Herbert expresses concern for Verstappen: 'Norris could have beaten him then too'

20:00, 23 Jan
51 Comments

Max Verstappen has had a difficult season at Red Bull Racing. Although the Dutchman became champion, the performance of his RB20 dwindled during the season. Although in the end, he finished off the season with two wins in the last four races, Johnny Herbert doubts whether Red Bull will be able to beat the other top teams in 2025.

Since the 2024 Miami Grand Prix, Red Bull Racing did not seem to have the fastest car. On the contrary, when the team made upgrades, the car lost balance. For Verstappen, then, this was a difficult phase. Despite a fairly comfortable lead in the championship, he had to watch as the other teams pushed their cars in the right direction.

In the end, Verstappen became champion, but the turmoil within Red Bull and disappointing performances did spark rumours about the Dutchman's future. In the end, the four-time world champion turned down Mercedes' attempts to contract him. Yet the rumours surrounding his departure from Red Bull have not stopped, with noise being raised last week around that Aston Martin was breaking the piggy bank to offer Verstappen a whopping €1.19 billion to come drive for them.

Herbert on Verstappen and Red Bull Racing

Herbert was asked by Casinoutanspelpaus.io whether Verstappen will leave if Red Bull no longer has the best car. To this, the steward replied, "The positive thing for Red Bull is how they finished the season. They finished quite strong honestly and they were a force to be reckoned with. But as we saw, Lando Norris was still able to beat Verstappen."

Herbert then referred to statements from people within Red Bull, who claimed that the problem had been found. However, the steward himself was not convinced by the statements from within the Red Bull team, having heard the same from Mercedes before.

The Briton therefore continued, "Red Bull still has a good base. I just don't know if they are as strong as McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari, who now have Lewis Hamilton. I think there is a little twist coming in who is going to be the best."

'Verstappen won't become even more aggressive'

Red Bull's disappointing performance meant that Verstappen occasionally had to get his elbows out to fend off his rivals. Herbert, an FIA Steward who punished Verstappen for his actions in Mexico, doesn't think the Dutchman will become even more aggressive: "I think the amount of aggression we are seeing at the moment is probably the most we will see. It is bullying from Verstappen, which to some extent is similar to Michael Schumacher, Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Nigell Mansell, Mika Hakkinen and Sebastian Vettel. All these special drivers have the ability to shine, even when the going gets tough."

This article was written in collaboration with Norberto Mujica.

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51 Comments
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FuriaRapida 24 January 2025 at 10:05+ 211

Why is Herbert so preoccupied with Verstappen? Looking at the new 'rules' coming in and Herbert advising others how to drive against Verstappen, isn't it time this biased man was benched? It's becoming embarrassing.

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Vegan Warrior 24 January 2025 at 06:16+ 4951

Herbert making a fair assessment once more . Get job MR H .

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Racing Bull 24 January 2025 at 06:30+ 2424

"It is bullying from Verstappen, which to some extent is similar to Michael Schumacher, Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Nigell Mansell, Mika Hakkinen and Sebastian Vettel. All these special drivers have the ability to shine, even when the going gets tough." For once I must agree with you pumpkin. Mentioning all the greatest but your guy don't get a mention. Just shows how good max is. Head and shoulders above your attention seeking guy. A true racing driver that gets mention with the all time greats.

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Vegan Warrior 24 January 2025 at 07:22+ 4951

Yes we agree Lewis isn't a bully . "It is bullying from Verstappen, which to some extent is similar to Michael Schumacher, Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Nigell Mansell, Mika Hakkinen and Sebastian Vettel. All these special drivers have the ability to shine, even when the going gets tough." Very glad we could agree on this mate. Ps. You still think a pumpkin is a vegetable?

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Racing Bull 24 January 2025 at 07:46+ 2424

Lol and you still think vegans don't eat fruit. What an idiot you are pumpkin.

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Vegan Warrior 24 January 2025 at 18:28+ 4951

? job done ✔️

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Racing Bull 24 January 2025 at 16:25+ 2424

Lol pumpkin.

