Hi friends,
I was almost tempted to call this “Yet another-another FIA edition”, but with the rate the FIA is getting featured at the moment, it’ll quickly get very confusing.
Top Story of the Week: Johnny Herbert Will No Longer Serve as a Formula 1 Steward
Yesterday the FIA and Johnny Herbert announced that he would leave the F1 stewarding team, citing incompatibility between his role as a media pundit and acting as a steward for Formula 1.
Herbert has been a controversial figure in the stewards’ room, having faced multiple accusations of bias following his comments about on-track events, and especially about Max Verstappen, while acting as a pundit for various gambling websites and outlets, as well as Sky Sports. And a quick look at Herbert’s social media reveals the most recent posts being ads for casinos.
A steward with financial ties to the betting industry, and who can directly influence the outcomes of races, is an extremely bad look for both Formula 1 and the FIA.
I was prepared to applaud the FIA for making the right choice and taking a stand on how stewards are expected to conduct themselves, but today it was announced that Herbert has accepted a position with Lola Cars, working with their Formula E team, which leads me to believe that the decision to relieve Herbert of his stewarding duties was less about his conflicts of interest, and more about him accepting a position with a racing team. Ultimately, the departure of Herbert comes far too late, considering his longstanding double-role, and it’s unclear if the FIA will issue and enforce conflicts of interest guidelines for stewards in the future.
One of the most important aspects of officiating any sport, is that officials are seen as neutral – but when you have a steward, and a hugely influential one at that, partnering with gambling sites for financial gain and making comments about certain drivers and events, that neutrality becomes an extremely tough sell. You can be the best official in the world, but if you’re perceived as biased, even the decisions you get right will be called into question.
I’ve spent 12 seasons as a referee in the top tier of Danish ice hockey, and while it’s not comparable to the scale of Formula 1, our contracts very clearly stipulated that no referees were to give statements to media or act as media pundits, because it would bring into question our neutrality. And this is the same across almost all sports in the world – with the exception of Formula 1.
I’ve long argued that the FIA should employ professional stewards for their top tier championships, but Mohammed Ben Sulayem has rejected the idea, citing that the FIA simply cannot afford to pay for it. McLaren CEO Zak Brown stated during the Autosport Business Exchange in London this week, that he believes teams should share the cost of stewarding with F1 and the FIA.
The stewarding in Formula 1 and the FIA as a whole needs a revamp – and beginning the process of having a professional, expert team of stewards is a very good place to start.
The Rest of the Stories This Week:
- Former Sauber Managing Director Alessandro Alunni Bravi will join McLaren as Chief Business Affairs Officer
- Zak Brown believes that teams should share the cost of professional stewards with F1 and the FIA
- Adrian Newey believes that there’s a “big chance” of 2026 being an engine formula
- The mediation process between Alex Palou and McLaren is under way in London
- The RB21 has passed crash tests and will do it’s first shakedown in Bahrain on February 25
- Mercedes will launch the W16 in Bahrain on February 24 and do their shakedown on the 25th
- Mercedes and McLaren will not share Valtteri Bottas as their reserve driver
- Lewis Hamilton crashed the Ferrari SF-23 at the Barcelona test
- Yuki Tsunoda is likely to be named Red Bull’s reserve driver for 2025
- Andrea Kimi Antonelli got his driver’s license
- McLaren Chief Communications Officer, Steve Atkins, has departed the team
- The F1 Exhibition is coming to Buenos Aires from March 22 to June 1
- Formula 1 and Mattel have revealed the new Hot Wheels cars
- Belgium will put Spa-Francorchamps on a commemorative 2 Euro coin
- Andretti is looking for more space for their racing operations, despite building a brand new HQ
- FOX Sports released their Alex Palou INDYCAR promo
- The Race will begin covering endurance racing in 2025
- Tower Motorsport has been stripped of their Daytona Rolex 24 LMP2 victory for exceeding maximum skid block wear
- Lamborghini is moving towards a customer-focused future for the SC63 hypercar operation
That’s it for this week, but before you go, in case you missed the IMSA Rolex 24 at Daytona, they released a one hour highlights video you really should go watch.
If you want to support me, you can help fuel the snack addition that powers me through compiling these lists and vetting the stories – you can do so on Buymeacoffee or Patreon.
