How does the FIA train the next generation of motorsport stewards?

The FIA announced the new batch of HPP students at the FIA Officials Summit at Jarama, Madrid, in February 2025. This was the first such event since 2020.

 

At the summit, which was attended by around 230 officials from every FIA world championship including F1 and the World Endurance Championship, the governing body also discussed the emerging role of Artificial Intelligence.

 

 

Speakers, experts, and FIA officials discussed further the use of AI and machine learning in providing clear incident detection and analysis - including in track limit breach detection. 

 

Furthermore, officials were trained in the use of new - but as yet undisclosed - technologies that could assist them in making fast-paced and efficient race control decisions.

 

“Used correctly, artificial intelligence and machine learning provides the next step in efficient and clear decisions, with AI-assisted race incident detection and analysis, automated track limit enforcement, and predictive analytics for proactive decision making,” said the FIA. 

 

“High-speed AI-driven video analysis supports improved incident review, with advanced dashboards that consolidate telemetry, GPS, video and team radio, streamlining real-time data integration and visualisation.”

 

It is not clear whether the technologies will be deployed in FIA world championships such as F1 in 2025, but the FIA has demonstrated a notable appetite for machine learning assistance in a race control setting.

 

The motorsport governing body likens the programme to hit movie franchise Top Gun in that the FIA’s initiative trains potential race officials in “high-octane” environments with experience in live racing events.

 

Twelve new students - six stewards and six race directors - have been chosen for the second season of the HPP.

 

On average, the HPP class of 2025-26 is aged under 40 years old, representing 11 countries across five continents, and split equally by gender.

Tuta Mionki is one graduate of the scheme from Kenya. She began her career as a rally co-driver - providing pacenotes to the driver at the wheel - more than a decade ago, and competed until 2020.

The global coronavirus pandemic limited Mionki’s rallying opportunities and she began conversing with experienced motorsport stewards in Kenya before completing FIA stewards’ training and joining the FIA’s HPP in 2023.

“I did two days [at FIA office] in Geneva, training with other HPP members, doing both race control and stewarding,” she said to the FIA.

Mionki was then invited to observe FIA stewards at the 2023 Spanish F1 Grand Prix.

“It was an exciting experience - seeing how decisions are made, sitting in hearings, being able to ask questions,” she said. “The stewards were very open in the way they teach.”

She also observed stewards at the Central European Rally at the end of the 2024 World Rally Championship season.

“It’s a fantastic initiative,” she said of the HPP. “The stewards I’ve worked with are very open, encouraging, and [they] involved us in decision-making processes. These experiences are invaluable.

“You can sit in a classroom and learn a lot, but until you see it being done practically, you almost don’t get it. Moving from watching Formula 1 on TV to sitting in a stewards' room and experiencing what happens, I have a better understanding of decisions and why they are made. I’m grateful for this opportunity and I’d like to thank the FIA president and everyone else behind this programme,” she added.

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said that motorsport “would not exist” without the FIA’s officials.

“The commitment and dedication that our stewards and race directors bring to every event is commendable and I am proud that the FIA can deliver such a high standard of training and development.

“The FIA is a knowledge-led federation and it is our responsibility to ensure this knowledge is shared. Through programmes like these we can identify, support, and grow top talent from across the world, providing greater accessibility and championing diversity.”

In 2024, the HPP had 23 participants representing 16 different FIA Member Clubs while its Regional Stewards Training Programme had nearly 200 participants, with 42% of them female and the average age just above 37 years.

The FIA estimates that there are more than 300,000 formal unpaid officials, marshals and volunteers covering more than 60,000 motorsport events per year. 

The HPP is part of its efforts to continue diversifying its roster of officials and supporting volunteers such as Mionki - while ensuring that its motorsport competitions are regulated fairly across the board.