Former F1 team boss 'won't stop until he dies' in FIA revamp mission

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Former F1 team boss 'won't stop until he dies' in FIA revamp mission

Guenther Steiner thinks the FIA need to take a serious look at their F1 penalty system.

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Monday 29 December 2025 08:58

Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has left no room for doubt over his opinion on the FIA's approach to handing out penalties in F1.

Throughout the 2025 championship, the stewards' decisions became a frequently debated topic, with Steiner calling out the lack of consistency he felt took place within F1's governing body this year.

In a review of this year's championship on the Red Flags podcast, the outspoken boss-turned pundit reflected on those among the paddock who he felt could have done better in 2025, taking the chance to criticise the inconsistency and predictability of the FIA’s penalties.

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The ex-F1 boss bluntly delivered the severity of the situation in his eyes, saying: “They need to be consistent and I will not stop until either I die or they change it.”

Steiner slams FIA: 'too little too late'

The Italian motorsport star did note that credit should be given to the governing body for the continued focus on safety across the sport, but after heavy criticism from fans and drivers this year, also warned the FIA that a change was urgently needed with regards to their penalty system.

With a regulations change on the horizon, Steiner added that the FIA have the perfect chance to turn the public perception of them around.

“Now, the FIA has got the opportunity to get it right to be the rockstars next year because they got a lot of money in the new Concorde agreement to fix it," he said.

"It's down to the FIA to fix it."

Steiner then offered up an example of what he felt had demonstrated poor decision making from the stewards in 2025, highlighting the penalties handed out at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as something that appeared to have been done to save face.

“I think it should be used to say it's just a consistency," he continued.

"What we saw on the last race [Abu Dhabi] when, ‘oh we need to give a penalty to Yuki towards Lando, not giving one to Lando, and then everybody who was swerving once got a penalty so we are all doing it consistently. It is like, ‘too little too late guys... There’s a bigger picture there.”

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F1 FIA Guenther Steiner