Ben Sulayem: Herbert's FIA Role Ended by Conflict of Interest

Ben Sulayem confirms Johnny Herbert’s departure as F1 steward due to conflict of interest, despite praising his valuable contributions.

Mohammed Ben Sulayem, president of the FIA, acknowledged that Johnny Herbert’s “conflict of interest” made his position as an F1 steward untenable.

He revealed that the former F1 driver amicably parted ways with the sport’s governing body after recognizing that he could no longer both judge drivers’ actions for the FIA and freely express his opinions in the media.

“Johnny was a very good steward in F1, but there was a conflict of interest, and he knows it.”

“You cannot be a journalist in a major organization, express your views, and then act as a steward, which is an arbitrator. You could say: ‘My ideal scenario is for this or that driver to win.’ And if the driver you favor is involved in a decision over another driver in first or second place, how do you make that judgment?”

“He understood the decision and thanked the FIA for the opportunity, and we thanked him for what he contributed.”

The FIA announced last year its plan to create a new department for race officials, aimed at training the next generation of stewards in the hope of providing the F1 governing body with greater depth.

Nikolas Tombazis, the FIA’s single-seater director, recently stated that this would make the FIA “a more professional organization” in the future.

Ben Sulayem acknowledged that the FIA needed a broader pool of available stewards, emphasizing the need to “train fresh blood.”

“Our selection [of stewards] should be broader.”

“We should not be limited, and that’s why tomorrow, with the stewards, we will have fresh blood.”

“This will give us a new selection that will support the motorsport sector.”