New FIA steward to make debut at Canadian Grand Prix

A new FIA steward will be present at the Canadian Grand Prix next weekend as Natalie Corsmit prepares to make her F1 debut.

Corsmit has motorsport in her blood and is the granddaughter of F1 steward and race director John Corsmit, and she has worked with the FIA as a steward at Formula 2 and Formula 3 events.

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Alongside Montreal, the Dutch steward will be active at the Singapore and Mexican Grands Prix, and will also attend the Dutch GP as part of the panel of stewards on behalf of KNAF who annually send a national steward to Zandvoort.

Corsmit will split her duties between F1 and it’s feeder series', after working as a steward for F3 in Barcelona last time out, and will remain part of the panel of stewards for the F2 season finale in Abu Dhabi.

"I have worked hard to be able to take this step," she said to the Dutch edition of Motorsport.com.

"Ever since I was allowed to go to Formula 1 with my grandfather as a child, I have wanted this. The fact that it is now actually happening gives me a very good feeling."

What does an FIA steward do?

The role of the steward depends on what takes place during a race, but they are often responsible for deliberating over incidents and making decisions based off the FIA’s various rulebooks, such as the Sporting and Technical Regulations and the International Sporting Code.

For example, the stewards would have reviewed Max Verstappen's incident with George Russell at the Spanish GP, using the rulebook and previous precedents to determine the Dutchman's penalty.

Corsmit further elaborated on how she is preparing for her first weekend as a F1 steward, and has taken to reviewing races from the Canadian GP’s past to understand the decision making process.

"I prepare for a weekend by going through the regulations, reading the documents from that race a year ago and watching the images of the incidents," she added.

Corsmit is the third woman to take on the role of an active steward in F1, joining the likes of Silvia Bellot and Tanja Geilhausen, and stated that the FIA would like to see more women in the role of a steward.

The work of a steward is unpaid and on top of her motorsport duties, Corsmit an education manager at MBO Amersfoort and a mother of four children.

"My husband and children are also super proud that I have succeeded," she concluded.

"They have supported me in recent years by giving me the space to do this. So it is partly thanks to them that this is possible."

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