Johnny Herbert defended the FIA stewards after criticism from Lewis Hamilton regarding penalties, which the driver considered inconsistent, received in recent weeks.
Read more Stefano Domenicali: Max Verstappen has already approved the 2027 regulations by being consulted
The former driver and Formula 1 steward notably believes that the British champion can only blame himself for his speeding in the pit lane during the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Hamilton received four penalties over three weekends, the last in Budapest for exceeding the 80 km/h pit lane speed limit by only 0.1 km/h.
The same rules for everyone
Under virtual safety car conditions, the Ferrari driver had deactivated his limiter slightly too early, which earned him a five-second penalty. The seven-time world champion then expressed his doubts about the consistency of the decisions, revealing in particular that the FIA had admitted to making a mistake in penalizing him for a false start during the British Grand Prix.
Herbert firmly rejects the idea of unfavorable treatment towards Hamilton: “You can’t say it was just bad luck. You can’t and shouldn’t penalize a driver simply because you might not like him. That’s not how it works.”
Read more Sergio Pérez reveals his biggest challenge for his return to Formula 1
The former driver insists on the need for stewards to apply the rules consistently: “The guidelines exist, it’s as simple as that. There are four stewards in the room working closely together. You can’t ignore the rules and guidelines, because that would lead to all sorts of other problems. Consistency in penalty allocation is therefore crucial and that’s exactly what teams and drivers always look for. In my opinion, the stewards are doing an excellent job.”
No paranoia
Regarding the Budapest incident, Herbert considers Hamilton’s responsibility to be beyond doubt: “The speeding was Hamilton’s fault, period. You can’t blame anyone else.”
He goes even further by suggesting that a younger Hamilton would probably have avoided such a mistake: “Would the Lewis from ten years ago have done something like that? Probably not. I don’t know why his judgment was so poor. In the end, there is no excuse.”
Herbert finally dismisses any hypothesis that the stewards might have something against the Ferrari driver: “It’s not as if the stewards have something against Lewis. That’s not how it works. He just has to learn not to make these kinds of mistakes anymore.”
Read more Three options for Max Verstappen in 2027: «There are many discussions»