Max Verstappen suggested there may be a ‘British bias’ in decision making by the F1 stewards, as he reacted to his 20 seconds’ worth of penalties when battling Lando Norris in Mexico last week
Max Verstappen suggested there may be a ‘British bias’ in decision making by the F1 stewards, as he reacted to his 20 seconds’ worth of penalties when battling Lando Norris in Mexico last week Max Verstappen suggested there may be a ‘British bias’ in decision making by the F1 stewards, as he reacted to his 20 seconds’ worth of penalties when battling Lando Norris in Mexico last week
Johnny Herbert remains a race steward for this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix despite Max Verstappen suggesting a ‘British bias’ may be at play within decision-making.
A quartet of stewards, responsible for overseeing the weekend’s racing events, are rotated on a race by race basis. Three of the stewards from the Mexican Grand Prix will not be calling the shots in Brazil this weekend, but former F1 racer Herbert will remain on the panel as the drivers’ steward.
Tim Mayer, Loic Bacquelaine and Alfonso Oros Trigueros, who were all on duty in Mexico, will step down. Taking their places will be Dr Gerd Ennser, Andrew Mallalieu and Luciano Burti.
The FIA announced the reshuffle following heavy criticism over the 20 seconds’ worth of penalties given to Verstappen last weekend, which he bagged after another run-in with Lando Norris. The Dutchman was penalised for running the McLaren driver off the road before leaving the track and gaining advantage – both incidents within a few corners of one another.
Jos Verstappen suggested that the stewards could be guilty of a conflict of interest, hinting at his displeasure that Herbert was on the panel. He said: “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. From former drivers, for example, who have more sympathy for certain drivers.”
And Max himself suggested that he has “the wrong passport” to be making complaints, before confirming that he did indeed mean that he felt that British drivers got away with more than others. Herbert, however, has dismissed the suggestion that nationality comes into play when the stewards are deciding calls.
“The attitude in the stewards’ room was really good and our decision was clear because the guidelines tell us what to look at and how to deal with the situation. When we applied the two 10-second penalties to Max Verstappen, we were all in agreement. Always remember, there are four stewards who make these decisions,” he told Action Network.
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“There always seems to be an issue about us British stewards being ‘biased’ but, when we are in that room, we abide by the rules and guidelines from the FIA. That is how we have to judge the racing on the track. To say it is ‘biased’ is absolutely ridiculous and not the case.
“We try as hard as possible to be fair in our judgement. The issue we have is the tactics we see on the track, there are driving styles that are not deemed correct according to the guidelines, and the situation we had in Mexico showed that we made the right decision.
“In Mexico, the stewards other than me were American, Belgian and Brazilian, all whom have the same powers as each other. To say there is bias is ridiculous.”
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Mirror – Sport
