Former F1 racer Warwick suspended as Canadian Grand Prix steward
The FIA did not specify what the 70-year-old Briton, who raced from 1981 to 1993, had said but media reports said Warwick had been quoted by a betting platform talking about the Spanish Grand Prix.
Red Bull's reigning champion Max Verstappen was handed three penalty points in Spain for a collision on June 1 with Mercedes driver George Russell, a sanction that left the Dutch driver one point away from a ban.
'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,' the governing body said in a statement on Friday.
'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 discussions, Derek acknowledges 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.'
Warwick is the second steward to be dropped this year for unauthorised comments, with compatriot Johnny Herbert suffering that fate in January because his work as a media pundit was declared incompatible with the role.
Meanwhile, Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur slammed media reports in Italy that he said were disrespectful and distracting for employees and damaging the team. Speaking a day after seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton defended his boss as the man to lead the team back to the top, Vasseur showed he was hurting as he gave his own personal response.
Ferrari are second to McLaren in the constructors' standings, but 197 points behind, and have not won a F1 championship since 2008.
Some media reports in Italy have suggested Vasseur's position is at risk, along with other senior employees, and that driver Charles Leclerc could be looking for a move elsewhere. Hamilton's future has also been questioned. 'It's not about myself, I believe, because this I can manage,' said Vasseur, who started out saying he would have to remain calm.
'It's more about the people of the team. To throw their names like this, I think it's just disrespectful for them, for the family. Perhaps it's to give shit to the team, but in this case, I don't see the point,' he said of the speculation, a comment that could put him in hot water with the FIA for using bad language.
He suggested it might be the only way some reporters operated.
'This is probably more the reason, but it's really hurting the team... when you are fighting for the championship, every single detail makes a difference. From the beginning of the weekend, we are just thinking about this.
'If it's their target to put the team in this situation, they reached their goal, but I think it's not like this that we'll be able to win a championship — and at least not with this kind of journalist around us.'
The Frenchman said he knew what he was taking on when he became principal in 2023, and could handle it, but it was hard for employees with families to read that their positions might be at risk.
Vasseur pointed out that Leclerc had a long-term contract, and repeatedly said he wanted to stay. 'Each single interview from the beginning of the season, he's saying that he wants to stay with Ferrari, he wants to win with Ferrari, his future is with Ferrari,' said the team boss.
'But every single Monday, we have articles saying that Charles will go next year. I don't know what we have to do.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
IOL News
3 days ago
- IOL News
Kaizer Chiefs ready for a pivotal campaign as they kick-off the Betway Premiership against Stellenbosch without coach Nasreddine Nabi
DURBAN-born Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Ethan Chislett one of the expected players to show status. | BackpagePix Image: BACKPAGEPIX Kaizer Chiefs will enter a make-or-break season under coach Nasreddine Nabi, which is why the players need to blend quickly and hit the ground running. Chiefs finished ninth in the Betway Premiership last season, a disappointing result given their high hopes for the campaign. So despite winning the Nedbank Cup and ending their 10-year trophy drought, there were still calls for Nabi to be sacked. However, the management decided to retain the Tunisia-born coach, backing him with adequate preparations and squad depth. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading Chiefs toured the Netherlands last month, playing five training matches against Dutch outfits. They lost four and won one. The club also strengthened the squad with six new players: Siphesihle Ndlovu, Ethan Chislett, Thabiso Monyane, Paseka Mako, Flavio Silva, and Nkanyiso Shinga. Silva, however, faced criticism for his performances in the Netherlands, as the Portugal-born striker appeared out of sorts in the final third. Nabi said he was surprised to hear such reports and has backed the 29-year-old to adapt in time. 'I was a little surprised to hear about the negative comments, but as long as the player has signed for Kaizer Chiefs, it's our duty to work with him,' Nabi said. 'We also have to give him time to adapt. That doesn't only apply to Flavio but to anyone new, which is why I won't single him out. 'We need to put other players in the same bracket, including the younger ones coming from the DStv Diski Challenge team.' After Mduduzi Shabalala, Mfundo Vilakazi, and Wandile Duba showed flashes of brilliance last season, Nabi has backed the youngsters to grow in leaps and bounds this year. 