Herbert: The stewards were unanimous that Max was to blame

Former Formula 1 driver Johnny Herbert acted as third steward at the Austrian Grand Prix and is convinced that the referees’ decisions were correct, even after the incident involving Max Verstappen and Lando Norris.

Johnny Herbert: “Max is used to being comfortably in the lead, but now things are starting to change. But I would compare him to drivers like Ayrton Senna or Michael Schumacher: he will always be able to win races in situations where nobody believes it is possible.

It looks like there is a rift in his friendship with Lando, as Norris starts to put pressure on him and no longer lets Max dictate the course of the race. But Verstappen has been in this situation before, when he fought with Lewis Hamilton, and knows how to handle it.

Norris is getting stronger and stronger and both he and the McLaren team are now in top form, which is not so obvious in qualifying, but mainly manifests itself in the closing stages of the races. It seems that the McLaren car is able to handle a higher pace under these conditions, and Lando knows that. I think he already thinks he can beat Verstappen by doing things his way.

All stewards unanimously agreed that Max was responsible for the incident in Austria. The stewards have access to a large amount of information, for example we know when Verstappen made a movement with the steering wheel, when he braked. Norris complained about the manoeuvres of his opponent and we had full information about all this.

Of course, sometimes there are different opinions about the decisions of the judges, but all stewards have more or less the same understanding of what happens during the races. The problem is that almost every situation is different, but in my opinion the decisions of the stewards are generally consistent, even if the drivers, journalists or team managers think differently.

The reaction of the drivers doesn’t surprise me. Max also didn’t agree with our decision about the fine. But that’s how drivers have always been, even when I was in Formula 1 and even before that.”