The FIA has announced Johnny Herbert will no longer serve on its panel of stewards.
The 60-year-old, who is a three-times grand prix winner, has been a regular member of the FIA’s stewarding panels over the last 15 years. He made his debut in the rule during 2010, when ex-drivers were first invited to join the stewards.
However Herbert has drawn some criticism for comments made to agencies supplying quotes to media outlets in recent years. He has regularly given quotes to gambling companies who then offer them to media in exchange for promotional links, as when he commented on the controversy surrounding Max Verstappen and Lando Norris’s clash in last year’s Austrian Grand Prix.
The FIA indicated this is part of the reason why it has decided to cease using Herbert as a steward.
“It is with regret that we announce today that Johnny Herbert will no longer fulfil the position of F1 driver steward for the FIA,” it said in a statement.
“Johnny is widely respected and brought invaluable experience and expertise to his role. However, after discussion, it was mutually agreed that his duties as an FIA steward and that of a media pundit were incompatible. We thank him for his service and wish him well in his future endeavours.”
Herbert made his final appearance as a steward at last year’s Brazilian Grand Prix. He served as steward at a third of last year’s rounds, making him the busiest of the FIA’s four driver stewards. The other former drivers who performed the role were Vitantonio Liuzzi, Derek Warwick and Enrique Bernoldi.
Among the notable incidents Herbert was involved in ruling on last year were those involving title contenders Verstappen and Norris in Austria and Mexico. He was also part of the panel which handed Fernando Alonso a 20-second time penalty and three points on his licence for what they called a “potentially dangerous” manoeuvre when he braked twice in front of George Russell in the Australian Grand Prix.
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