F1 News
FIA steward Herbert elaborates on F1 teams that "whinge"
- Ludo van Denderen
Johnny Herbert is currently in the spotlight. The steward, suspected by Verstappen fans of favouring Lando Norris, has now also spoken out about the outcome of the current season. The Briton, whose decisions could directly affect the outcome of the title race, expects it to be very difficult for Norris to dethrone Verstappen in 2024.
Speaking to Action Network, Herbert stated that McLaren has the fastest car, but that Ferrari is on the rise. "Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz have done very well in recent weeks. Was Norris fastest in Mexico? Yes, probably, but as we know in racing, it’s not as simple who is the fastest and we saw that with Norris’ battle with Verstappen.Norris will need Verstappen to not finish one of the remaining races with a mechanical problem, it’s going to be very hard for Norris to catch up," Herbert said.
Herbert says everyone has complaints
The Briton is also one of the stewards in Brazil. "All the teams whinge, it’s something that happens every race. All teams are constantly seeking a competitive advantage they can have over their teammates. We hear complaints from Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes, everyone! They try and manipulate what the stewards are thinking, but that’s a part of modern-day F1 racing. Do we listen to the complaints? Not really, there is no influence from the teams," Herbert added.
In any case, Herbert gives Verstappen and his competitors a warning in advance: they will also crack down hard in Brazil if necessary. "No, the stewards won’t change anything in Brazil. We have the guidelines and that’s what we’ll be sticking to. We will judge what happens on the circuit in the same way we have all season. The decisions and penalties applied have been pretty much correct the whole season, teams have come up to us after races and agreed with our decisions."
This article has been created in collaboration with Matt Gretton