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

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.

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.

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