Carlos Sainz is calling for a major change to Formula 1’s stewarding system, advocating for permanent officials after a penalty he received at the Dutch Grand Prix was overturned.
The incident involved contact with Liam Lawson, for which Sainz was initially given a time penalty and two points on his Super Licence.
Following a review by Williams that included new onboard footage, stewards rescinded the penalty, clearing Sainz of wrongdoing.
The reversal prompted Sainz, a GPDA director, to argue that F1 needs more consistent officiating. “F1 and the FIA all agree that should be the way forward, where at least two of the three stewards are permanent,” he stated.
Sainz believes that working with the same officials would create more predictability for drivers and ensure fairer judgments.
He also showed gratitude to the stewards for being open to reviewing the incident, calling their decision to correct the “obvious” error a positive step.
