F1 Stewarding not professional enough - Stewart

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Last Sunday's unfolding of events in Baku brought to light the disciplinary actions of the race Stewards associated with the on-track incident between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel.

While few disputed the penalty imposed on the Ferrari driver on Sunday, the actions of the race Stewards have not always been met with approval, with a lack of consistency often cited as the authority's weakness.

Sir Jackie Stewart is calling for a permanent and more professional committee of Stewards, in order to deliver more appropriate and more consistent penalties on drivers' actions.

"I have criticism about the stewarding at races," said the Scot after Sunday's action-packed race.

"There are a different set of stewards at almost every Grand Prix. In my opinion, the FIA should choose a retired Grand Prix driver, give him a proper salary, and a position that he is the authority.

Stewart: 'Hamilton should take some of the blame'

"They should sign him to a two-to-three year programme so he has full knowledge of all the drivers’ behaviour."

"It would take somebody that has been in the business recently, who has retired. At the moment we are dealing with a bunch of extremely mature representatives from countries who are signed up by the FIA."

Stewart believes the current steward nomination process if flawed, and only caters to the FIA and its members' interests, with inconsistency as a consequence.

"They swap these people around to give them an opportunity to come to a Grand Prix. That is servicing the FIA’s good relationships with nations.

"Those so-called stewards could come from a variety of different places and many of them are of different ages.

"They can’t then possibly give consistency to either the disciplinary actions or have the knowledge that is required to make judgements that could affect the outcome of world championships.

"Jean Todt won’t like me saying this, but I don’t think it is as professionally handled as it should be."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.