Another bit of controversy has crept into the Formula 1 paddock as the sport gears up for the 2025 season. It was announced earlier this month that the FIA had decided to sack Johnny Herbert from their panel of Stewards.
The official statement from the FIA read, “It was mutually agreed that his duties as an FIA steward and that of a media pundit were incompatible”. However, veteran F1 journalist and Herbert’s friend, Ian Parkes, believes the reason for the 60-year-old’s sacking was the controversial nature of his comments.
“For me, I think on occasion some of his remarks have gone a little bit too far and of course what’s eventually happened is that it looks like the FIA has decided enough is enough,” Parkes explained on the RacingNews365 podcast.
It is with regret that we announce that Johnny Herbert will no longer fulfil the position of F1 driver steward for the FIA#FIA pic.twitter.com/e6CTWtAWJZ
— FIA (@fia) January 29, 2025
Parkes went on to highlight certain instances where the former Benetton driver gave interviews to many prominent gambling websites. Moreover, despite being an FIA Steward, Herbert, at times, seemingly was biased towards British drivers.
The most prominent instance came after the Mexican GP, wherein Max Verstappen was involved in a series of tense incidents with Lando Norris. Pushing the McLaren man off the track, not once but twice, the Dutchman received two 10-second penalties.
Herbert stated that these penalties were correct and deemed the Red Bull driver’s driving style as “harsh”. While he was allowed to give his opinion in the media, it seemed a bit biased towards British drivers, which wasn’t a good look for his position as an FIA steward.
As a result, Verstappen called him out for the same. This led to a war of words between Herbert, Max, and his father, Jos Verstappen. Many in the paddock have also speculated that it was the influence of the Verstappens that finally tipped the hand of the FIA to sack the British former racing driver.
Did Max play a hand in getting Herbert sacked?
Because of how Max and his father criticized Herbert last year, many believed that the Verstppens had a role to play in the 60-year-old’s sacking. However, Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner has categorically denied Max’s role in the decision.
“Firstly, it has absolutely nothing to do with Max but it’s absolutely the right decision,” Horner said at the Autosport Awards as quoted by Motorsport Week. The 51-year-old added, “You cannot have stewards working in the media. You’re either on the sporting regulatory side or you’re on the media side. You can’t have a foot in both camps”.
Herbert isn’t completely out of a job, though. Soon after the FIA announced his departure, he was revealed as Lola Car’s Global Brand Ambassador for the upcoming 2025 Formula E championship.
