The FIA has had a driver on the stewards panel at each Formula 1 Grand Prix for a couple of seasons now, and inevitably some of the novelty has worn off. Certainly there’s not the same ‘big reveal’ around which driver it will be each weekend.

But I thought it might be interesting to look back at two full seasons of driver stewards, and see who’s been up there in the stewards room. So I made this:

Formula 1 FIA Driver Steward League Table

NB: earliest appearance used as tie-breaker

Analysis!

My assumption, I admit, was that relatively less successful drivers have probably dominated. I don’t think that’s the case though.

Johnny Herbert is the Driver Steward Champion, if you like, with five appearances. He had a very respectable – if not extraordinary – F1 career: three-times a winner, a clutch of podiums, and a lengthy stay in the sport.

He’s followed by two drivers with four appearances each, both with hefty F1 experience, albeit with differing levels of success: Derek Warwick had a handful of podiums; Nigel Mansell is obviously a former world champion.

Four drivers have made three appearances, and they’re a mixed bunch too: double world champion Emerson Fittipaldi; Heinz-Harald Frentzen, winner of three races; Alexander Wurz, who had a few podiums; and Emanuele Pirro, who had an unremarkable time in F1.

The only driver steward to have never competed in F1 is Tom Kristensen – but his eight Le Mans 24 Hour victories probably make up for that. To be fair, Pirro is a five-time winner too, and Wurz twice.

The rest of the table is a similarly varied selection of drivers: from brief stints in F1, to four-time champion Alain Prost, and everything in between. Those who weren’t long in F1 tend to have achieved elsewhere: Danny Sullivan was IndyCar champion; Allan McNish is another multiple Le Mans winner.

The one exception is Martin Donnelly, whose F1 career was cut short by a huge crash at Jerez in 1990.

Britain!

The only thing that stands out is that the top three are all British. In fact, an awful lot of them are British. But there have been more British F1 drivers than any other nationality, so it’s probably to be expected.

Summary!

Drivers of quality – from respectable racers to legends of the sport – have been quite willing to do their bit, with former world champions no less likely to come back for more. In short: the FIA hasn’t had to plumb the depths of former Formula 1 drivers. It doesn’t look like Zsolt Baumgartner will be needed any time soon.

More!

For completeness, here’s the full list of driver stewards for the 2010 and 2011 seasons. To the best of my knowledge anyway – some of the later 2010 races were a bit tricky to determine.

2010 & 2011 Formula 1 FIA Driver Stewards