Johnny Herbert removed as F1 steward over 'incompatible' clash

Johnny Herbert will no longer serve as an F1 steward due to his clashing commitments as a media pundit.

F1’s governing body the FIA confirmed on Wednesday that Herbert had “mutually agreed” to step down from his position after agreeing that his dual roles were “incompatible”.

It comes just days after Herbert, a three-time grand prix winner, had announced he would continue in his role as an FIA steward during the 2025 F1 season. 

Herbert has been a regular F1 steward over the past 15 years, having first carried out the role in 2010.  

“It is with regret that we announce today that Johnny Herbert will no longer fulfil the position of F1 driver steward for the FIA," an FIA statement read. 

“Johnny is widely respected and brought invaluable experience and expertise to his role. However, after discussion, it was mutually agreed that his duties as an FIA steward and that of a media pundit were incompatible.

“We thank him for his service and wish him well in his future endeavours.”

As well as acting as a steward, Herbert had been continuing to carry out pundit roles and regularly shared his opinions in interviews. 

Comments about Max Verstappen, in particular, have seen Herbert come under fire. 

“I think from Max Verstappen’s point of view, yes, aggression is always going to be part of what he does but he's still improving his racing skills, qualifying skills and he's still got plenty in his back pocket if he ever needs it,” he told Casinoutanspelpaus.io.

“The way that the racing rules have gone, it's made it more as racing was when we were doing karting. I know George Russell mentioned that, it was crazy, this apex stuff and now we've given space on the exits.

“We never did that in karting, that was never part of it. And I never accepted this giving space.”

Herbert added: "From a stewarding point of view, I don't expect anything in Australia. It all happens in the moment. There are still going to be incidents, there are still going to be complaints from teams and drivers and we're going to have to deal with that as normal."