F1 steward Warwick frank: 'Social media has spoiled the world"

For Formula 1 purists, Derek Warwick belongs to an illustrious list of drivers, having competed for the most iconic teams. Young audiences know that the Brit works as a steward in Formula 1. But certainly not everyone really knows his true self: "People should know: We are not paid to be stewards".

Warwick tried it in Britain for a while, but running his own racing team did not turn out to be something that made his heart beat faster. "As a team boss, I didn't really enjoy it," the former F1 driver (from '81 to '92) states in an exclusive interview with GPblog. "It wasn't something I really liked doing. Working with racing drivers is a pain in the arse. And that's what I had to do."

Passion for talent and safety in motorsport

Instead, Warwick was concerned about developing young talents through various UK-based training programmes. For example, the former driver mentions Lando Norris: "I wonder if Lando Norris would ever have been at McLaren had he not done the Young Driver of the Year programme that I did." The safety of the sport also got his attention, especially after his brother Paul's fatal accident during a British Formula 3000 race.

After being (or having been) active in varied positions, it was eventually his good friend Jean Todt who asked Warwick to become a steward in Formula 1. "The stewards had lost all credibility," Warwick looks back. "There was a lot of talk of people like Max Mosley and Jean Todt interfering with the decisions and that sort of thing. And I can categorically say 1 million percent, that I've never, in the 15 years I've been doing this, had any outside influence on a decision we've made. Whether it's been Max, Jean, team members, team bosses, anything."

"It's a very independent committee of stewards. I like it. I enjoy it. I know I'm hated. I accept that. But I like to think that I'm fair to the drivers. If there's a difficult decision, I would try and side with the drivers if I think it's a 50-50. I'm not a policeman. I'm not trying to give a penalty to every driver out there."

Misunderstanding among drivers and media

Warwick says it is important to be able to give something back to the sport he still loves dearly. "There is a misconception from all the drivers and maybe journalists and some of the team principals. They should know. I do this for nothing. We do this for nothing. We are not paid to be stewards. Yes, we get expenses. So we fly free of charge, and we stay in nice hotels free of charge. But we're not paid. We do it in our own time with our own money. And people should know that."

Work as a steward has changed over the years. Media interest has grown, and social media makes it easy to send terrible messages to someone anonymously. "I've been asked many times, how did I deal with fame? I was lucky. I wasn't famous. I was very well-known within my industry. Everybody knew me in my industry. When I was racing in Formula One, I was a little prima donna, a little god driving for a team. But outside of that, I wasn't really known that well.

"People like Senna, Prost, Piquet, Lewis [Hamilton], Charles Leclerc, Sebastian [Vettel], they're hammered, hammered, hammered. They can't go anywhere without somebody knocking on their shoulder. I think social media has spoiled the world. I'll be honest with you. Because I've been misunderstood a couple of times with my social media. It's pretty ugly, and I'm a nobody.

"So I would think that these top personalities, whether it be sport, motor racing, singers, it must be horrible. If you are very sensitive, which I can be, it hurts. It hurts that people have not understood things that have happened in my life and show it as vile negativity. Yeah, that hurts sometimes."

Warwick is positive about life

Warwick is approaching the respectable age of 70. No one would be surprised if he stopped working as a steward. After all, he has grandchildren. Then he pulls out a picture of his eldest grandson on a go-kart. He is driving with a helmet in the same design as his Grandad and his late great-uncle Paul. Grandfather Warwick is visibly proud.

"I don't feel 70," he says. "I train four or five times a week. I'm very positive. I get to work at seven o'clock in the morning. I leave at five o'clock, go straight to the gym, and get home at half past seven. I still do a lot of things, and I'm happy. I love my life.

After a brief pause, he continued. "I have a very balanced life. I do seven Grands Prix a year, which is just enough. I wouldn't want to do more. I spend time with my grandsons. I've got a new love in my life. That's really, really cool and good. She keeps me very young. I really do enjoy what I'm doing."

When this is followed by the questioner's comment that Warwick looks happy, he responds, "I am. Yes, I'm happy."