GPDA chairman George Russell does not believe that FIA race commissioners such as Derek Warwick should be gagged
Derek Warwick was summarily suspended as the designated FIA race commissioner at the Canadian Grand Prix because he had given an interview shortly before. And not just any interview: an agency commissioned by its clients to promote gambling platforms had spoken to Warwick and then made the content available to the media for free use, in exchange for naming the source and setting backlinks.
The suspension was not only about what Warwick said (including his assessment of the decision in the Russell vs. Verstappen case in Barcelona), but above all about who he said it to. Before him, the FIA had already reprimanded Johnny Herbert for so-called “casino interviews.”
However, George Russell, chairman of the drivers’ union GPDA, has no fundamental problem with even race stewards, who are something like the referees of Formula 1, giving interviews: “We are all open to everyone having their own opinion. I don’t think what Derek said really offended anyone. That’s why he’ll be back,” said the Mercedes driver.
Warwick was relieved of his duties as commissioner by the FIA for the race weekend in Montreal and replaced by Enrique Bernoldi. However, his other scheduled assignments for the rest of the 2025 Formula 1 season remain unchanged for now. These days, says Russell, “every single word is weighed on a gold scale. That’s just the nature of the game we play here.”
“You also have to remember that the stewards are volunteers. They don’t earn any money from the job. They also have lives outside Formula 1,” says Russell – and is slightly off the mark here, incidentally: the stewards receive an expense allowance of around €1,000 per race weekend, and their travel expenses are of course covered by the FIA.
Nevertheless, Russell takes a relaxed view of the Warwick issue: “We all talk to the media in the paddock. So yes, if it had gone beyond this temporary – not suspension, but just this temporary non-appointment as a steward this weekend – then I think it would have been excessive.”
