McLaren CEO Zak Brown is not impressed with the current stewarding standards in Formula 1, calling for reforms to address inconsistencies.
This comes after the dramatic Austrian Grand Prix, where McLaren openly disagreed with various decisions taken by the stewards regarding their drivers across the weekend. On Saturday, the team was unhappy with the penalty Oscar Piastri received for a track limits infringement during qualifying—he lost his P3 on the grid after his lap was deleted. McLaren responded by lodging a protest, which was rejected by the FIA stewards on the basis that it was inadmissible.
On Sunday, it was Norris who fell foul of the stewards. The British driver was shown the black and white flag for track limits violations; he then proceeded to wide again during his heated late-race battle with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Despite claiming he had been pushed wide by his rival—and giving the position back on track—Norris incurred a five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits.
Speaking at Silverstone, Brown confirmed that talks are ongoing to address the areas he identified as problematic.
“I think the FIA recognise part-time, underfunded stewarding is not how you govern a full-time, very intense, very technical, very big racing series. So the conversation’s been very healthy.”
He expressed his dissatisfaction with the existing system, saying: “I don’t think we’re set up for success with the current system. I think it’s important—it’s not a reflection on the individuals that are stewarding, but to just show up and do this part-time as a favour isn’t what we need.
“And I think there’ll be changes to address it, to raise the professionalism and the investment in stewarding, which I think everybody universally welcomes.”
Brown believes that both the enforcement of the rules as well as the framework itself are flawed.
He referred back to the Austrian Grand Prix, where Norris and Verstappen came to blows in the closing stages of the race. Norris, chasing Verstappen for first place, made several attempts to overtake, while the reigning champion went on the defensive. The duel ended in dramatic fashion on Lap 64 when the two made contact, resulting in punctures for both. Verstappen was able to limp back to the pits and get a fresh set of tyres fitted, returning to the track and finishing the race in P5. Norris, however, was forced to retire the car as the damage proved too extensive.
Brown warned that there would have been uproar had a contentious track limits penalty hypothetically stripped a driver of a win at the flag in that situation.
“An example of that—the rule that I think needs addressing in amongst a variety of things…Had Lando won the race [in Austria], got the five-second penalty and lost, I think people would have gone bonkers over that result. Because ‘track limits’, for me, is enhancing your lap time, getting an unfair advantage in qualifying…
“To chuck it up the inside, get it a little bit wrong, run wide, go over kerbs, give the position back, have a slower sector—you’ve just been penalised,” he continued. “To then get a five-second penalty on the back of that, that doesn’t feel right.
“So I do think there needs to be some adjustments to what the regulations are, because I think that as an example should not be deemed a track limits [violation]. Otherwise you’re going to discourage drivers from taking any risk in passing.
“And he gave the position back—it was a slower sector, he runs over a kerb, potential damage to the car, and you get a penalty. So I think that needs to be addressed, as an example.”
Additionally, Brown advocated for the drivers to have greater input in the decision-making process going forward: “I think the drivers know best—and I know they had a long meeting yesterday—I think the drivers need to have greater input to what they think the driving standard rules should be.
“At the end of the day, they’re the ones driving. So if they can all get aligned and agree on what that is, then that seems like a great basis from which to start from, and then the stewards need to consistently govern against whatever they all agree to.”
Verstappen was accused of moving under braking during his battle for the lead with Norris; however, the stewards failed to investigate the matter.
Brown commented on the FIA’s admission that, in hindsight, Verstappen should have been shown the black and white flag as a warning during the Austrian Grand Prix.
“I think reading between the lines of what was said. And I want to respect the confidentiality of the meeting. I would presume if they had to do it all over again, they may have done things differently. I want to be respectful to that. Without them saying it, they effectively went ‘hmm’. And also there was a reference to the Leclerc incident with Lando [FP3 in Barcelona].
“And then you look at Fernando’s two penalty points. I think one gets a reprimand, damages a car in practice. Another’s a racing incident, gets the penalty and two penalty points. There’s some inconsistencies there from the driver’s point of view.”