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Vegan Warrior 24 January 2025 at 11:40+ 4951

You're just not original at all ? ....idiot. You fixation about my diet and pumpkins ? is all you got on repeat mate . Ps. Glad we agree that Lewis is : Yes we agree Lewis isn't a bully . "It is bullying from Verstappen, which to some extent is similar to Michael Schumacher, Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Nigell Mansell, Mika Hakkinen and Sebastian Vettel. All these special drivers have the ability to shine, even when the going gets tough." Very glad we could agree on this mate.

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Racing Bull 24 January 2025 at 09:04+ 2424

Lol pumpkin. You are not very original without using chatgpt

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Vegan Warrior 24 January 2025 at 08:56+ 4951

Nope I am a Vegan ? fruit is part of my diet. You idiot

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Herr Flick 24 January 2025 at 10:30+ 6015

Morning RB, I wonder if Herbert only mentioned the drivers he actually raced against when making the 'Max' comparison !! Just a thought

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Racing Bull 24 January 2025 at 16:24+ 2424

Hi Herr. I'm only pushing the pumpkins buttons.

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Herr Flick 25 January 2025 at 16:03+ 6015

Oooh RB, you little wind-up merchant you, haha

rport 23 January 2025 at 22:32+ 5780

Notice how this article mentions the consensus opinion that Lando had the fastest car from the Miami GP onward? That would mean Lando had the fastest car for approx. 80% of the season and still lost the championship to Max. Despite expert opinion, Legend the fool believes Max had the fastest car for 50% of the season.

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44-8xLegend 23 January 2025 at 23:50+ 32747

Yet again, you feel the need to mention me in your post. And yet again, I feel the need to remind you how I am clearly living rent free in that spacious room between your ears :) I have never once, ever stated that Max had the fastest car for 50% of the season. So you're starting off on a lie, immediately. This, of course, is of no surprise to me and I'm sure will come as no shock to others. Also, I think you are very confused as to what 'consensus' means. But at least you can spell it, so there may be hope for you learning it's meaning yet. The statement from the author of the article is "Since the 2024 Miami Grand Prix, Red Bull Racing did not seem to have the fastest car. On the contrary, when the team made upgrades, the car lost balance." This is not a consensus, this is a claim, and opinion if you will, from a Dutch editor about a Dutch driver. A way to big-up Max, let's say. Nothing surprising there. Is it accurate? The Miami GP was race 6 out of 24. Max came 2nd in Miami (of which many variables could be taken into account for that and to consider that he didn't win just because his car was not the fastest, is quote foolish indeed). If we are looking at 1st place results defining who had the fastest car (which can be a very inaccurate way to do it), then we cannot ignore that Max won 3 out of the next 4 races. That means Max was in the fasted car up until and including the Spanish GP (race 10 out of 14). That is my claim. It was since race 11 that Red Bull stopped winning until the end of the season with Max losing 10 in a row, before losing 2 more before the end of the season. The author of the article is simply following the trend of the Max fans to make it seem as though Max took 3 wins in a car that was not the fastest. This is a practice that Max fans do on a regular basis - skew the facts to make Max look good. I guess they needed to. The results from race 11 to race 24 do nothing to suggest that McLaren had the fastest car. If they did, it was by a very small margin that left no room for error by the McLaren drivers, or the team. It also required that the McLaren drivers were no subject to bully-boy tactics by a now desperate Verstappen who has switched to 2021-Max mode at that point. Max used unsporting driving tactics on Norris 3 times (Austria, Austin and Mexico) and once on Piastri that ended in a collision (Abu Dhabi). From the Spanish GP onwards, Lando took 3 win and Piastri took 2. Only a fool would stand up and state categorically that McLaren had the fastest car. Unless, of course, you want to believe Lando and Piastri are Perez levels of useless. A Max fan might choose to believe this. But then that doesn't really help their 'Max is the greatest driver to ever walk the Earth' belief. Apparently then, Max has only ever beaten sub-par drivers when he's had to fight for a title. From the perspective of the Max fan, Lewis is sub-par and washed out (as has been stated many times) and now the implication here is that Norris and Piastri are too. Good thing for Max then, that he's never once faced down a good driver and relied on a fake title and a 2.5 season dominant car to help him achieve success over mediocre drivers. rport, the fool, WILL, as Max fans are prone to do, believe ANYTHING that is written about Max, regardless of it's accuracy, as long as it makes them feel better and makes Max look good. Your article author, as 'van de', lest we forget, has no foundation to base this claim on. With that logic you can claim Max has never had the fastest car in his life and it was only his talent that allowed him to win (and I've seen fans claim this btw). Yet the results of the final 14 races of 2024, shit all over that notion. Good day, rport. I await your next (not) genius post. Maybe some research, honesty and adult supervision next time?

