Herbert: Verstappen has a damn exciting personality

Acting as a racing steward at various Grand Prix over the 2024 season, Herbert has been responsible for dishing out a plethora of penalties Verstappen's way in a relatively short period of time.

At the Singapore Grand Prix, the former F1 driver and three-time race winner penalised Verstappen for swearing during an FIA-hosted F1 driver’s press conference, punishing the Dutchman with "community service".

A month later during the Mexico City Grand Prix, Herbert was once again the steward who handed out a penalty to the defending Champion, that time being 20 seconds-worth of penalties for leaving the track and gaining an advantage on two separate occasions.

Finally, Herbert oversaw Verstappen's five-second penalty following the Sao Paulo Grand Prix Sprint, whereby the Red Bull driver went too fast under Virtual Safety Car conditions. This dropped him to P4 while Championship rival Lando Norris won ahead of McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.

With the frequency of penalties so high, and some of the punishments perhaps harsher than others, many have accused Herbert of bias against Verstappen. This includes both Verstappen himself and his father Jos, exclaiming that they have "the wrong passport" and that Herbert "shouldn't talk to the press at all".

Speaking in an exclusive interview with GRANDPRIX247, Herbert wants people to know that he has nothing against the three-time World Champion.

The former F1 driver pointed out a change that Verstappen has made in his driving which has allowed him to stay in the lead of the current Championship. He said: "What I've noticed with Max, he's thinking about making sure he's finishing the race for one, but he's making sure by doing that, that he's finishing second.

"And that's where he's matured massively, from that point of view," added Herbert.

When it comes to Verstappen's aggressive driving and use of expletives, Herbert said he has no issue with it personally. If anything, he admires his no holds barred personality: "Yes, he wants to win. He knows he's not in the best car. He knows, and he's still hard with the team, with strategy calls that might happen.

"And they all do that in different ways. We hear it more. Some people criticise him for doing it, but it works for Max. You can't say, well, he shouldn't do that, because as soon as you say you shouldn't do that, then you're changing them.

"And you don't want to change what and how Max cusses, because that's part of his personality. And it's a damn exciting personality as well," Herbert concluded.

Verstappen will be hoping to stay on the right side of the regulations during the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, which has been revised to commence at 12:30 local time (15:30 GMT) on Sunday 3 November.