Steiner calls for permanent FIA steward after Alonso incident

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Haas boss Guenther Steiner is advocating for the presence of a permanent steward at every race after Sunday's clash between Romain Grosjean and Fernando Alonso.

Grosjean was handed a five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits in last Sunday's Mexican Grand Prix.

But it was the French driver's later collision with Alonso that angered Steiner who believes the incident, which went unpunished, destroyed his driver's race and demonstrated once again the stewards' inconsistency in their calls.

"I've spoken to Charlie and we've had some constructive discussions," said Steiner via Motorsport.com.

"My biggest thing is the technicalities of what is wrong and what is right.

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"That isn't easy to find out, and it's the consistency. You need to know what is happening and what is not happening with penalties, and that's my biggest thing – every time it's different.

"Romain gets five seconds for cutting the corner and then Fernando runs into him, hits his car, and destroys his race anyway and gets nothing. It's like… explain it!"

On the back of the stewards' controversial call on Max Verstappen in the US Grand Prix, Steiner says the latest episode supports the idea of having a permanent head steward present at every race in order to compile knowledge of all the incidents which take place.

"For me the only solution is to have permanent people there, who know what happens every week," Steiner explained.

"I have no problem if they are then supplemented by additional people or whoever, but there needs to be somebody consistent who knows what happened a year ago, two years ago, last week.

"You need to be accountable for that job, there's too much at stake. This is a big sport.

"I'm not blaming the guys because it's not their job, but you cannot have one day one decision and another day another one and say 'yeah that's alright'!

"And for sure it's worse with the smaller teams on the grid because they care less about them."

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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.