FIA steward Warwick suspended for Canadian GP

Derek Warwick raced in F1 from 1981 to 1992

Former grand prix driver Derek Warwick has been suspended from his role as a steward at this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix.

Governing body the FIA said the decision had been made "following recent unauthorised media comments".

It said he would be replaced by Brazilian Enrique Bernoldi, who would be "officiating from the remote operations centre in Geneva for the remainder of the event".

The FIA added: "After discussion, Derek acknowledges that his comments were ill-advised in his role as an FIA steward and has apologised.

"Derek will resume his duties as a steward in the forthcoming Austrian Grand Prix."

Warwick won the Le Mans 24 Hours, is a former president of the British Racing Drivers' Club and is one of the most senior driver stewards in F1.

An ex-F1 driver is always one of the four stewards officiating at every grand prix.

Last week Warwick was quoted as saying that a penalty given to Red Bull's Max Verstappen at the Spanish Grand Prix after the Dutchman apparently deliberately collided with Mercedes' George Russell was "right".

On a gambling website, Warwick said: "Should he have done what he did, in Turn Five with George Russell? Absolutely not. Did he get a penalty for that? Yes.

"It seems to me that, although he dove in, he then did turn away from George, but momentum pushed him against George. It is absolutely wrong and the FIA was right to give him a penalty."

Warwick also commented on the performance of Red Bull's second drivers and on Lewis Hamilton's situation at Ferrari, being quoted saying it's an "enigma" why Hamilton "can't get going" at his new team.

Warwick is the second driver steward to be punished by the FIA for commenting on races in the past six months.

In January Johnny Herbert was dropped by the FIA, which said his "duties as an FIA steward and that of a media pundit were incompatible".

The FIA's decision to suspend Warwick came a day after controversial statute changes were passed by the organisation's general assembly.

The changes are said by critics to "risk further contributing to the erosion of the FIA's reputation for competent and transparent governance" under president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

Ben Sulayem's time in office since 2021 has been marked by a series of controversies, the majority of which have been focused on the erosion of accountability and good governance and the introduction of measures that enhance his power and reduce oversight.

When there are questions about how stewards arrived at decisions during a grand prix, the FIA refuses to comment on the basis that stewards are "independent from the FIA".