Oct.31 (GMM) Johnny Herbert has lashed back at critics like Max Verstappen’s father who believe certain FIA officials are biased against the triple world champion.
After the Red Bull driver was penalised 20 seconds for his on-track stoushes with title rival Lando Norris in Mexico, where former British F1 driver Herbert was on the stewards’ panel, Jos Verstappen aired his opinion to the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf.
“Max is not going to adjust his driving style just because there are a few stewards who don’t like him.”
Some believe Verstappen senior was clearly referring to Herbert, who will be back on duty this weekend in Brazil, but also Tim Mayer – son of McLaren co-founder Teddy.
“The FIA should take a good look at the composition of the stewards, and who they put there, and whether there is any conflict of interest – for example, former drivers who have more sympathy for certain drivers or teams,” Jos added.
Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko thinks the stewards in Mexico wanted to “make an example” of Verstappen with their “harsh punishment” – including adding two penalty points to his super license.
“The problem is that the stewards decide one way or another,” he told Osterreich newspaper. “There is no clear line, there is no consistency.
“We don’t necessarily need these ex-racing drivers – we need professional stewards. Neutral people who make objective decisions based on fixed rules,” Marko added.
Herbert, however, hit back at both types of opinions, insisting the stewards simply follow the “guidelines” set down by the FIA when making decisions.
“There always seems to be an issue about us British stewards being biased,” said the former Benetton, Sauber and Jaguar driver. “But when we’re in that room, we abide by the rules and guidelines from the FIA.
“To say it’s biased is absolutely ridiculous and not the case,” Herbert added. “We try as hard as possible to be fair in our judgement.
“The issue we have is the tactics we see on the track. The stewards won’t change anything in Brazil. We have the guidelines and that’s what we’ll be sticking to.”
The 60-year-old says his opinion is also backed up by the Formula 1 teams.
“The decisions and penalties applied have been pretty much correct the whole season,” said Herbert, who won three grands prix across his 12-season F1 career. “Teams have come up to us after races and agreed with our decisions.”
He did admit that he was personally appalled by Verstappen’s driving last Sunday.
“I am such a big fan of Verstappen and it frustrates me massively when he drives the way he did in Mexico,” Herbert admitted. “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 he needs to know he doesn’t have to do that. Just win in the cleanest possible way you can.”