Johnny Herbert has lost his role as an FIA steward, three months after penalising Max Verstappen in last year’s Mexico City Grand Prix, and then criticising the world champion for a “horrible mindset”, saying that he fully deserved the 20 seconds of penalties for “over-the-top” driving.
The former F1 driver was one of four stewards who unanimously backed the penalties after Verstappen forced Lando Norris off the road in the Mexican race. As debate raged over driving standards following the Grand Prix, Herbert added more fuel to the controversy when he was paid by a gambling firm to give his view on the incident, which appeared at odds with his role as an impartial race official.
“Those penalties in Mexico won’t stop Max Verstappen from pushing Lando Norris off the track in the future,” Herbert said. “I don’t see Verstappen’s driving changing because the number one goal is to stop Norris from closing the gap for the drivers’ championship. We potentially still have a lot of interesting racing coming our way.”
Today, the FIA, racing’s governing body, announced that Herbert would not be resuming his duties as a race official. “It is with regret that we announce today that Johnny Herbert will no longer fulfil the position of F1 driver steward for the FIA,” it said in a statement.
“Johnny is widely respected and brought invaluable experience and expertise to his role. However, after discussion, it was mutually agreed that his duties as an FIA steward and that of a media pundit were incompatible.
“We thank him for his service and wish him well in his future endeavours.”
While Herbert has worked as a steward since 2011 and as a TV pundit at Sky for 11 years until 2023, he hasn’t carried out both roles during the same race weekend, meaning that he has not been offering immediate analysis on incidents that he has judged.
His comments in the immediate aftermath of Mexico — particularly regarding Verstappen’s attitude and the effectiveness of the penalties are thought to have crossed a line.
Herbert was a regular member of the rotating four-person stewards’ panel that rules on driving infractions during F1 races, putting him at the very centre of the drama in Mexico when Verstappen forced Norris off track as the McLaren driver attempted to overtake on the outside.
That left Norris ahead of the Red Bull driver who then lunged down the inside at speed, running off track and forcing Norris off with him. Two 10sec penalties — one for for each move — were issued by the stewards, which were served by Verstappen at his first pitstop.
“It’s the guidelines we followed, the teams agreed with our decisions,” said Herbert, who dismissed accusations of ‘British bias’. “The right decision was made, the 20-second penalty for Verstappen was not harsh. Verstappen’s driving style was harsh, especially when he’s taking a fellow driver off the track. It’s an absolute no-no from me, current drivers, former drivers and stewards.
“The whole intention of Verstappen [in Mexico] was to try to let Ferrari get the one-two finish”
“The attitude in the stewards’ room was really good and our decision was clear because the guidelines tell us what to look at and how to deal with the situation. When we applied the two ten-second penalties to Max Verstappen, we were all in agreement. Always remember, there are four stewards who make these decisions.”
The Mexico City GP followed a contentious race in Austin where Norris had also been forced out wide while trying to overtake on the outside. No penalty was given. That incident triggered a move to revise current driving standards guidelines, which set expectations for drivers, including when they must leave space for others during overtaking attempts.
An updated set of guidelines, which clearly prohibit drivers from making aggressive defensive moves that take them off the track, were introduced later in the year.
Herbert reiterated his belief that the penalties would have no effect on Verstappen, whose eyes were firmly on securing his fourth world championship for which Norris was a greater obstacle than Ferrari.
“The whole intention of Verstappen [in Mexico] was to try to let Ferrari get the one-two finish,” said Herbert. “I think that’s definitely what Verstappen intended and tried to achieve, I understand why he did it but I don’t agree with it, I don’t think many people do.
“I am such a big fan of Verstappen and it frustrates me massively when he drives the way he did in Mexico. He doesn’t need to do it, he’s so good in the cockpit and at this point in the championship, he just needs to stay out of trouble and drive as well as possible.
“When Verstappen goes into this horrible mindset of trying to gain an advantage by taking a fellow driver off the race track so Ferrari can get the one-two, that’s where Verstappen needs to know he doesn’t have to do that. Just win in the cleanest possible way you can.”
