F1 News: George Russell Calls For Major FIA Steward Change

Saajan Jogia | Nov 1, 2024

Oct 20, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team driver George Russell (63) of Team Great Britain walks back to the paddock after the driver’s parade before the 2024 Formula One US Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Mercedes driver George Russell has urged the FIA to employ full-time, salaried stewards rather than relying on volunteers. He believes this change would help bring greater consistency to rule enforcement, especially when "things come down to interpretation" while passing judgments.

Following recent controversies, including Lando Norris receiving a five-second penalty for overtaking Max Verstappen whilst off the track during the United States Grand Prix and Verstappen incurring two ten-second penalties for similar actions in Mexico City, several F1 insiders have called for consistency in the rules, which can be possible with clear guidelines and professional, full-time paid stewards.

Russell, who is also a director of the Grand Prix Drivers Association, believes the rules don't need major changes, but a fine-tuning of the guidelines to ensure uniformity in interpretation is a necessity, which can be achieved by having dedicated FIA stewards instead of having them on a rotational basis. Speaking to the media, he said:

"On a personal view, not a view of the collective, I don't think it [the rulebook] needs ripping up at all. It just needs some fine adjustments or a small addition. It's all pretty clear.

"The guidelines need to be in place but it also needs to be remembered they are guidelines. There's not a written regulation and it's down to the stewards to take the best judgement.

"When things come down to interpretation, and when things are about consistency, you can argue if you were to have the same stewards week in, week out, the consistency will be better because they're interpreting things in the same manner and the drivers understand exactly what they expect in a given circumstance.

"So I do feel, again a personal view, not one of on behalf of the drivers, but personal view, I do think we're at a point now in this sport that we do need a full-time professional steward in where they earn a real salary.

"They're not effectively volunteers and I do think within the pool of stewards we've got now, they are definitely up to standard. So it's not saying anything bad about the current stewards, it's just saying I feel we should be having system stewarding a week in, week out."

Russell emphasized that the existing rules need clarity, considering the "element of interpretation," which contributes to the ambiguity. He said:

"If you read the rules, there are lines that say if you're driving erratically or dangerous, you'll be punished and you can argue if a driver outbreaks himself and doesn't make the corner on the exit that is erratic because you're driving off the racetrack. 

"So there is an element of interpretation there, for sure it does need to be cleaned up a little bit.

"At the end of the day, every incident is different. For sure, now things are evolving... it's like the safety of the cars, you need a bad accident to happen before you make this real progress.

"It's the same with the driving regulations. You need something or decisions to be incorrect or things to be pushed beyond its limit before you realise change needs to happen."