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Racing Bull 24 January 2025 at 06:25+ 2424

Legend is not a fool. Don't discredit fools by mentioning legend the idiot in the same sentence. Legend is just a idiot troll that can only stay relevant by trolling max. If Afrikaans we got a nice way of describing him. A hartseer naai.

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Doink 23 January 2025 at 21:10+ 10750

Go Johnny go, go Johnny go go go, he'll singlehandedly make sure Max pays the price in 2025 and for all his past indiscretions, Max is on his radar

NonS 23 January 2025 at 22:32+ 3033

Frustrated knob cheering on another frustrated idiot. How fitting.

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44-8xLegend 23 January 2025 at 23:52+ 32747

Based on what, are you presuming that Johnny Herbet is 'frustrated' and an idiot? Tut tut. The hate from the Max fans towards the non-Max fans and the Brits, is as palpable as ever. Who said the Max fanbase wasn't toxic? :)

iamlegend 24 January 2025 at 21:53+ 727

Biased he is for sure all ready bashing max before season start, and telling others how to beat Max. A Stewart unworthy.

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Racing Bull 24 January 2025 at 06:21+ 2424

Go Johnny go go go. Max factor will beat all your efforts again. 2025 season will be again a hard pill to swallow for the cult.

Toni2 24 January 2025 at 07:01+ 1829

That doesn't sound biased or what

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ManualShift 23 January 2025 at 20:48+ 5806

"It is bullying from Verstappen, which to some extent is similar to Michael Schumacher, Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Nigell Mansell, Mika Hakkinen and Sebastian Vettel. All these special drivers have the ability to shine, even when the going gets tough." Nice group to be in, I reckon.

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44-8xLegend 24 January 2025 at 24:00+ 32747

It would be if that quote even made sense. This is 'Crofty-speak' Mentioning how Max drives by bullying, or by employing unsporting and dirty tactics, then turning them into a positive and excusing such track behaviour by saying "it's because he wants to win." This is what Crofty came out with when a fan told him he didn't like Max. Crofty sucked up to Max like he always does. Claiming that you can do what you like on track, no matter how dirty, no matter if it breaks the rules, as long as you're doing it 'to win', then it should be not only accepted, but praised. Utterly ridiculous. Bullying is not 'the ability to shine'. Shining would be being good enough that you don't have to resort to pushing drivers off or colliding with them and having a 'yield or we crash' sim-racing mentality. Shining is driving hard but fair and clean and coming out on top. Something Max struggles to do both at the same time. Why are you suddenly accepting of an opinion uttered by Johnny Herbert though? Surely you believe he is a biased British idiot. You can't trust his opinions if that's the case. Or is this cherry-picking?

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ManualShift 24 January 2025 at 24:15+ 5806

Commenting. I'm commenting Legend. Nothing more, nothing less.

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44-8xLegend 24 January 2025 at 11:10+ 32747

As are we all MS :) Sometimes I get on a roll though and I get into that zone, y'know? :) Nothing personal.

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Herr Flick 23 January 2025 at 20:34+ 6015

Okay Johnny, I'll give you Schumacher, Senna and obviously Verstappen but Mansell ( always hard, always fair ), Prost ( couldn't be aggressive if his life depended on it ), and Hakkinen ( could get his elbows out, but always a fair racer ) !! Have you been smoking something ?!! ?

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44-8xLegend 24 January 2025 at 24:02+ 32747

I'll add Vettel to that too. What did he ever do that was bullying? Multi-21? Collide with Lewis deliberately when he mistakenly thought he was brake-checked? :) Mild stuff compared to how far Max will go when desperate and pressured.

