Herbert: Verstappen Should’ve Faced a Ten-Second Penalty

Johnny Herbert claims Max Verstappen should’ve been penalized more harshly for his Jeddah maneuver, suggesting a ten-second penalty would’ve been fairer.

This isn’t likely to improve Max Verstappen’s opinion of Johnny Herbert. The former FIA official and F1 driver believes that Red Bull’s Verstappen should have received a harsher penalty for his move on Oscar Piastri in Jeddah.

Herbert argued that the five-second penalty Verstappen was handed could have been quickly regained if he had a slightly faster car, making the penalty essentially pointless.

“The incident between Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri at Turn 1 deserved a penalty,” Herbert said. “These are the world’s best drivers with the best judgment and awareness, so if you make a move at Turn 1 but completely leave the track, then that’s a ten-second penalty.”

“But a five-second penalty was applied, and I’m not a fan of that. Especially when you’re leading like Verstappen was, it’s easy to recover those five seconds, as we’ve seen before. So, if you can get those five seconds back without giving the position back, what’s the point of the penalty?”

Herbert emphasized that this should have been a clear penalty: “When you go into a corner, especially a tight one like that, you need to be on the apex, close to the curb. Verstappen was two meters away from the apex.”

“When you’re on the outside with a car on the inside, your angle for the next corner is significantly compromised. Piastri had the corner, and he could place his car wherever he wanted. Max ran wide, lifting off the brakes, trying to out-accelerate Oscar through Turn 1 while carrying a lot of speed.”

According to Herbert, the situation could have been handled more simply if Verstappen had acknowledged Piastri’s move: “Christian Horner and others ask, ‘Should Verstappen disappear?’ Well, no, he can’t just disappear, but he should have conceded the corner and slotted in behind Piastri.”

“James Hunt told me in my early years in F1 that sometimes it’s better to concede the corner if you’ve lost it, and that’s exactly what happened here. Then, you slip behind the car you’re trying to pass.”

“Verstappen claiming he was pushed via radio is a message to the race director, asking them to look into it, and if necessary, the stewards will investigate. The stewards only looked into it because Verstappen kept the position.”

Herbert went on to say that the stewards followed the pre-agreed race guidelines: “The stewards are bound by the rules set before the race weekend. These rules are agreed upon by the teams, drivers, and race director.”

“Drivers want the stewards to follow these guidelines, and Max, along with all his fellow drivers, would have accepted them. Red Bull can’t complain. The driver on the outside has to leave space for the driver on the inside. Max did that, but he went off-track and gained an advantage.”

The British former F1 driver believes Red Bull simply paid the price for taking risks to stay ahead: “Horner then presented evidence to show who was ahead at Turn 1, which was a bunch of nonsense, but to me, it was just passing the ball back to the FIA and the stewards.”

“That’s not right, it shouldn’t be like that. Red Bull had the option to give the position back, but they chose not to. Kimi Antonelli did something very similar with Charles Leclerc—same corner, same lap—but he gave the position back.”

“If Verstappen had conceded the position, he probably would’ve won the race. Instead, they took a risky strategy, trying to gain those five seconds while staying ahead with clear air.”

Herbert doesn’t understand why stewards don’t automatically apply a ten-second penalty: “If this had been the fast Red Bull from two or three years ago, they probably would’ve gotten away with it, but McLaren and Piastri were able to keep up.”

“I’m not a fan of the rule, but since the first lap is often harder to judge, the stewards tend to apply a five-second penalty in disputed circumstances. But I think there should always be a standard ten-second penalty.”

“I believe the penalty should always be ten seconds. It should be consistent. If you change the rules, you’re opening a Pandora’s box. These are the world’s best drivers; they know where to brake and accelerate. Verstappen gained an advantage—end of story.”

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Herbert: Verstappen Should’ve Faced a Ten-Second Penalty Herbert: Verstappen Should’ve Faced a Ten-Second Penalty