F1 star demands FIA stewards revamp after controversial penalty

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FIA

F1 star demands FIA stewards revamp after controversial penalty

A F1 star has called for a huge change

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Friday 19 September 2025 17:57

Williams F1 star Carlos Sainz has called for a complete overhaul of the current structure under which the FIA's stewards operate after his controversial Zandvoort penalty.

The Spaniard was slammed with a 10-second time penalty and two penalty points at the Dutch Grand Prix, after a collision with Liam Lawson.

However, it was Sainz who was originally labelled as the driver at blame, with the initial decision stating that Lawson had the right to the corner.

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The week after the Dutch GP, Williams launched a right to review and ahead of Baku, the stewards announced the penalty had been overturned.

According to an official document from the FIA, they concluded that the collision between Sainz and Lawson was a racing incident, with the Spaniard’s two penalty points rescinded.

Sainz calls for permanent F1 stewards

Speaking ahead of the Azerbaijan GP weekend, Sainz called for further changes within the FIA and the need for permanent race stewards.

“It's a breakthrough because it's the first time that I've managed to present new evidence and accept a hearing,” he said.

“We tried before and we never managed in other teams, so it shows that the mechanism is there and is there for a reason, which I'm finally happy that we can use that mechanism in the case where it's black and white like it was in my case.”

“As a group, FIA, if we all agree, that should be the way forward where at least two of the three stewards are permanent and we have one rotational for teaching purposes and sporting fairness purposes, to have always one rotational but two permanent,” said the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association director.

“We shouldn't care about who pays because there's enough money in the sport to pay those salaries, the same way that there's enough money in the sport to pay the salaries of all the other people.

“So if that's the right way forward, I cannot believe we're talking about those salaries.”

“I think the guidelines have been an effort to make it very clear for the stewards and the drivers to know who is likely to have responsibility for the incident.

“But I'm not going to lie, I think they haven't had the impact that we all wished they had in terms of making it clearer.

“It's clear on paper and when you read it, but then on the execution and the racing, like we always see, it's not as clear.”

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