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Herr Flick 24 January 2025 at 08:03+ 6015

Morning Legend, Vettel slipped below my radar for some reason but totally agree with you, funny ole thing really I couldn't stand his 'right to win' attitude while at RB, fully backed by the Helmet I hasten to add, but I have to say I did warm to him during his time at AM and since as he showed a bit more humility and humour when interviewed

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44-8xLegend 24 January 2025 at 11:03+ 32747

I agree. I was no Vettel fan while he was at Red Bull. There's something about being a RB driver that makes you not a nice person. Perez did his best not to turn into someone disagreeable and I think he did an ok job of that. I fear Lawson will turn into a nasty piece of work under Red Bull's wing too. They instil their toxicity into drivers since Max came to the team. Or maybe it's Max/Jos's influence on RB. But then Horner was always a douche. When Vettel left for Ferrari he became a much better person sociably. No more switching of the finishing position boards. Still 'finger boy' though, and his little incident with Lewis. :) But yeah Vettel turned into a decent guy once the infection of RB had worn off. Jokey, amicable, funny and socially conscious. And became a great friend to Lewis. I wonder if when Max leaves Red Bull and retires, after a few years when the RB stench goes away, he might be somewhat of a nicer person. Or maybe this is truly who he is.

iamlegend 24 January 2025 at 21:57+ 727

like Lewis thought he was brake checked by Max!

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44-8xLegend 25 January 2025 at 08:14+ 32747

If you're referring to Jeddah, then yes he was. The telemetry proved it. The stewards noted the telemetry and it showed Max put 69 bar of force on the brake pedal. The amount you need to emergency brake a supercar. Adrian Newey even had to say Max shouldn't have done it. His own team knew Max was a bonehead. A section of the Stewards decision:- "In deciding to penalise the driver of Car 33, the key point for the Stewards was that the driver of Car 33 then braked suddenly (69 bar) and significantly, resulting in 2.4g deceleration." So Lewis was right. You're ignorance is not your friend. It consistently makes you look like the village idiot of GPBlog. Which, let's face it, you are. How frustrating for you.

iamlegend 26 January 2025 at 18:10+ 727

Again I feel privileged some dude spent so much time on a simple man like me Who is stupid, Abu Dhabi wasn't necessary if Lewis didn't ducked ip with the restart hahahaha, blaim Masi blaim red bull, but don't Blain your boy Lewis! biased wanker.

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44-8xLegend 26 January 2025 at 03:30+ 32747

When you're worth better, I'll put in the effort. Right now, be thankful you get this because it's way more than what you deserve. You can't face truths can you. When you are shown up to be wrong or simply the fool you are, this is your reply. :) Can't face the sad reality that you're no match for me and never will be. I'd rather be boring than be thick.

iamlegend 25 January 2025 at 11:20+ 727

Boring, you can do better.

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Carnivore Crusader 33-4x 23 January 2025 at 20:08+ 1912

Wait, where was Prost and Hakkinen so aggressive? Is he just throwing names around now? I wonder how his comments change the odds on all the betting sites? I also wonder how much he gets paid to run his mouth like this?

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44-8xLegend 24 January 2025 at 24:04+ 32747

What would his pay have to do with anything? Planning a go yourself? I think you'd need to be credentialed. But, guess what, I agree with you about Prost and Hakkinen, and I'd throw in Vettel too. Senna and Schumacher both did deliberately dirty moves on track and so it's only fair Max be thrown in with them. If a driver is ever going to be compare to Senna and Schumacher, this is the worst way if could happen. By having your dirty moments compared to theirs.

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Game on-x4 24 January 2025 at 05:52+ 46571

Herbert hopes Hamilton will be champion LOL...

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Mavric 24 January 2025 at 09:34+ 19032

What herbert means he going try anything he can in the stewards room to help lewis get his 8th .he try his best for lando and look how that worked out ??

iamlegend 26 January 2025 at 18:13+ 727

Boring, so much time wasted. Masi did what he had to do!, and if Lewis didn't ducked up in Baku with the restart, there was nothing to give, as you like to call it.

