Update | Stewards postpone decision on possible penalty Steiner
Guenther Steiner is due to report to Formula 1 stewards in Barcelona on Saturday afternoon at 14:30 local time. The reason for the call is likely to be about the statements the Haas team boss made towards the race stewards, which occured last Friday.
Following a report by the FIA Media delegate, stewards write in an FIA document: "Alleged breach of Articles 12.2.1.c, 12.2.1.f and 12.2.1.k of the FIA International Sporting Code during a media conference conducted on June 1, 2023."
Steiner said:
At the media event in question, which GPblog joined, Steiner lashed out hard at the stewards at the Monaco Grand Prix. He said: "It's like, F1 is one of the biggest sports in the world, and we still have laymens, deciding on the fate of people who invest millions in their careers. And it's always a discussion, because there is no consistency. And again, I don't want to blame any particular person on this, but if you are not there all the time, and this is just like a job every...It's not even a job, because in a job you can get sacked because you get paid. And if you do a bad job, you get sacked."
"You cannot get sacked because you don't get paid. It's like, I think we need to step it up. I think that's now time. I think we're discussing this since years and years, and we always go back to this. And every other sport has professional referees. American racing, NASCAR, IndyCar, how many times you hear problems with the stewards or with the race directors' decisions? Very rarely. Very rarely. But they are doing it completely different. There is full-time people working there, you know? And I'm always saying innocent until proven guilty. And not that I have to prove that I was innocent, because that doesn't work for me. That is not how I conduct life, you know?"
The regulations state that it is not allowed to discredit the sport and its officials. It is possible that Steiner's statements could be sanctioned.
Update | Steiner does not yet know if he will receive penalty
The stewards have revealed that they will not rule on whether or not Guenther Steiner will receive a penalty until Sunday morning at the earliest. The Haas F1 team boss therefore remains in limbo for some time.