FIA steward Herbert speaks out on Verstappen's community service penalty

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FIA steward Herbert speaks out on Max Verstappen community service penalty
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  • Nicole Mulder

Former Formula 1 driver Johnny Herbert, now one of the FIA's stewards, has spoken out about the community service penalty Max Verstappen received for swearing during a press conference. Herbert was one of the stewards on duty during the Singapore Grand Prix weekend and fully supports the punishment given to the Dutchman.

FIA steward Herbert backs Verstappen's community service penalty

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem wants to ban swearing in Formula 1. The drivers were not exactly enthusiastic about this, Herbert tells us. "The drivers were not happy about it. They all went along with Max. I noticed that the drivers are a much closer group than I have seen in many years. They have a much stronger opinion on things," said the Briton in conversation with CasinoHawks.

Herbert can imagine that, as a driver, it is difficult not to express your emotions in the heat of the moment, but he finds an official press conference a different story. He therefore fully supports the community service penalty that the stewards in Singapore - including himself - imposed on Verstappen. "The press conferences are beamed around the world," he explained.

"There is more swearing than there ever has been. A press conference is not the place for it. Some journalists have said the sport is trying to make robots out of the drivers. That’s not the case. You are just asking them not to swear which I think is the right thing. Most drivers don’t swear," added Herbert, who also explained how the procedure worked in the stewards' office.

Herbert: 'For Max, we felt that penalty was more appropriate than a fine'

"The incident was referred to us as stewards. We had a good open chat with Max for about 20 minutes, half an hour, in what was a difficult situation. You could see in his face he was really worked up about it. But when he left, he appeared to be mollified about the process and why it’s there. He did not blame us as stewards," Herbert stressed.

"As stewards we have a range of tools to punish drivers. We are there to implement the rules and make a decision together. We could have fined him, but we felt it would be more beneficial to get him to do something socially responsible. It is up to Max and the FIA what that is."

This article has been created in collaboration with Matt Gretton