BREAKING: Steward suspended from Canadian Grand Prix after controversial comments about Verstappen

02:08, 14 Jun

Updated: 02:26, 14 Jun

bySavannah Lenz

Early Saturday morning, the FIA announced that it had suspended steward Derek Warwick for the Canadian Grand Prix weekend. This comes after Warwick made unsanctioned comments to the media.

The FIA statement reads: "Following recent unauthorised media comments, the FIA has taken the decision to suspend Derek Warwick from his duties as driver steward for this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix. He will be replaced by Enrique Bernoldi who will be officiating from the Remote Operations Centre in Geneva for the remainder of the event."

"After discussion, Derek acknowledges that his comments were ill-advised in his role as an FIA steward and has apologised. Derek will resume his duties as a steward in the forthcoming Austrian Grand Prix."

Why is Warwick suspended?

Over the past week, Warwick has made several comments about Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing. In a conversation with a betting site, he mentioned the treatment of Verstappen's teammates, Verstappen's incident with George Russell and his future in Formula 1.

Warwick is not the first steward to be reprimanded for his comments as Johnny Herbert was also dealt with for similar actions. In fact, the FIA and Herbet completely parted ways at the beginning of 2025 as Herbert's work was no longer fitting for the objective work a steward needs to do.

This article was written in collaboration with Tim Kraaij.