FIA Formula One Race Director, Safety Delegate, Permanent Starter and head of the F1 Technical Department Michael Masi has hit back at claims that Formula 1 should have permanent stewards explaining why it would not be a good idea.
In the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix, a debate raged inside the driver camp after the incident between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton from the previous race, when the Red Bull’s turn 4 defensive move against his title rival was not punished.
Some driver pointed out to the fact that the problem is different stewards are on duty at each grand prix.
“I don’t see it that way,” McLaren boss Andreas Seidl said -” As far as I know, the stewards go through old cases every time to see if there are any precedents. I also know that after every race weekend there is a lively exchange to ensure that everyone is on the same page. The rotation system we have is there for good reasons. One of them is that you want to make sure there is no bias against any particular team or driver. And I think that’s a very good argument,” the German added.
Top FIA official Masi agrees that a permanent panel of stewards may indeed “create the impression of bias”.
“We also can’t forget that no two cases are the same, even if everyone tries to generalise the incidents. I think that’s why there is this impression that the rules are being interpreted differently.” – the FIA Formula One Race Director concluded.
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