The FIA's Alan Donnelly has vigorously denied that the race stewards favour Ferrari over McLaren and Lewis Hamilton.
Several of the stewards' decisions this year have raised eyebrows, particularly the spate of penalties issued in Japan, and the decision to demote Hamilton from first to third in Belgium.
But in an interview with Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, Donnelly - who advises the three stewards selected for each race - insisted that the officials also took action against Ferrari when necessary.
"I read so much rubbish about the decisions taken by the stewards this year," Donnelly was quoted as saying.
"They write that the FIA and the stewards are always favouring Ferrari, and that we don't want Hamilton to become world champion.
"You just need one example to debunk that theory: At Monaco the stewards noticed that on [Kimi] Raikkonen's F2008 the wheels had not been fitted before the three-minute mark as required by the regulations.
"So the stewards penalised Kimi with a drive-through at a track where you can't overtake."
He also denied that the stewards are currently issuing too many penalties.
"In 16 races, 69 penalties have been handed out: 35 originated from the changing of engines, gearboxes, or exceeding the pit lane speed limit, and the other 34 came from incidents.
"I don't think that's a high percentage, also bearing in mind that we analyse many more cases and decide not to intervene.
"This year we also have a second screen that allows us to watch the footage again from different angles.
"One of the complaints we used to receive in the past was that penalties were inflicted late. So we kept up with the times.
"At Fuji we decided immediately that both Lewis and [Felipe] Massa had to be penalised.
"Other times, as was the case with [Sebastien] Bourdais, we have to wait until after the race to talk to the drivers.
"But our decision are always well thought out."
Several drivers and former champions have argued that the FIA needs to appoint permanent stewards, or at least an ex-driver to oversee them.
But Donnelly defended the current arrangements.
"I don't feel that is the correct solution, because their experience is tied to the past, from when they used to drive, and since then, let's say 10 years ago, racing has changed," he said.
"At the beginning of every season a list of people with the credentials to do this job is compiled.
"These are people who, every weekend, work on some important event.
"They are given a superlicence just like the drivers.
"We have stewards who have done this job for 20 to 25 years, when some of these drivers weren't even born yet."
SOURCE: ITV-F1
ED: Whatever, but still where's the reasoning for Bourdais' penalty? That's what I'd like to know...
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