FIA head steward under fire

The FIA's head race steward has come under attack from teams who protest that the man in question, Alan Donnelly, should be ousted from his position. It is believed that no less than eight teams have signed a petition to remove Donnelly from his role for his 'conflict of interest' in Formula One. Having taken over from Tony Scott Andrews for the start of the 2008 season, it is delegate Donnelly who makes the final decision for any stewards' actions imposed upon drivers over the course of a race weekend, such as grid drops or drive-through penalties during races. Revealed by The Guardian on Tuesday, however, it is understood that eight unnamed teams are reported to want desire a replacement of the chief steward, who is the governing body's main representative at Grands Prix.

Described on Tuesday, FOTA's letter to the FIA describes Donnelly's 'conflict of interest' in the sport:

'It was apparent during the Turkish Grand Prix that several discussions were held between the aforementioned person and several Formula One team representatives with a clear intention to create division between the Formula One Teams' Association teams by misrepresenting the positions of these teams.

This situation raises serious doubts on the autonomy of the judicial functions from the executive functions of the FIA … It is imperative the chairman of the stewards remains totally impartial and we therefore respectfully request these roles are separated. We trust you will … act appropriately.' The Guardian also published a letter of response from the FIA to FOTA: 'We utterly reject the suggestion in the correspondence received.'