Eddie Jordan has added his voice to the growing calls for increased Formula 1 steward transparency and an overhaul of penalties in the wake of controversial incidents in 2024.
Race penalties continue to be a source of intense debate in F1, with concerns over a lack of consistency rearing its head at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix following steward decisions during the weekend.
Oscar Piastri was awarded a 10-second time penalty for colliding with Liam Lawson during the race, but Mercedes only received a fine after admitting it altered tyre pressures on the grid, breaching technical regulations.
Pundits and fans are also questioning British bias on the stewards panel after the three races involving Johnny Herbert resulted in severe penalties for championship leader Max Verstappen.
Speaking on his Formula For Success podcast, former eponymous team owner Jordan revealed his stance on the saga after calling previous decision-making bias and his proposed solution.
Jordan expressed sympathy for those in the role, revealing that the FIA had approached him to join a long list of those formerly in F1 to join the stewards, but is relieved he declined the offer.
“With regard to the stewards, it’s difficult now, really, really difficult,” he said.
“Because, truthfully, I did think it was a ‘jolly’ – I was asked to become a steward once when I’d stopped. I don’t know why I didn’t do it, because Emanuele Pirro was one, Derek Warwick was another, and Stefan Johansson…
“So there was an endless number of people who were stewards, including Martin Donnelly, and they all enjoyed it, and they said, ‘EJ, you should do that’. And I decided not to and I’m so pleased now that I didn’t!” Jordan joked.
Overhaul of practices required
Jordan then revealed his idea to reinstate the stewards’ reputation, proposing a financial element as the role is currently voluntary, believing this element is particularly damaging to the sport.
He also outlined increased communication and interaction with the FIA and “somebody who’s really skilled, “believing one set of stewards for the entire f1 season would negate debate over racecraft.
He said the fallout from Verstappen’s controversial penalties at the US GP would not exist under his rules due to the increased communication between drivers and the FIA.
“When you have the level of expenditure, the level of outlay of hard cash in such a prestigious sport, we must be careful that we do not let ourselves get into a situation where we’ve got a football equivalent of VAR in our motor racing,” he said, referring the Premier League’s use of a video referee.
“I think we need fairness, we need to have somebody who’s really skilled. By that I mean I think we need lawyers, and I think that there probably should be a repayment or a payment package, remuneration package, so therefore, in the mornings, they should have meetings.”
“All the drivers should be invited to the meetings, asked what their position is, and ‘Have they got a concern about this’, and ‘What do you think we’re going to do about that?’,” he said.
“I really believe that if the drivers had more contact and more belief in terms of who was actually going to be the steward or it’s the same stewards, time in, time out, then it would be a lot more sensible.
“You would not have the kind of clear, hardcore aggravation that Max has had over ‘Was he over the double line there? Did he push him out there or you didn’t do that there? Why would I get a penalty there and I didn’t get a penalty then?” he said.
Jordan then confirmed his stance on time penalties awarded in races, ruining what he sees as on-track fights between drivers, delivering a blunt assessment of current practices.
“These penalties are b*llocks. It’s nonsense. I’m looking up at the screen thinking ”This is a great battle’. The next thing I see, ‘Five-second penalty, 10-second penalty’ – it’s so goddamn boring!”
His podcast co-host 13-time F1 winner David Coulthard was amused by Jordan’s remarks: “Thanks for not sitting on the fence with that one!”
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