One of the biggest talking points of the 2024 season, aside from the close Constructors’ title fight between McLaren and Ferrari, was the inconsistencies and irregularities in the FIA Stewards’ decisions. Former F1 driver David Coulthard has raised two key aspects he believes the sport’s governing body should address this season.
Coulthard began by discussing the unreasonableness of some penalties handed out by the stewards. He particularly highlighted Lando Norris‘ 10-second stop-and-go penalty at the Qatar GP, questioning the fairness of the decision.
“Some [penalties] were a bit too strict in my opinion [in 2024], as for Lando in Qatar,” he began whilst speaking in an exclusive interview with F1Maximaal.nl. The #4 driver was handed a 10-second stop-and-go penalty after failing to slow down under a double-yellow flag period on the main straight.
“Ten seconds seems very strict for a situation in which there were clearly no marshals on the track. Just because there were double yellow flags, a signal is sent that it is a serious situation. That is there to protect a person who has crashed or marshals on the track,” he explained.
Let’s take a closer look
This yellow flag infringement cost Lando Norris a stop/go penalty ⚠️#F1 #QatarGP pic.twitter.com/bI2UXZSWxy
— Formula 1 (@F1) December 1, 2024
Norris’ penalty meant he finished P10 at the chequered flag, scoring just two points (one for the fastest lap). Despite his teammate Oscar Piastri finishing third, Ferrari’s strong result ensured they cut their deficit to the Woking-based team in the Constructors’ standings to just 14 points.
Before this, McLaren seemed comfortable, but the Qatar GP shifted the fight to the wire, with Ferrari closing in as the season finale approached in Abu Dhabi. After Piastri’s lap-one collision with Max Verstappen at the Yas Marina Circuit, it was only a Norris win that secured the title for McLaren by the smallest of margins.
Coulthard expects the FIA to be quick on its feet in 2025
Another point of concern for the Scotsman was the fact that in 2024, the decisions of the Stewards were sometimes very delayed. This meant that drivers who were eventually disqualified got to celebrate on the podium whilst the deserving driver was robbed of the celebrations and joy.
“Personally, I get frustrated when it takes a long time for decisions to be made about punishment. When you leave a football match, you want to know who won,” he added. This year, it was Lewis Hamilton who faced the brunt of this delay.
At the 2024 Belgian GP, his teammate, George Russell pulled off an audacious one-stop to win the race on the track. He celebrated the win on the podium alongside Hamilton who was in P2.
However, the #63 driver was later disqualified for an underweight car. This meant that Hamilton was promoted as the race-winner (his second win of 2024) but couldn’t get to celebrate as he was only informed when he was at the airport about to leave.
