F1 drivers air concerns in meeting with governing body, stewards

DOHA - Formula One drivers have discussed stewards' decisions and penalty guidelines in a meeting with the governing body amid fresh calls for the appointment of paid, permanent officials with more recent racing experience.

The governing FIA said in a statement after the Thursday evening meeting at the Qatar Grand Prix that the discussion was "frank, open and conducted in a very collegial atmosphere".

No changes will be made for the final two rounds of the season, it added.

The main focus of the discussion was the Driving Standards Guidelines introduced in 2022 after drivers requested clarification of what they are allowed to do while overtaking or defending on track.

The guidelines, seeking consistent decision-making by stewards who change from race-to-race and are unpaid volunteers, have been twice updated since their introduction in agreement with the Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA).

Thursday's discussion focused on five specific instances from 23 races and five sprints so far this season, three of them involving current title contenders Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen.

POTENTIAL TO DO BETTER

Spaniard Carlos Sainz, a GPDA director whose Williams team successfully overturned two penalty points handed to him in August, told reporters before the meeting that there was a 'division in opinion' between drivers, stewards and the FIA over various incidents.

He said there was potential to do better and that "the guidelines themselves have created more problems than solutions in a lot of issues that have happened this year in the way we judge incidents.

"There's been barely any room for racing incidents this year," he added.

"The guidelines haven't allowed racing incidents to be judged as racing incidents because there was always a tyre in front or behind a mirror or a front or rear tyre -- whatever the guidelines say."

Sainz highlighted the insights presented by young former drivers now acting as television analysts and suggested maybe the FIA should replace the guidelines with individuals able to judge more consistently from personal experience of racing.

"When I hear these people, these young ex-racing drivers doing analysis, they speak a lot of sense," he added.

"I think most of the time these people wouldn't need guidelines. They would be very honest and very accurate in taking some of the conclusions that we would need them to take."

Sainz referred specifically to former drivers Karun Chandhok, Anthony Davidson and Jolyon Palmer.

Formula One has faced repeated calls over the years for permanent stewards but who would pay them, and how much, have been sticking points along with finding anyone possessing the experience and willingness to carry out the role.

"It's a multi-billion dollar sport. We shouldn't be having volunteers having such great power in certain roles," Mercedes driver George Russell, also a GPDA director, told reporters. "So somebody's got to pay for these people." REUTERS