11 May 2023 , 10:44
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Ralf Schumacher claimed he was treated with "great brutality" by security on the Miami Grand Prix grid as Jenson Button and Sir Jackie Stewart also had run-ins with over-zealous bouncers.
Stewart, 83, was confronted on live TV by a security guard as he entered a roped off area to try to get the attention of Roger Federer. The Scot was allowed to pass eventually after a Formula 1 official hastily came over to inform the guard who it was he had blocked.
Sir Jackie joked about the incident on social media later, but not everyone was in such good humour about security on the grid. Schumacher, a pundit for Sky Germany, is much more frustrated about his own experience.
Speaking to the broadcaster, he claimed he and Button were treated roughly by guards at the conclusion of the Grand Prix. "What happened after the race was unpleasant," he said. "The security cordoned off an area with ropes until the top three team bosses could gather. That was 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 a lot.
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"We can forget 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 to the camera during the live broadcast that they were idiots. I stand by that too. We will be in touch with Formula 1 about this.
"We were pushed aside in this canal like a steamroller – and with great brutality. That's just not acceptable. We never stood in the way. Security deal disproportionately in the US. They don't know their way around and don't know how the interaction in Formula 1 works."
Ralf Schumacher said he and Jenson Button were also mistreated by security (HOCH ZWEI/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)Meanwhile, speaking on the Sky Sports podcast, Martin Brundle recalled Sir Jackie's incident, which occurred during his grid walk segment. "What a legend, 83 years old," he said. "I happened across him at the front of that rope.
"It was like trying to get into a dodgy nightclub, wasn't it? The pair of us, we had no chance, we had the wrong dress code or something. I find that whole procedure a little bit weird on the grid. There were so many people around, and I particularly wanted to talk to Roger as I got to the front there.
"I just happened to say that to Jackie, and he was like, 'Do you want to talk to him then?' And I said, 'Yeah, well, I'll get him, I'll get him'. He jumps under the rope, and now there's three people running after him. And I'm like, 'Oh my God, I've just got Jackie Stewart thrown out of this place'.
"We have both been thrown out of better places than that! It was hilarious, really. Then I started to panic a little bit, if I'm honest. He's 83, I don't need him over there risking himself just for an interview. He was great. That's a true mate, isn't it, when they go the extra mile for you like that."