Horner: Herbert losing steward job nothing to do with Verstappen

The FIA announced earlier this week that they have "mutually" agreed to part ways with Herbert, who acted as an F1 race steward in 2024, citing a clash between the Briton's stewarding work and media commitments he had with betting sites, something the sport's governing body believed was "incompatible".

Herbert was part of the stewarding panel at the 2024 Mexico City Grand Prix when Verstappen was slapped with two 10-second time penalties after on-track clashes with McLaren rival, Lando Norris.

Herbert, as part of his gigs with betting sites, commented on the Verstappen penalties, also criticizing the Dutchman's driving during that race, but Horner insists the decision of the FIA to drop the 60-year-old retired F1 driver had nothing to do with that incident.

Speaking to Sky Sports News at the Autosport Awards, Horner commented: "Firstly, it has absolutely nothing to do with Max.

"But it's absolutely the right decision. You cannot have stewards working in the media," he insisted. "You don't have it in the Premiership, you don't have it in any other form of professional sport.

"It's totally inappropriate. You're either on the sporting regulatory side or you're on the media side. You can't have a foot in both camps," Horner concluded.

The FIA/Herbert incident has reignited a long-time debate about the stewards in F1 who are volunteers and retired F1 or motorsport drivers with a common consensus that this leads to inconsistency with decisions made and penalties dished out to drivers.

There has always been a request that the FIA install a permanent steward body to overlook all F1 races, but the governing body has always claimed that would be costly and would take time.

McLaren CEO Zak Brown recently offered to pay part of the cost of having permanent stewards, suggesting all F1 teams also chip in.