“They don't want to pay for it”: FIA President takes a jibe at F1 stars Max Verstappen and co. amid permanent stewards request
Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the President of the FIA, responded to recent calls for permanent stewards for Formula 1 races by flipping the script on the drivers - including champion Max Verstappen. His retort to these requests was to make it an issue of funding - since it is the drivers who are requesting it, it is his viewpoint that they be the ones to provide the funds to pay for full-time steward salaries.
This is as compared to the part-time stewards who are currently employed by the FIA, who change from race to race. However, his statement on the matter was that the drivers would be unwilling to pay for it.
Ben Sulayem has been FIA President after taking over from Jean Todt at the end of the 2021 season. While Sulayem has faced his fair share of controversies since he took office, he has made it clear that this issue is something that is the drivers' responsibility more than the FIA's.
Speaking to the media, Sulayem had this to say (via Autosport):
"It’s very nice talk, but when they say professional, and they want professional, they don't want to pay for it. That is so obvious."
Sulayem also voiced his opinion on how the FIA chooses to spend its money:
"We do whatever we do with our money. It's our business. It's also [the same] with them and their money. It's their business."
On the other side of all this is Max Verstappen, the 4-time world champion, who has previously spoken about the inconsistency of steward calls in the races. During a tense battle with Lando Norris on turn 4 of the Mexican Grand Prix earlier this year, Verstappen forced his title challenger wide on the turn, and on turn 7, Verstappen also left the track to gain an advantage. Both of these events caused Verstappen to receive 10-second penalties.
Speaking about how rules in F1 are interpreted & how the duration of the penalties are decided, Max Verstappen said:
"I think it's not that straightforward, clearly even between how many seconds [of time penalties] that you get. Like I said before, sometimes they work for you, sometimes they work against you."
Even with the 20-second time penalty, Max Verstappen ended the race with 8 points, finishing in P6.
Max Verstappen on the rules of Formula 1
Apart from voicing his opinion about the penalties, Max Verstappen has had a lot to say about the general way that the races are regulated. The world champion's take on the matter is that it is not straightforward - it is not about less rules or more rules.
Speaking to the media, he said (via Autosport):
"I think it's never going to be perfect because even if you remove rules, then you get into a battle, then you want more rules because it's not clear what is allowed or not. Then when you have too many rules, you want less rules. It just keeps on going left and right all the time."
While he may feel that the races are over-regulated, Verstappen seems to have a simple philosophy in dealing with the critics & the penalties:
"But it's not my problem at the end of the day. I just continue with my life and I keep performing."
Max Verstappen won the Formula One Driver's Championship for the fourth consecutive time this season.