Stewart ponders conspiracy theory

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Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen were both hit with penalties for Sunday's French Grand Prix by race stewards representing world governing body the FIA.

And three-time former world champion Stewart said: "A lot of people - and not McLaren personnel - are saying the FIA are more interested in finding faults at McLaren than at other teams."

Hamilton started the race at Magny-Cours from 13th due to a 10-place grid penalty for his shunt into the rear of Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari in the pit lane in Montreal during the Canadian Grand Prix.

There were those who felt such a punishment was excessive, despite the stupidity of his error.

However, he suffered further early in the race when he was handed a drive-through penalty for gaining an advantage in passing the Toro Rosso of Sebastian Vettel, wrecking his bid for a points finish.

Again, it was suggested that was harsh, as was the five-place grid penalty handed to Kovalainen for apparently blocking Mark Webber's Red Bull during Saturday qualifying.

Speaking in his column on the RBS sport website, Stewart added: "In the French race, for example, Kimi Raikkonen's exhaust system broke and part of it was visibly hanging off the car.

"Why wasn't he called into the pits to have the loose piece removed? That could have been the 'make it happen' moment of the race.

"Eventually the loose bodywork flew off the car, which could easily have been dangerous to the public or to another driver. Some people will say that if it had happened with a McLaren, the team would have been fined."