Formula 1 race winner turned pundit Ralf Schumacher has labelled security at the Miami Grand Prix as "idiots" after alleging he was "brutally" pushed out of the way post-race.
The German explained he was left hurt after the incident as security attempted to control the gathering before the podium ceremony to ensure representatives from Red Bull and Aston Martin could reach the celebrations.
Security in Miami came under scrutiny for its response to three-time World Champion Sir Jackie Stewart entering a cordoned-off area on the grid before the race when attempting to retrieve tennis legend Roger Federer for an interview with Sky Sports F1's Martin Brundle.
But it seems issues continued after the race, with Schumacher claiming that former teammate Jenson Button was also affected.
Viewed by others:
Unacceptable
"The events after the race were unpleasant," Schumacher wrote in his Sky Deutschland column.
"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."
Also interesting:
Balve Bains is joined by RacingNews365.com Editorial Director Dieter Rencken and Asia Correspondent Michael Butterworth to dissect the key talking points from the Miami Grand Prix.
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