F1 star demands FIA stewards overhaul

The F1 Baku race track in Azerbaijan has a semi-transparent FIA flag in front of it — Photo: © IMAGO

Formula 1

F1 star demands FIA stewards overhaul

An F1 star has called for a huge change

By Sheona Mountford.

Saturday 20 September 2025 18:00

Williams F1 star Carlos Sainz has suggested that an overhaul of the current stewards decision-making process is required.

Sainz was handed a controversial penalty at the Dutch Grand Prix last month, when the Spaniard was adjudged to have caused a collision with Liam Lawson.

It was deemed that Lawson had the right to the corner at the time, and Sainz was slammed with a 10-second time penalty, in a decision that he called 'ridiculous'.

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The week after the Dutch GP, Williams launched a right to review and ahead of the Azerbaijan GP, 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concluded that the collision between Sainz and Lawson was a racing incident, with the Spaniard’s two penalty points rescinded.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

"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," the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association director continued.

"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."

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