Carlos Sainz believes it’s time for a fundamental review of the steward policy in Formula 1. According to the Williams driver, the current guidelines actually cause more confusion rather than clarity. Sainz is more impressed by the analyses of well-known TV analysts; he therefore advocates for stewards with current experience and sharp analytical skills, similar to TV reporters.
In 2025, several decisions by the stewards raised eyebrows. For instance, Oscar Piastri received a ten-second time penalty for his collision with Kimi Antonelli in Brazil, while many drivers and analysts referred to it as a simple racing incident. At the same time, Liam Lawson escaped punishment during the Las Vegas GP, even though he collided with Piastri in a similar manner in the opening round. Previous incidents – such as in Mexico City, where the penalties were also called ‘inconsistent’ – further fueled the debate.
In the run-up to the Qatar GP, Sainz shared a notable solution: he wants to employ certain ex-drivers, just like TV stations, to analyze incidents. He has been impressed by the analyses on, for example, Sky Sports and F1TV in recent months. Sainz pointed to various experts who regularly analyze incidents for television and possibly do it better than the current stewards.
Chandhok, Palmer, and Davidson
“I think I’ve seen quite a few analyses of incidents after the races lately,” Carlos Sainz Jr told the press in Qatar. “And some analysts who have raced recently – including Karun Chandhok, Jolyon Palmer, and Anthony Davidson – are very good at their analyses and the judgments they make. They usually rightly blame a certain person, or simply explain that it’s a racing incident.” According to Sainz, this is the future. “My idea is to move away from strict guidelines and instead use people who can understand incidents as well as these television makers.”
“This is just my opinion, but I’m quite impressed with the work some reporters do after the race,” he emphasized. “Of course, this doesn’t mean we’ll always agree one hundred percent with these three ex-drivers, but in most cases, perhaps ninety percent. If I were to sketch a future for the stewards in Formula 1, it would look more or less like this,” Sainz concluded.
