Herbert stands by stewards amid Verstappen debate

Former F1 driver and current FIA steward Johnny Herbert has opened up about his interactions with Max Verstappen in the stewards' room.

He addressed recent accusations of bias from the Dutch media and Jos Verstappen following contentious decisions at the Mexican Grand Prix.

Stewarding under scrutiny

The controversy erupted after Max Verstappen received 20 seconds worth of penalties in Mexico, prompting his father Jos to question the neutrality of the stewards' panel.

The elder Verstappen suggested that

"the FIA should take a good look at the staffing of the stewards, who they put there and whether there is no appearance of a conflict of interest."

Dutch publication De Telegraaf subsequently reported that Jos Verstappen's comments were aimed at Herbert and Tim Mayer, son of McLaren co-founder Teddy Mayer, who formed part of the four-person stewarding panel alongside Loic Bacquelaine and Alfonso Oros Trigueros.

Professional relationship

Speaking exclusively to PlanetF1.com, Herbert painted a different picture of his interactions with the three-time world champion.

"That's Max,"

Herbert explained.

"If he was here today, you'd have a bloody good chat with him. He's very worldly. He's very open to chat about anything and you have a really nice conversation with him. So he was very understanding."

Previous interactions

Herbert also referenced a prior meeting with Verstappen regarding the driver's use of strong language during an FIA press conference in Singapore.

While addressing the incident, Herbert emphasized that enforcing communication standards doesn't diminish drivers' authenticity.

"Using one word in that whole press conference, would it have made any difference if he didn't use it? Well, yes, it would have made a big difference,"

Herbert noted.

"Would it have made any difference to his character? And what he was saying? No, it wouldn't have made any difference."

Stewarding process

Addressing the broader context of stewarding decisions, Herbert offered insight into the collaborative nature of the decision-making process.

"I enjoy it because when we get those situations, they're not easy, they're not hard.

There's four of us in a room, we all have to sort of try and agree with what we do. We have slightly different opinions. But then eventually we come together."