Controversial steward sacked by FIA; deemed ‘incompatible’

Johnny Herbert has been removed from the FIA stewards’ panel

The FIA’s master of hot-takes, Johnny Herbert, has recently been given the boot as his role as both a steward of the governing organization and a media pundit for the sport has seemingly resulted in a few issues, likely due to his controversial statements. Herbert, who was a former Formula 1 driver himself who managed three Grand Prix wins throughout the course of his career from 1989 to 2000, has been with the FIA until recently, assisting in several race decision.

However, unlike most stewards, Herbert also has a career off the judging room. Until around two years ago, Herbert had been a pundit for Sky Sports F1 for nearly a decade, having joined the British broadcasting team in 2012. Though he hasn’t been in Sky Sports for over two years now, it hasn’t stopped him from giving some fairly controversial takes.

The 60-year old Britain first attracted attention when he had some comments to make about Max Verstappen’s 20-second time penalty given during the 2024 Mexico City Grand Prix. He noted that the Red Bull driver’s driving had been hugely wrong and that he had a “hideous mindset.”

“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.”

Both the Dutchman’s father Jos Verstappen and the Red Bull team had criticized the steward for these comments, stating that he was a risk for potential bias in the FIA’s decisions in the sport. Jos Verstappen specifically stated that retaining the Britain in the FIA’s stewarding team would risk “the appearance of a conflict of interest” regarding the choice of the FIA’s stewards.

To this, Herbert retaliated, stating that he had a right to his opinion when he was not actively stewarding.

“As I have always said, I am Johnny Herbert the steward and the professional during a race weekend and Johnny Herbert a pundit at other times who expresses what he thinks.”

“When I am a steward, I do not express any opinions. Everyone has an opinion. Martin Brundle has an opinion. Why can’t I when I am not at the racetrack?”

He then directed his comments to Jos and Max Verstappen, denying that there was any bias towards the Dutchman.

“The racetrack has been my world for 50 years. If I don’t quite agree with what I see on the racetrack I will say so. It is not just Max. I’ll criticise anyone if I feel it is warranted.

“I understand it from Jos’s point of view because it is his son.

“Is there any bias? No, of course not.”

The FIA put out their official announcement stating that Herbert would no longer be a part of the Stewards’ panel in the upcoming season recently.

“It is with regret that we announce today that Johnny Herbert will no longer fulfill the position of F1 driver steward for the FIA. 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 endeavors.”

Just days before being given the axe, Herbert warned the Max Verstappen that his rival drivers would retaliate against him if he continued to drive the way he did.

He stated that Verstappen was “intimidating everybody on track with comments that he was making about every single driver” and that eventually, the drivers began to “rebel” and “push back.”

The former steward encouraged this type of behavior, noting that retaliating against what they think is wrong is “something that is needed in the sport.” Shifting his comments to a specific series of off-track incidents that happened between Verstappen and Mercedes driver George Russell, Herbert elaborated on his point further.

“They should have respect for each other and sometimes, they show that respect when you stand up and say, ‘No, that’s not the right thing’, as Russell did to the press.”

“And I think that’s a good strength, a very, very good strength to have because as much as Verstappen always wants to intimidate everybody, suddenly there’ll be a question mark, can another driver intimidate him at this particular corner? This particular lap? At this particular time in the championship?”

McLaren Racing’s CEO had his own comments to make about the exit of the British steward, stating that he had always recommended permanent stewards in the sport. Currently, FIA stewards are unpaid volunteers with a panel of stewards at a Grand Prix consisting of four FIA officials.

“I don’t think we’re set up for success by not having full-time stewards,” he said. Further, he stated that while having permanent stewards may come with expenses, this should not be a problem for the teams to cover.

“As far as paying for stewards, this will probably be unpopular amongst my fellow teams [but] I’m happy if McLaren and all the racing teams contribute. I think it’s so important for the sport. It can’t be that expensive. If everyone contributes it’s not going to break the bank.”