Williams driver Carlos Sainz has expressed his opinion on the need to implement a permanent panel of stewards in Formula 1. According to Sainz, this measure would help reduce controversy and lack of clarity in the decisions made during the races.
Sainz advocates for stability in decisions
Sainz’s proposal comes after the successful appeal by his Williams team, which managed to have part of the penalty imposed in the Dutch Grand Prix revoked. This situation, uncommon in Formula 1, allowed Williams to present new evidence to the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA). Regarding the decision, Sainz, also leader of the Grand Prix Drivers Association (GPDA), commented: “It’s a great step forward because it’s the first time I’ve managed to present new evidence and accept a hearing.” Williams presented two new camera shots of the incident with Liam Lawson of Racing Bull in Zandvoort, which led the stewards to consider the collision as a “racing incident” rather than a fault of Sainz. Decisions regarding on-track incidents continue to be a topic of debate. Although the FIA has established guidelines to determine who has the right to a corner in certain situations, the complexity of on-track collisions makes decision-making difficult and opens the door to different interpretations by the stewards.Currently, the FIA has more than 20 stewards available for each Grand Prix weekend, of which four are selected to oversee each race. The idea of having three or four permanent stewards has been discussed previously. Sainz dismissed the concern about the salaries of the permanent stewards, arguing that Formula 1 has sufficient economic resources.I think the guidelines have been an effort to make it very clear to the stewards and the drivers who is responsible [in a collision], but I’m not going to lie, I think they haven’t had the impact we would all like in terms of clarity.
Carlos Sainz
When questioned about why there are no permanent commissioners anymore, Sainz explained that there is no consensus on the matter. Sainz highlighted the example of the FIA race director, Rui Marques, who delegates race decisions to the panel of stewards, and the stability that having a single person in that key position has brought. Sainz concluded that having a permanent panel of stewards is a clear and beneficial opinion for the sport, similar to the stability provided by the race director.If [the permanent stewards] is the right way to go, I can’t believe we’re talking about those salaries.
Carlos Sainz
