a bit petty.
“It was pointed out on social media and it’s like the s⛎tewards saw the post, from a jo𒆙urnalist in the paddock, and gave him a fine!
“I don’t agree with it. Fabio knows what he’s doi🐎ng. But rul🃏es are rules.”
Sylvain Guintoli added:🔯 “It could’ve just been a warning. They could’ve just said: ‘Don’t do that, it’s not a good example, we don’t want to see this anymore, and if you do we’ll give a penalty’.
“T💟hey di🃏dn’t really need to give a penalty straight away.”
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for ღa decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
