Two-time Indy 500 winner Arie Luyendyk believes Formula 1 should learn from the recent controversies surrounding the calls of the sport's FIA stewards.
Max Verstappen's contentious penalty at the US Grand Prix reignited a debate about the inconsistencies associated with F1's stewards' decisions, with many advocating for the presence of at least one permanent steward at every race to improve knowledge and judgment.
Luyendyk, who won the Indy 500 in 1990 and 1997, is one of three permanent members of IndyCar's panel of stewards, along with former drover Max Papis and official Dan Davis.
The trio reports directly to IndyCar race director Brian Barnhart who assumes a role similar to Charlie Whiting's function in F1.
The Dutchman believes permanent and professional stewards in F1, rather than the current rotation system, would go a long way towards improving consistency.
"You need a fixed panel," Luyendyk told GPUpdate.net.
"During a Grand Prix weekend there is no time to be creative with rules and penalties.
"The rulebook is very complicated and you aren't going to tell me that a guy like Mika Salo, who just wanders by to be a race steward for a weekend, knows the entire book of regulations.
"Just put a few guys in that spot who will be there every weekend, who will get to know the characters of the drivers better, which makes it a lot easier to judge."
Luyendyk believes what happened in Austin to Max Verstappen makes a compelling case for F1 changing its system.
"Being a race steward is a very interesting job in which you have a lot of responsibilities," he said.
"You need to be fair towards everyone, and that wasn't the case in Austin, for example.
"The punishment for Verstappen was a let-down for the fans and that's bad, because Formula 1 and the United States haven't been a match made in heaven so far."
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