F1 Grand Prix of Austria - Image Source: Getty
Former racing driver turned FIA steward, Johnny Herbert, shed light on his relationship with Max Verstappen's dad, Jos Verstappen, saying the narrative of a feud is built by the media. This comes after Jos seemingly took a jibe at the steward for being biased against his son at the Mexican and Brazil GP.
The 27-year-old Red Bull driver was slapped with two 10-second penalties for separate incidents involving his championship rival, Lando Norris. Verstappen pushed the McLaren driver off the track on Turn 4 of the 11th lap and repeated the same move on Turn 8. After investigation, the FIA steward panel, which included Johnny Herbert, dished out two penalties totaling 20 seconds.
In the following weekend in Brazil, the 27-year-old faced a five-second penalty for failing to slow down under the virtual safety car during the sprint race. With Herbert on the panel again, fans lashed out at the steward, alleging bias. Previously, the steward was also a part of the committee that announced Max Verstappen would have to perform community service after he used a cuss word.
