FIA steward Derek Warwick has been suspended for one race following his controversial remarks about Max Verstappen. The former Formula 1 driver, in the aftermath of the Spanish GP, deemed Verstappen’s time penalty justified, among other things. As a result, Warwick will not serve as a steward during the Canadian GP, but will resume his duties in Austria.
Warwick made his comments about the four-time world champion to a betting site. The Brit was asked for his opinion on the much-discussed collision between Max Verstappen and George Russell in the final stages of the race in Barcelona. The steward deemed the Dutchman’s time penalty justified, although he denies that Verstappen should have received an even heavier penalty. “As far as I’m concerned, this penalty was perfect,” Warwick told Plejmo.
However, the FIA believes that Warwick should not have given his opinion as a steward. The governing body is therefore intervening with a one-time suspension of the Brit. The FIA hopes to refute all accusations of bias in this way. “In response to recent unauthorized statements in the media, the FIA has decided to suspend Derek Warwick as a driver steward for the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend,” according to the official FIA statement.
“He will be replaced by Enrique Bernoldi, who will act from the Remote Operations Centre in Geneva for the rest of the event,” the statement continues. “After consultation, Derek acknowledges that his comments were unwise in his role as an FIA steward and he has apologized. Derek will resume his duties as a steward during the upcoming Austrian Grand Prix.”
Herbert
Warwick is not the first steward to be reprimanded by the FIA for unauthorized statements. Johnny Herbert even had to end his duties as an FIA steward for giving multiple interviews to similar websites. In late January, the FIA ruled that the former British driver’s duties were no longer ‘compatible’ with Herbert’s work as an analyst.
