FIA confirm former Red Bull and F1 star as Saudi Grand Prix steward

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FIA confirm former Red Bull and F1 star as Saudi Grand Prix steward

Enrique Bernoldi has been confirmed as a race steward

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Thursday 17 April 2025 08:58

The FIA have confirmed that former Formula 1 star Enrique Bernoldi is set to be a steward at the upcoming Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Bernoldi raced in the sport in 2001 and 2002, with the Arrows team, and was sponsored by energy drink giants Red Bull.

The Brazilian also previously raced with the Red Bull Junior team in the International Formula 3000 Championship in both 1999 and 2000, and was also a test driver for a number of F1 teams, including Sauber and Honda.

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Following spells in IndyCar and the World Endurance Championship, Bernoldi retired in 2015, but has now been given a different role in racing.

F1 heads to Saudi Arabia this weekend for round five of the 2025 world championship, and an official FIA preview of the race has confirmed Bernoldi will be stewarding this weekend, alongside Nish Shetty, Loic Bacquelaine and Hasan Alabdali.

Enrique Bernoldi raced in F1 in 2001 and 2002

What do FIA stewards do?

The role of an FIA steward is to be responsible for reviewing potential rule violations during race weekends, in a way acting as a referee for a particular F1 race weekend.

That means that Bernoldi will be involved this weekend in the decision-making process regarding potential penalties and punishments being handed out to drivers or teams for various infringements.

FIA stewards change race by race, although the race director remains the same throughout the season. Bernoldi has acted as a steward before, notably at the 2021 Azerbaijan GP, where Lando Norris was given a three-place grid drop in qualifying for not following red flag rules.

That race in Baku was a spectacular one, with Sergio Perez claiming victory from four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, and both title challengers Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen failing to score a single point between them.

More recently, Bernoldi was involved at the 2025 Australian GP, a race that was won by Norris.

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Red Bull FIA Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix IndyCar Enrique Bernoldi