By Andrew Benson BBC Sport in Bahrain

Prost won the drivers' championship in 1985, 1986, 1989 and 1993

Four-time world champion Alain Prost has been appointed one of the stewards adjudicating at the opening race of the Formula 1 season in Bahrain.

Prost, second in the all-time winners' list behind Michael Schumacher, will be one of four stewards and will have full voting powers.

He is the first ex-driver to fulfil the role, devised by Jean Todt, the new president of governing body the FIA.

Damon Hill has agreed to take the same position at two races later this year.

Graham Stoker, the FIA deputy president for sport, said Hill would probably fulfil the role for Monaco and one other event.

Johnny Herbert and Heinz-Harald Frentzen, who both won races in the 1990s, and former Benetton, McLaren and Williams driver Alexander Wurz have all already agreed to take part this year.

The goal should be that at the end of the day, when people go home, they know the result Graham Stoker FIA Deputy President for Sport

The move is an attempt to end the criticism that has been directed at some controversial stewards' decisions in recent years.

They have come under fire for inconsistency and for not understanding what a driver is going through during a race.

An FIA spokesman said the move would "bring a driver's experience to some of the decision-making processes".

Stoker added that the FIA's aim was to ensure that the stewards could come to a definitive conclusion on any issue that had an effect on the result of a race sooner than had been the case in the past.

"The goal should be that at the end of the day, when people go home, they know the result," Stoker said.

Todt said he expected Prost and the other drivers to make a "strong contribution" to the stewards' role.

Prost, 55, is a heavyweight - and highly regarded - first candidate for the role.

In a 14-year career spanning 199 races from 1980 to 1993, the Frenchman won 51 grands prix.

That mark that has been beaten only by Schumacher and is 10 more than the third man on the list: his old rival, the late Ayrton Senna.

Prost's tally of four world drivers' titles has been beaten only by Schumacher's seven and the Argentine legend Juan Manuel Fangio.

Prost also has first-hand experience of controversial situations, having been involved in two title-deciding collisions with Senna during an intense six-year rivalry.

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version