Guenther Steiner believes that the FIA must engage permanent stewards and further exploit artificial intelligence to avoid scenarios like the end of the race at Silverstone.
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The British Grand Prix ended behind the safety car after the accident of Max Verstappen in the final laps.
A conclusion considered disappointing by many observers, who believe that the FIA could have found a solution to restart the race.
Modernizing race control
For Steiner, one of the priorities should be the professionalization of the stewards panel: “We need to launch a campaign soon. You know what I always repeat: we need permanent stewards who work according to a plan. It’s not about blaming the stewards, because they have nothing to do with this situation. It’s the race director who is concerned.”
The former Haas director turned TV consultant nevertheless considers that full-time stewards could better support race control in complex situations.
“If the race director had permanent stewards, they could help him find solutions to avoid ending up again in a situation like Silverstone.”
A solution for lapped cars
Steiner believes that the procedure allowing lapped drivers to unlap themselves should be reviewed when a race is nearing its end: “I would agree that if the lapped cars have already completed at least half a lap after unlapping themselves and there is only one lap remaining, they continue on their way. They will not be able to catch the pack anyway and will not hinder anyone. We could therefore restart the race.”
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The former Haas boss was also skeptical about the computer error that allegedly contributed to the confusion observed at the end of the Grand Prix: “I think they said to themselves: ‘Let’s restart the race.’ Then someone replied: ‘You can’t do that because the regulations forbid it.’ And then, they probably thought: ‘I’m stopping everything, I don’t want to make a fool of myself.’”
Despite his criticisms, Steiner acknowledges the quality of the work done by the FIA in several areas, notably under the direction of engineer Nikolas Tombazis: “ I have thought a lot about the FIA’s technical department and I think it is quite efficient and well organized. In my opinion, given the resources it has, Nikolas Tombazis is doing a good job.”
Artificial intelligence as a solution?
Steiner nevertheless considers that Formula 1 still has not found a satisfactory solution to manage neutralized race finishes, despite the controversy of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: “Five years ago, we experienced during a race finish the biggest fiasco in Formula 1 in the last 50 years. Have we since found a real solution? No.”
According to him, artificial intelligence could allow the FIA to quickly analyze different scenarios and propose solutions compliant with the regulations: “If people worked full-time on these issues, they could develop a computer program. Artificial intelligence can also help a lot to quickly find a solution in this kind of situation.”
For Steiner, the combination of permanent stewards, better-defined procedures, and new technological tools would thus allow the FIA to better manage complex situations and avoid Grand Prix finishing as frustratingly as at Silverstone.