Ex-Red Bull driver urges F1 to employ permanent stewards amidst controversies over inconsistency

F1 has witnessed quite a few controversial decisions by the stewards in recent years.

Ex-Red Bull driver urges F1 to employ permanent stewards amidst controversies over inconsistency

F1 (Via IMAGO)

The 2024 Formula 1 season has seen a ton of penalties for the drivers that have been classified as unjust or inconsistent. This issue of inconsistency with the penalties is something that has been looming over the sport for the last few years, with multiple drivers and pundits sharing how they think there needs to be consistency regarding penalties.

Following the recent Chinese GP race weekend, wherein a lot of drivers were handed out varying penalties which may not be proportionate to the damage they did, Ex-Red Bull driver Karun Chandhok shared some interesting thoughts. Chandok believes the same stewards should manage races throughout the year to obtain consistency with penalties.

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There’s been a massive lack of consistency with penalties in the last few years.

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Here’s an idea - the extra income the FIA gets from these teams scoring points should be used for employing permanent stewards for consistency instead of relying on a rotation of volunteers. They have a tough job and there’s no way 4 humans will ever have the same view on an incident but at least if it’s the same 4 every time we get consistency.
Karun Chandhok via X

The Sky Sports Pundit added how there is no way that different people have the same views on track incidents throughout the races. So, having the same four stewards for races over a season will give fans and drivers clarity regarding the decisions that are put out.

Karun Chandok keen to see Max Verstappen in a different team

Ever since the second year of his career in F1, Max Verstappen has been driving with the Milton-Keyens-based Red Bull team. The driver is as of now, fully locked into the team until the end of 2028, but there have been rumors about a possible move amidst all the internal turmoil at Red Bull.

Max Verstappen (Via IMAGO)
Max Verstappen (Via IMAGO)

Following these rumors Chandhok shared how he wants the three-time World Champion to try out a different team. He added Verstappen should take up the challenge of trying to be a top driver for multiple teams, like fellow World Champions – Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher, and Sebastian Vettel who have all won races and fought for championships with multiple outfits.

More and more, I'd like to see him drive for somebody else, because I'd like to see whether this question you're talking about, right, is it just, he's at one with that car, could someone else jump in and do it, if he went to Mercedes, or Ferrari, I don't know.
Karun Chandok via gpblog.com

The Ex-Red Bull driver also added how it would definitely be interesting to see how Max Verstappen performs in a different environment, one where he is fully not embedded. Only time will tell if Chandok’s wishes come true in the future.

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