by Former Formula 1 champion Damon Hill has outlined the current stewarding process in Formula 1 and suggested a streamlined approach – appointing a dedicated “referee” rather than relying on the popular idea of full-time FIA stewards. Hill argued that appointing experienced drivers as stewards was problematic and suggested instead that they should act as advisors and provide valuable insights to support and improve steward decisions.
The FIA faced significant criticism after the US Grand Prix for allegedly inconsistent penalty decisions for violations of driver regulations. In response, numerous proposals have emerged calling for a more unified administrative process through the appointment of full-time administrators. Since 2010, the FIA has added a rotating driver commissioner to its panel at every race.
However, the 1996 F1 champion rejected the idea, saying the problem was when experienced drivers became stewards. Instead, he suggested that they should be advisors to the referees who take the final decision before the riders take the podium. When asked about the idea of having full-time FIA stewards, Hill said on the Sky F1 podcast:
“I think the problem really arose when experienced drivers were appointed stewards. In my opinion the way forward was to have someone on site to let the stewards know what they were thinking so they got an opinion from an experienced driver to help them make the decision.
“The way it works is that the race director reports something, i.e. sees something, he says: ‘I think this needs to be investigated’ and he passes it on to the stewards.
“The stewards then look at the rules and what they say and then have to apply them depending on whether the regulations are correct or not.”
“Well, that’s almost a legal interpretation of the situation, but it helps them when they have a driver who says, ‘Well, I personally think this is pushing the limits, this is the kind of driving that needs to be disciplined.’ must.’ ” or “This is fantastic racing, just leave it alone.”
“And we want the result to be the result. We want the podium to be the result. We don’t want to say, “Oh God, I’m sorry, can you just come back from the podium and we’ll have 20 minutes before we decide what to do?” That’s not that satisfying, is it?
“So that’s why I say: you need a referee and the referee’s decision is final, and it’s not perfect, and you can always accuse people of bias, but you do your best and as long as you compete and…” You accept, for someone to make a call and say that’s good or bad, and if you accept that that’s a fair way, then you can’t complain, you know?
“It’s not about justice, it’s about sport, and sport also includes the good or bad decisions of the referees.”