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44-8xLegend 26 January 2025 at 03:28+ 32747

Max didn't win his first championship. It was gifted to him. To win it, you have to do it on merit. It was literally virtually impossible for Max to win in Abu Dhabi had Masi stuck to the rules. No scenario within Masi's legal options allowed Max to win. The only way was to cheat and break the rules. And that is how Max's win was recorded. But he actually didn't win it. The race was illegally manipulated for him so he could do it. You don't really win if you have to cheat. Monza was an attack from Max. So was Jeddah, so was Brazil, so was Adu Dhabi - and 4-5 other races where Max had to force Lewis off track because he was unable to beat Lewis clean. "Hungary, Bottas played bowling with F1 cars, to help Lewis off course, because that was his place, swap places, take out red bull and so on." You're an abject idiot if you think Bottas's error in Hungary was done to help Lewis or that Botta's role was to 'take out Red Bull'. Not one in 2021 did Bottas make contact with a RB car. You'd need to be smarter than Einstein to work out the mathematics and trajectories of all the cars in the wet to work out how to hit a McLaren so that Verstappen who was multiple cars ahead would be inconvenienced. See, you just can't argue like an adult. You just talk utter shite. No wonder your resort to trolling. When you try to argue, you're an embarrassment and you come across like a mindless fool. "but he didn't did he, " Due to cheating and rule breaking, it was gifted to Max. A fake, illegal title. But the reality is that Lewis did everything need to win that 2021 title. It was his. And only race manipulation or an car breakdown could take that away. His car didn't break down. Lewis was the moral victor and he did what was needed to beat Max in the end. End the race before Masi broke the rules and what's the result?

iamlegend 25 January 2025 at 11:25+ 727

Silverstone was a attack from Lewis, as he was at fault, still Max won his first championship. Hungary, Bottas played bowling with F1 cars, to help Lewis off course, because that was his place, swap places, take out red bull and so on. "Lewis fked up and he still was going to beat Max in Abu Dhabi" but he didn't did he,

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44-8xLegend 25 January 2025 at 08:05+ 32747

Lewis won in Silverstone. Max fked up in Silverstone and got what he deserved. In Hungary Lewis was on the podium and Max was 9th. Amazing how many times you think Lewis fked up and he still was going to beat Max in Abu Dhabi until the cheaters and rule breakers stepped in to help Max win the unwinnable. They literally had to hold his hand over the line. Illegitimate title holder. Max literally couldn't beat Lewis in a fair fight in 2021.

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44-8xLegend 25 January 2025 at 08:01+ 32747

Ever heard of The History Channel? It's all about people talking about the past. Yet they are all in the present. This is no different and I'm only going back 3 years. It doesn't matter if Lewis made mistakes. Masi still cheated the game and broke the rules. Red Bull still cheated by influencing him to do that. I hope one day you'll learn to understand what's being said. Lewis' race results in 2021 were good enough to beat Max to the title. Despite mistakes. Shows how good he was. I will refer to 2021 as much as I want. Talking about previous years does not affect my health. I think mentally if affects RB fans more that me. If I didn't enjoy writing about it, I wouldn't do it. You don't think things through very much do you?

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44-8xLegend 25 January 2025 at 07:57+ 32747

Voices in your head again? Oh dear. Game over-x0.

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Game on-x4 24 January 2025 at 11:22+ 46571

Lewis said you need to grow up....

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Mavric 24 January 2025 at 12:34+ 19032

44 legend we on 2025 get over 2021 living in the past not do you health any good .lewis made lot mistake in 2021 and look at some lewis race results will tell you that

iamlegend 24 January 2025 at 21:57+ 727

2021 Abu Dhabi was epic ?

iamlegend 24 January 2025 at 21:59+ 727

Fair considering, Silverstone, Hungary and Baku where Lewis ducked up big time.

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44-8xLegend 24 January 2025 at 11:07+ 32747

I hope you're right. I hope he does. Only fair considering what the FIA did to facilitate an illegal title for Max in 2021. If Lewis gets his 8th, we're going to have so many Max fans at risk of self-harming.

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44-8xLegend 24 January 2025 at 11:05+ 32747

Herbert doesn't hope Max will be. I hope Max gets more punishments in 2025 and I really hope Herbert is on the panel when it happens. You whingers will lose your frickin' minds. :) oh... almost forgot... LOL (Difficult to communicate with you down at that low, remedial level).