​Guenther Steiner has called on the FIA to appoint permanent, full-time stewards and to expand the use of artificial intelligence to prevent a repeat of the disappointing finish at the British Grand Prix. In Silverstone, Charles Leclerc secured Ferrari’s first win of the season, ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell and Leclerc’s teammate Lewis Hamilton, but the race ended behind the safety car.
The safety car was deployed on lap 48 of 52 after Red Bull’s Max Verstappen spun and became stuck in the gravel at Stowe corner. Although it initially appeared that racing might resume before the end, and broadcasters showed a message indicating the safety car would be withdrawn, the race finished under safety car conditions. The FIA later clarified that the broadcast message was erroneous, explaining that there were not enough laps remaining to complete the unlapping process, which is why the safety car remained out.
Speaking on The Red Flags Podcast, Steiner did not mince his words in evaluating what happened. “We need to start a campaign soon. You know what I always say: full-time stewards who work on a plan. This isn’t about blaming the stewards because they aren’t the ones making the decisions; it’s the race director,” the former Haas team principal said. “But if the race director had permanent stewards, they would help him find ways to avoid a reoccurrence like we saw at Silverstone. If the lapped cars had unlapped themselves at least halfway, and there was only one lap to go, they wouldn’t be in the way. Then we could start the race. But obviously, the race director did what the rules require.”
When asked whether the software issue that produced the erroneous broadcast message was genuine, Steiner offered a skeptical take: “I think they said, ‘Let’s restart the race.’ And someone replied, ‘You can’t do this because the rules say you can’t,’ and then someone else said, ‘I’m out of here now. Just stop everything. I don’t want to embarrass myself.’”
Steiner also praised FIA’s technical leadership, noting: “I’ve thought a lot about the FIA’s technical side. I think they’re pretty good and organized. Nikolas Tombazis, in my view, is doing a solid job with what he has available. He’s on it; there’s always something, but he’s aware of it and works toward solutions. If something needs changing, he’s already on it.”
To navigate the myriad possible outcomes at the end of a race, Steiner suggested that the FIA should increase its deployment of AI. “But at the end of the race, we had what might be the biggest debacle in Formula 1 in the last 50 years, and we still don’t have a proper solution. If you had people there full-time, working on the problem, developing software or AI, it could help deliver quicker, more reliable decisions,” Steiner argued. He emphasized that a more proactive approach with dedicated personnel and advanced technology could yield faster, more consistent solutions in future race finishes.