F1 steward is a ‘big fan’ of Max Verstappen but hates what he once did to Lewis Hamilton

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Max Verstappen landed himself in hot water again during the Mexico City Grand Prix when he was handed two penalties for his robust defence against Lando Norris.

Verstappen was battling with Norris in the opening stages of the race when the Briton attempted a move around the outside of Turn 4. The Red Bull driver held his line and went deep into the corner, forcing the McLaren to take to the escape road.

After the Briton rejoined ahead of him on track, Verstappen dove down the inside of Turn 8 and forced both cars off the track, enabling Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to cut through into second place.

The stewards handed Verstappen 10-second time penalties for both incidents, in what was a statement move after consultation between the drivers and the FIA over the guidelines used to issue penalties.

One of the stewards in the room making the decisions was former F1 driver Johnny Herbert, who drew criticism from Verstappen’s father for his apparent bias in making decisions to favour a British driver. Herbert responded to the comments when speaking to Formule1.nl.

Johnny Herbert responds to Jos Verstappen’s bias claim

Stewards in F1 usually consist of one permanent member, two local stewards, and a driver steward which rotates on availability.

Herbert had replaced Derek Warwick, who adjudicated the race in Austin, and was one of the key members who decided on Verstappen’s penalties totalling 20-seconds.

The former driver has responded to claims that he was biased against Verstappen when issuing the penalty during the race.

“Jos [Verstappen] is really so wrong,” said Herbert. “I’m a big fan of Max. He is one of the best drivers I have ever seen.

“But then Max makes manoeuvres like last week in Turn 7 in Mexico and Turn 4 in Brazil [in 2021 in his duel with Lewis Hamilton]. Then I think, ‘Why?’ You’re so much better than that. You don’t need that kind of action at all.”

Why Max Verstappen received a harsher penalty than Lando Norris

Verstappen’s penalty in Mexico for leaving the track and gaining an advantage was harsher than the one issued to Norris in Austin.

Whereas Norris only received a five-second time penalty for his late move to secure the final podium place, Verstappen was handed a 10-second penalty.

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

This was because the stewards felt Norris was put in a compromising position at Austin because he was on the outside of the corner, thereby meaning he was entitled to some racing room from Verstappen.

The stewards reduced the tariff in this case because of the mitigating circumstances, whereas with Verstappen they issued the standard tariff.