Formula One claims to be the biggest sport on the planet with a bigger TV audience than all others with the exception of the Olympics and Football World Cup which are held only every four years. Yet despite the multi-billions of dollars F1 turns over each year, there remain glimpses of the yesteryear when the sport was run by amateurs.
Crucial to each track session are the marshals who are there to protect the safety of the drivers, yet these individuals are all volunteers selected from FIA affiliated motor racing associations across the world.
Whilst the F1 race director is a full time employee of the FIA, the stewards who adjudicate the fair behaviour of the drivers on track are again grace and favour appointments made from race to race by the FIA.
F1’s latest drama
It wouldn’t be a Formula One season if there was a complete absence of drama involving a stewarding decision which a certain number of the drivers believe to be fundamentally wrong. And this years drama has rolled on into Mexico following last weekends USGP.
Lap one turn one in COTA saw Verstappen take the inside line and run Lando Norris wide and off the track, allowing Charles Leclerc to slip through and take the lead. Because this was lap one of a Grand Prix, the stewards are given far greater leeway in how they adjudicate driving standards. No penalty was forthcoming and to be fair non was expected.
As the race drew to a close, Norris attempted an overtake around the outside of Verstappen into turn 12. The McLaren driver briefly drew ahead as the pair enacted their own drag race along the back straight at COTA, before Max dive bombed the inside line claiming the all important apex of the turn.
Both drivers out braked themselves exceeding track limits with Norris completing his overtake before returning to the circuit.
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The decision of the stewards appeared to upset at least half the paddock as Norris was penalised, but Verstappen escaped sanction. In the days following the furore, the F1 media have analysed the events in Austin to the nth degree and it appears there may be genuine grounds for the ‘right of review’ McLaren have called for.
The stewards deemed it was Norris overtaking Verstappen on the outside because Max’s late lunge put him ahead at the apex meaning the McLaren driver lost the ‘right’ to the corner. However, onboard footage not available to the stewards when they made their decision suggests Norris was in fact ahead of Verstappen and it was therefore the world champion making the overtake.
This is vital to the outcome given the FIA guidelines for F1 driving standards treat the overtaker and the person being passed differently. Were Max attempting the overtake, the onus would be on him to remain within track limits, which he did not, and the resulting decision would be he forced Lando Norris off track.
Should McLaren’s right of review be upheld, the accusation by team boss Andreas Stella that the stewards rushed the decision to ensure the podium place finishes were classified at the chequered flag will prove justified.
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Race control do not have access to certain onboard race footage immediately and the view from Max’s front facing camera is vital in proving McLaren’s claim Norris was ahead.
Yet this problem is not new to Formula One as evidenced during the Brazilian GP the year of the epic title duel between Hamilton and Verstappen in 2021. As Hamilton closed in on his rival, Max shoved the Mercedes wide at turn 4 on lap 48. Mercedes were in uproar the stewards noted the incident but took it no further and justice was served when Lewis made the pass successfully after a ten lap battle royal.
“It’s always been a grey area,” Hamilton told assembled media in Mexico City yesterday. “That’s why he’s [Verstappen] got away with it for so long.
“I experienced it many times with Max. You shouldn’t be able to just launch the car up the inside and be ahead and then go off, and still hold the position,” reasoned the seven times world champion.
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Lewis and a number of the drivers have complained this year over “inconsistent” rulings from the race stewards something Johnny Herbert often the driver steward accepts in a recent interview with GentingCasino.com.
Herbert accepts permanent stewards would be step towards greater consistently and argues finance is part of the problem. “Should there be one steward every single race? You can argue that or all four the same? Yes, you could argue that,” the ex-F1 driver reasons.
“But it’s time. We don’t get paid [a lot] for it. We get $300 a day or something. So it’s very small.”
However, its incomprehensible that the most watched sport on earth employs part time referees on a paltry expenses basis only something Lewis Hamilton also questioned when asked in Mexico.
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“They [F1 and the FIA] probably need to make some adjustments, for sure,” said the Mercedes driver during Thursday’s media day in Mexico.
“Also, you do have inconsistencies on rulings, weekend in, weekend out, obviously depending on which stewards are there.
“As a sport, we do need to level up on all areas. You look at other global sports, they have full-time refs, and I’m sure that wouldn’t be a bad thing for our sport.”
Hamilton’s team mate George Russell agrees the rotating amateur stewards roster will lead to inconsistency. “You need to have a regulation, you need to have some sort of guideline, especially when we’re having different stewards every single week, who have a slightly different interpretation,” said the Briton.
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“For me having looked back, I thought my penalty was harsh but probably correct. Looking at Lando’s, I think that was probably correct as well, but Max probably should have also got a penalty for running off the track.”
Yet Russell concludes the proven way to solve the problem is to re-enforce the natural deterrent to exceeding track limits. “For me, the root cause of the problem is having a circuit that allows you to run wide. And if we take Austria last year as an example, you had [around] 300 track limit problems.
They put gravel in and there’s no problems. If you put gravel in on that corner, Lando doesn’t go off, and overtake, and Max doesn’t brake that late and go off as well. So I think we need to tackle the root cause.”
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Despite early season expectations, the 2024 Formula One season is bubbling towards a thrilling climax. Last time out in Austin, Texas Ferrari were the dominant force in the Grand Prix, although their qualifying pace remains questionable.
McLaren were hoping for another outing similar to Singapore where Lando Norris romped away with over a twenty second winning margin. Yet it was not to be as Red Bull’s upgraded RB20 looked more like its old self and with Max Verstappen defending as though his life depended on it, both cars looked to have similar pace at the Circuit of the Americas.
Mercedes still have some head scratching to do after looking the quickest car by far on Friday in Austin, then come the Sprint and Grand Prix qualifying and there silver arrows were once again at the back of the front four F1 teams… READ MORE
With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
Verstappen is a cheat, always has been, always will be. He’s behaved like a spoilt brat since he came into F1. He’s also dangerous to other drivers and doesn’t care if they are injured or worse. Time he was punished.