Ex-Formula 1 driver turned FIA Steward and occasional pundit Johnny Herbert has revealed his side of the story behind his dismissal from the sport’s governing body, claiming Mohammed Ben Sulayem was talked into releasing him.
While many questioned Herbert’s dual role as a steward and a pundit, his commentary—often providing an alternative view to mainstream motorsport media—was valued by many, including this publication. The Grand Prix winner’s insights on working within the FIA as an F1 steward were revealing and often served as good PR for the organisation.
Herbert provided a different perspective on key issues, contentious incidents and the enforcing of rules, offering a balance to discussions that reflected positively on Ben Sulayem’s leadership of F1's rulemakers.
To the point that this author believed it to be a smart strategic move to keep the FIA's narrative on the F1 media radar. So what went wrong? Why did the knives come out to end Herbert’s tenure as an FIA F1 steward?
Herbert: It didn’t come from within the FIA initially
Herbert revealed: “Certain people spoke to Mohammed Ben Sulayem about sacking me. It didn’t come from within the FIA initially. It was all to do with chitter-chatter to the FIA that made them change their point of view. Everything I’d done all year long in 2024 had been discussed and accepted.
“Two days before I was eventually given the sack over the phone, I’d been told all was good for 2025. Then it wasn’t. I understand how everything came about, but I am not going to point the finger. But as I said, there were certain people who did actually speak with the President [of the FIA], and that’s why he finally made the decision to get rid of me,” explained Herbert.
He also addressed suggestions that pressure from Max Verstappen’s camp influenced the decision to remove him from the stewarding panel:
“The Verstappens keep intimating there’s a bias. I keep reading about the supposed bias. I read that and then wondered, ‘So I can’t support a British driver because I’m British?’
“I can’t support Lewis [Hamilton], George [Russell], or Lando [Norris]. It’s ridiculous. But coming the other way is fine, apparently, as was the case in what happened with me. If you’re a Dutchman, you can sort of have a go at the Brits and say the Brits have got no real morals for how they are as race fans. It’s supposed to go both ways, isn’t it?” reckoned Herbert.
Did Horner call the FIA to pull the trigger to fire Herbert?
Herbert ventured, "Christian Horner doesn’t hold back when something benefits him—people showed their disappointment with him at the O2. It’s not for me to sort of judge Christian [Horner] in any shape or form.
"But I guess there’s a feeling now, because of everything that's going on within the team, everything that's gone on with Max on the track, that Christian and Red Bull have been stirring it all up in many respects.
"Christian doesn't hold back when he talks, and he will only do things that benefit him, that benefit Red Bull, and Max. So, there's always going to be the bad boy in the pack.
"Red Bull has historically always been very on the edge, always pushing the boundaries; that's part of the game. But I think people did, for whatever their reasons were, show their disappointment or their frustrations [at the O2 event], maybe with everything that's been going on," observed Herbert.
He was, of course, referencing the fact that the Red Bull chaps were booed by fans at the sold-out F1 75 LIVE launch event at O2 Arena last week. A fact that also caught the attention of the FIA and its chief who condemned the boo-brigade.
Herbert: I enjoyed my time as an FIA steward
When asked to reflect on his time as an FIA official, 60-year-old Herbert said: “I thoroughly enjoyed it because I thought it was an important job at the weekend. The race weekend doesn’t happen without those stewards because we have to sign all the documentation to allow the weekend to happen and continue throughout it.
“And then there are those horrible decisions that sometimes we have to make. A judgment is made based on everything that’s put in front of us from those guidelines and those rules. I thoroughly enjoyed being in that environment where it was really interesting.
“There were so many different sides to a Grand Prix weekend—the drivers, the teams, and the politics involved. It’s fascinating. I’ve been there. I’ve been involved with it. I’ve seen it. And it’s different than it was. But that’s life. Everything changes and everything becomes more complicated.”
Herbert began his role as an FIA Formula 1 steward in 2010 and was expected to be on the panel for Grand Prix weekends the 2025 F1 World Championship season-opening Australian Grand Prix starting on 14 March with Friday Free Practice.
Herbert: I was never biased as an FIA steward
When the call came, Herbert admitted: “I was upset that the FIA sacked me. I was never biased—Sky Sports can be biased because they’re a British broadcaster. I was absolutely fine with [parting ways with the FIA]. It was upsetting at the time because I enjoyed it, and I felt that I was doing the best job with no bias towards anybody.
“I had rules and guidelines that I had to deal with—not on my own, but with three other FIA stewards as well. I don’t think I was doing anything that was favouring anybody. I only did what I thought was necessary, whether it was Lewis, Max, Lando, or any other driver on the racetrack.
“I had no bitterness towards any of those drivers to decide, ‘Well, I don’t like him, so I’m going to give him a penalty just because.’ That’s not how it works, and it never will work like that. That’s why the accusations of bias against me were absolutely ridiculous.
“But that’s where this talk of British bias keeps coming from, and I don’t get it. Sky have been getting it as well. But they’re a goddamn British broadcaster! Of course, they’re going to favour their own British drivers. What happens, for instance, during the football World Cup? Do you support your team? Yes, absolutely. I don’t see any difference from that point of view. Am I biased? Absolutely not!” insisted Herbert.
Herbert: I can have my opinions when I’m outside that room
As for what may have irked the FIA and its president, Herbert said: “My position is slightly different because I was an FIA steward. It wasn’t deemed to be the right thing for a steward to be able to talk about situations that had happened or to have an opinion on hypothetical situations over a race weekend.
“I’ve had mostly positive private comments since leaving my role, but the negative ones have been from my previous critics. You’re always going to get the negative ones. They all invariably come from people who have been highly critical of me and haven’t been very nice in their comments on social media.
“I’ve learnt to deal with it, and it doesn’t affect me. I find it ridiculous because whoever criticised me—whether inside or outside the paddock—has absolutely no clue what happens in that steward’s room and how honest we have to be.
“There are those guidelines and those rules, and we have to apply them. It doesn’t matter who it is. You have to apply them. That’s the professionalism I brought into that room from my career as a driver. And that’s where people don’t understand that I can have my opinions when I’m outside that room and away from a race weekend,” lamented Herbert.
Shortly after his departure from the FIA, Herbert was appointed Global Brand Ambassador for Lola, which competes in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.
In his new role, he will bring his interdisciplinary expertise to bear as the company builds on its entry into the all-electric single-seater series and expands its presence across top-tier motorsport.
Herbert will also play a key role in partnerships and business development for Lola, working directly with sponsors and clients to deliver exceptional reach. For now, it appears the door to the FIA F1 steward’s room is closed to him.
(Quotes supplied by CasinoApps.com)
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