Axed F1 boss takes aim at FIA stewards over controversial penalty verdict

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Axed F1 boss takes aim at FIA stewards over controversial penalty verdict

Guenther Steiner was axed from his role as Haas team principal in 2024

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Saturday 12 July 2025 10:57 Updated: 16:09

Axed F1 boss Guenther Steiner has hit out at the FIA race stewards after a controversial penalty was awarded at last weekend's British Grand Prix.

The former Haas star gained popularity for his appearances on Netflix docuseries Drive to Survive and has maintained his outspoken persona through frequent media and podcast appearances ever since.

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Steiner has continued to work in the sport as a pundit since being axed in 2024, and during his frequent appearances on the Red Flags podcast, will often hand out two awards at the end of the episodes, labelling F1 figures as ‘Rockstars’ and ‘W*****s’.

Speaking on a recent episode of the Red Flags podcast, Steiner was asked whether the FIA race stewards should be labelled w****r of the week for giving Oscar Piastri a 'bogus penalty' at Silverstone, or if the McLaren star deserved the award for jeopardising his race under the safety car.

"The first one," Steiner declared. "I think they've got so many w*****s of the week, I think they've got a collection there now, the FIA. They win a lot, not the rockstars obviously, I don't think they ever got a rockstar."

The penalty in question came during last weekend's race which saw Piastri slow down suddenly on the second safety car restart, causing Verstappen to take evasive action.

The championship leader was handed a 10-second time penalty for erratic braking and was also slapped with two additional penalty points to add to his tally.

Oscar Piastri was hit with a 10-second time penalty at last weekend's British GP

Steiner weighs in on Piastri FIA punishment

The Drive to Survive star further explained how he felt the FIA race stewards had acted incorrectly, saying: "What I think, what I saw also because obviously I don't have access to the real data, so I just saw data on the internet.

"Oscar didn't do a lot different than his first time the safety car came out. His braking was similar. I think the difference was the second time, Max was a lot faster. So it looked very dramatic.

"It looked very dramatic to be honest but I think the stewards should not decide on drama, they should decide on facts and for me it was like everything worked against Oscar.

"Could he have have done it a little bit smoother? Yes. But was it erratic driving? In my opinion not. I mean he was slowing down to get himself in a position to get the best start and that's what the race car driver is doing and has to do. He's not there to be the nice guy to the guy behind him."

"I think if they [the FIA race stewards] didn't like what they saw the first time around they should have given a warning to Oscar, said 'dude do not do this again, you're on the edge or you're already over but do not do this again' and then the second time he's doing it, he gets 10 seconds."

"Out of the blue, just a 10 second [penalty], I think it's wrong," he concluded.

günther steiner you rocked my world pic.twitter.com/E9RQxNSGvh
— oscar piastri’s lawyer (@piastriszn) July 11, 2025

*NB: Decisions of the Stewards are taken independently of the FIA and are based solely on the relevant regulations, guidelines and evidence presented.

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

View full biography

FIA Haas British Grand Prix Guenther Steiner