The FIA’s stance on stewards being on the track at the Las Vegas Grand Prix highlights a serious issue

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Off-track drama at the Las Vegas Grand Prix perhaps overshadowed a concerning problem on it, as stewards were once again seen on the circuit.

Max Verstappen won the Las Vegas GP in commanding fashion. The Red Bull driver took the lead from Lando Norris at the first corner and disappeared into the distance.

The McLaren driver would finish second ahead of George Russell, but Norris and Oscar Piastri were later disqualified for excessive plank wear. With this chaos and subsequent consequences for the championship, one would be forgiven for forgetting what happened at turn one at the start.

Liam Lawson collided with Piastri, while Gabriel Bortoleto rammed into Lance Stroll and took him out of the race. In the ensuing drama, stewards were seen on the run-off area cleaning up debris, but the FIA did not deploy a safety car or a VSC.

Instead, double-waved yellows were present at turn one until the damage was cleared and the race got back underway. It was almost an identical situation to Lawson at the Mexican Grand Prix, when he narrowly avoided hitting two marshals.

The FIA saw no issue with stewards being on the track at the Las Vegas GP – it’s a serious problem for F1

Despite the seriousness of the situation, the FIA felt that the incidents in Mexico and Las Vegas were different. According to a report from The Race, there was no ‘miscommunication’ between race control and the marshals.

No one was aware that personnel were on the track in Mexico when Lawson came past. But in Las Vegas, race control were aware that stewards were on the run-off area, and that ‘they would largely have completed the cleanup by the time the field passed’.

The FIA also say that the VSC ‘was not deemed necessary’ because they were on the run-off, rather than the actual circuit. A VSC was deployed later in the race when marshals had to clear a piece of Alex Albon’s front wing on the strip.

The governing body’s stance on the matter highlights a very serious problem for F1. Under no circumstances should a track marshal be on the track, whether it be in the run-off or not, without a proper stoppage.

While the double-waved yellows slowed the field down, a car could very easily lose control and end up in the run-off area, creating a much nastier situation, like Mexico City almost saw. A VSC would have neutralised the field to a controlled pace and prevented such a situation.

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Niels Wittich fumes over stewards being on the track at the Las Vegas Grand Prix

It is an issue that the FIA simply have to address. These situations can become much worse if the appropriate measures are not taken.

Former F1 race director Niels Wittich was enraged by the ordeal in Las Vegas. He told Sky Germany: “This shouldn’t happen. This situation is absolutely unacceptable.

“For it to take so long that the cars are already returning on their flying lap… a double yellow flag is no longer sufficient at that point. That’s simply wrong.

“Activating a full course yellow can be done in a second, and then everyone has to slow down. That would have been the quickest and simplest solution.”