McLaren boss Zak Brown backs full-time F1 stewards after Johnny Herbert saga

Herbert was dropped as a driver steward due to the ‘incompatibility’ of his dual role as official and pundit

McLaren CEO Zak Brown insists the stewarding system in F1 needs a shake-up and believes full-time officials need to be implemented as soon as possible.

The American executive added that McLaren, who won last year’s constructors’ championship, would be satisfied with paying a percentage towards the salaries of full-time stewards.

Former F1 race winner Johnny Herbert was dropped as a driver steward by the FIA this week following criticism from Max Verstappen’s father, Jos, last year. F1’s governing body stated Herbert’s role as a pundit was “incompatible” with his role as an official in the sport.

At the moment, F1 stewards are unpaid volunteers with only their expenses covered by the FIA. Yet Brown believes all 10 teams, F1 and the FIA should work together to fund a group of full-time race officials.

“The biggest thing we need to do is approach the stewarding system," Brown said, at the Autosport Business Exchange this week.

"To have part-time, unpaid stewards in a multi-billion-dollar sport where everything is on the line to make the right call... it is a technical job and when you get it right, no one says ‘great job’. But I don’t think we are set up for success by not having full-time stewards.

“The individuals are fine but the rulebook is too restrictive. I’d like us to take a step back, loosen it up. Have full-time stewards who can make more of a subjective decision of whether that was right or wrong.”

Brown added that if F1 and the teams want an improvement in officiating, then they “have to pay for it.”

“As far as paying for the stewards, this will probably be unpopular amongst my fellow team I'm happy if McLaren and all the racing teams contribute,” he said. “It's so important for the sport.

Zak Brown says full-time F1 stewards should be implemented (Getty Images)

“It can't be that expensive if everybody contributes. It's not going to break the bank. What I don’t know is what’s the relationship contractually between the FIA and Formula 1 as far as what's the level of expectations on stewarding.

“But at the end of the day, the agreement says part-time stewarding is not paid. In any business, if you want something different, it's called a change order and if you want to change something, you have to pay for it.

“So if we have to pay for it, in the big scheme of things I do not think it will be a significant amount. If it comes back to McLaren where you pay a percentage and what F1 will pay and what the FIA will pay, if you break up that fee, it is not that much but I think it is that important.”

The 2025 F1 season starts in Australia on 16 March with a 10-team season launch event taking place at the O2 Arena in London on Tuesday 18 February.