With Johnny Herbert, one of Formula 1’s most famous stewards for the 2025 season has to take his hat off. Another former F1 driver will probably follow the British.
Formula 1 steward panel will probably lose another well-known face in the 2025 season. As the former Finnish F1 driver Mika Salo explained in an interview, he will probably give up his post in the premier class this year.
“I’m not saying that it is already certain, but it is unlikely that I will continue to work as a steward,” Salo indicated his farewell in an interview with newspaper “Iltalehti”. He would be the second celebrity within a very short time that loses the place. Only a few weeks ago it became known that Formula 1 no longer worked with Johnny Herbert.
Ex-Formula 1 driver sees “small conflicts of interest”
Salo cited term problems as a reason for his possible withdrawal. “I don’t have the time. Other things have overlapped the calendar. There are also small conflicts of interest when doing another work in the same sport,” said Salo, who was a TV expert for the broadcaster “ViaPlay” in the season is active.
Such a double role had caused resentment in the paddock in the case of Herbert. In his role as a TV expert in public interviews, the Englishman had repeatedly explained the decisions of the stewards in detail and criticized the driver. The Formula 1 teams did not agree, the Formula 1 ultimately not.
Sato does not want to annoy anyone
It is “difficult” to work in said double role, Sato also believes: “I prefer not to do it at the same time than to take the risk that someone gets angry with me.”
However, the Finn does not want to compare his own situation with the case of Herbert. “He criticized Max Verstappen and some other drivers quite publicly, so the FIA did not think he was an impartial steward,” said the Finn, who does not want to put on this shoe.