In the wake of personal frustration over his driver Nico Hulkenberg earning a penalty at the Monaco Grand Prix that has left him confused, Steiner believes a system overhaul is required.
He thinks the FIA system of using unpaid stewards is no longer fit for purpose, and believes it is time for professionals to be brought in and help deliver improved consistency.
“I think we have to just go back to [the question]: do we need a different system for stewards?” said Steiner ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix.
“Every professional sport has got professionals being referees and stuff like this. F1 is one of the biggest sports in the world, and we still have laymen deciding on the fate of people who invest millions in their careers. And it's always a discussion because there's no consistency.
“I think we need to step it up. I think it's now time. I think we're discussing this for years and years and we always go back to this."
He added: “Every other sport has professionals for this: American racing, NASCAR, IndyCar. How many times you hear problems with the stewards or with race director’s decisions? Very rarely, very rarely. But they're doing it completely differently.
“There are full time people working there. I'm always saying: innocent until proven guilty. And not that I have to be prove that I was innocent, because it doesn't work for me. That is not how I conduct life.”
Steiner’s stance on the stewards' situation has been triggered by Hulkenberg’s penalty in Monaco being given for an incident that the Haas team is baffled by.
Source: Autosport