Co-author: Ewout Albrecht
Max Verstappen has responded to remarks recently made by Johnny Herbert, calling them “quite extreme accusations.”
Herbert, a former F1 driver and regular Sky Sports F1 pundit from 2012 to 2022, serves as an FIA steward for Formula 1 races. He was part of the stewarding panel in both Austria and Mexico—where Verstappen received penalties—and will again be on duty for the Brazilian Grand Prix this weekend.
In Mexico, the stewards handed Verstappen two separate 10-second penalties for incidents occurring on the same lap following a heated wheel-to-wheel battle with Lando Norris.
Herbert told Action Network: “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. Verstappen needs to know he doesn’t have to do that. Just win in the cleanest possible way you can.”
“Those penalties in Mexico won’t stop Max Verstappen from pushing Lando Norris off the track in the future. The whole intention of Verstappen was to try to let Ferrari get the one-two finish. 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.”
Speaking during a press event in São Paulo, Verstappen responded to Herbert’s comments.
“Well, now you know how he stands,” he said, as quoted by De Telegraaf.
“It’s abnormal that he says this, right? People act like I’m doing it all on purpose. But they can’t look inside my head. These are quite extreme accusations.”
“Yes, we raced hard. That’s right. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.”
Alongside penalties for his on-track behaviour, Verstappen was sanctioned for swearing during a press conference in Singapore, following an FIA crackdown on foul language. Here, Herbert played a role in assigning Verstappen “some work of public interest” as a form of punishment.
“Then he [Herbert] had his big opinion ready. 5-year-olds hear that too,” Verstappen said.
“After Mexico, I didn’t hear him when Charles Leclerc said the same thing. At a press conference that was watched by more. Anyway, it was late in Europe by then, maybe the thought was that those 5-year-olds are all asleep by then.”
Leclerc has not been penalised for his use of an expletive during the post-race press conference in Mexico, but is under investigation and will likely appear in front of the stewards this weekend.
Verstappen chalked much of the criticism up to “pent-up frustrations,” especially from British media and figures within the sport, as he competes against their compatriot for the title.
“If they knew everything so well before their careers, they would all have become champions,” he said. “I know that many people are biased and that I have the wrong passport. I am very happy with my passport, but in this paddock, it is the wrong one. I know how most people are wired.
“Last year, almost everything went perfectly. It must have hurt a lot of people that they couldn’t say anything negative. Now it is all coming out, and they are going all in. They can do as they please. It doesn’t bother me.”
Reflecting on the penalties he received following his latest clash with Norris, Verstappen agreed that the second penalty he received was justified, but questioned the severity of his punishment compared to other recent penalties handed out for seemingly similar incidents.
“That second penalty, that was fine. As for the first one, I especially don’t understand why I get a ten-second penalty while others sometimes get five,” Verstappen said, referencing Norris’s penalty in Austin, where the stewards cited mitigating circumstances as Norris was forced wide in the skirmish. “Yes, you can justify everything like that.”
Verstappen argued that his battles with Norris would be easier if he had a more competitive car, given that Red Bull has been struggling to keep pace with the performance and development of their rivals.
“Because that’s where it all starts. Am I driving like this because I’m up against the wall? No. And if there was a wall, we’d tear it down.”
