Brown hopes for full time stewards: 'We need common sense'

The role of stewards in Formula 1 was a hot topic last season, drawing significant attention and criticism. McLaren CEO Zak Brown suggests that changes are needed in how the stewards operate. The American expressed his concerns and hinted at the need for improvements in the decision-making process to ensure consistency and transparency throughout the whole season.

Currently, serving as a Formula 1 steward is not a full-time profession. The individuals responsible for making critical decisions during races, such as issuing penalties, are volunteers. This arrangement has led to ongoing debates about consistency and professionalism in stewarding, with many in the F1 community calling for changes to ensure greater accountability and uniformity in decision-making.

Brown thinks change is needed: "I think we need to take a step back in the winter,” he told Channel 4. “We have too many penalties, we have too many inconsistencies. I think we all recognise we need full-time stewarding. I don’t blame the stewards, but I don’t think they’re set up for success, so we need full-time stewards.”

The McLaren CEO continued, “I also think, and we’ve got no one but ourselves to blame, whether it’s the teams, the drivers – we’ve over-ruled, like, everything – so now, it’s like, literally the race to the apex. So I think we just need to take a step back and be a bit more subjective, discretionary and a little bit of common sense when some of these penalties are applied," he concluded.