'We believe that the competition those players are going to face will make them better and improve their performances,' Nabi said. 'Without competition, young players sometimes lose focus, and after a few months, they won't be consistent. 'But we are going to need everyone to step up and raise their hands this season, not just Duba or Shabalala. 'We are going to need Naledi (Hlongwane), Thulani (Mabaso), and Matlaba (Nkgwesa) because of the developments this season.' Coach Update We regret to inform our supporters that Coach Nasreddine Nabi will not be traveling with the team to Cape Town for our opening game of the 2025/26 Betway Premiership season against Stellenbosch FC this #Amakhosi4Life — Kaizer Chiefs (@KaizerChiefs) August 8, 2025
TimesLIVE
6 days ago
- TimesLIVE
Khoza applauds his sons for Orlando Pirates' Amstel deal
Orlando Pirates chair Irvin 'Iron Duke' Khoza says the club's sponsorship deal with Amstel was based on the experience and strong brand legacies of the two entities. Pirates announced the beer brand as their new sponsor at a whirlwind ceremony of glitz and glamour at Orlando Stadium on Wednesday. A-listers of the music industry Sjava and Bucie entertained the audience that included several Pirates legends including Edward 'Magents' Motale and Happy Jele. When your favourite artist (Sjava), your favourite Beer (Amstel) and your favourite soccer team (Orlando Pirates) come together 🤟🏾🤟🏾🤌🏽🤌🏽🙏🏽 — ✞ ARCHBISHOP ✞ (@KingBishop1st) August 6, 2025 Khoza congratulated his sons Mpumi and Nkosana for brokering the deal with the Dutch brewery giant. The club's previous beer sponsor was Carling Black Label. 'There are two elements we share with Amstel. The first is providing experience and the second is maintaining legacies. 'Amstel, I can tell you, this club is strong on loyalty. If you look at our sponsorships, they've gone past 30 years — with Adidas, Vodacom, we've been together for 30 years. When you see @Lawrence_Maleka on the mic, you already know it's premium vibes! 🔥 The perfect host for the Amstel x Orlando Pirates celebration. — Rorisang Masina (@Rorisangmasina_) August 6, 2025 'Without history, tradition and culture you can't be a brand. This brand has stood the test of time and that's why it's important for us to share the platform with a team born in 1870 — that's Amstel — because they are also strong on legacy and experience.' Heineken Beverages marketing director Andrea Quaye said Amstel opted to associate itself with Pirates because it 'shares similar values' with the Soweto giants. They hope the partnership will run beyond the initial three years. 'We value the same things and we believe valuing the same things will allow us to have a long-term relationship,' Quaye said. 'This partnership is an important step for us into local football. Beer and football have the same role in society, which is about connecting people and it's also about creating experiences and bringing joy and happiness to people.'
TimesLIVE
6 days ago
- TimesLIVE
Mercedes upbeat after binning suspension upgrade
Former champions Mercedes hope to be challenging for wins again when they return from Formula One's August break after binning a rear suspension upgrade that made the car slower. The upgrade was introduced at Imola in May after George Russell had finished in the top three in four of the first six races. The Briton finished only seventh in that Italian race and Mercedes dropped the upgrade for the next two rounds before bringing it back for Canada, a race Russell won. That proved misleading, and Russell struggled in the following four races until Mercedes reverted to the old package for Hungary last weekend and he finished third. Rookie teammate Kimi Antonelli was also back in the points at the Hungaroring, finishing 10th after three races without scoring. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said the upgrade would 'be ending up in a bin somewhere'. 'We were misled a bit by the Montreal win ... we came to the conclusion it needed to come off, it went off and the car's back to solid form,' said the Austrian. Trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin said in a Hungarian GP debrief on Wednesday that the car was now easier to work with and the drivers more confident in attacking the corners. 'If we make a new suspension, we're doing it to make the car go quicker ... and clearly there's something that wasn't right,' he added. 'And it's not something that was dead obvious. Otherwise, we wouldn't have had the issue in the first place.' Shovlin said the learning would help Russell in his battle with Red Bull's Max Verstappen for third place overall behind the McLaren drivers, and Mercedes chasing second in the constructors'. 'Budapest showed that we've got a good car when we land it in the right place,' said Shovlin. 'And then hopefully there'll be an opportunity to build on our tally of race wins. 'We had a great time in Montreal. There's other circuits that are a bit more like that coming up over the remaining 10 races and hopefully we'll have a few more highlights.'
