Johnny Herbert: I love being an FIA steward

Johnny Herbert, a former Formula 1 driver with 161 Grand Prix wins and three victories, now works as a guest steward for the FIA.

In this role he worked most notably at the Australian Grand Prix, where Fernando Alonso was given a penalty for braking earlier than normal before Turn 6 on the final lap of the race, sending George Russell off the track.

As a result, the two-time world champion climbed from 6th to 8th place and also received three penalty points. Although he and the Aston Martin team disagreed with the stewards’ verdict, they did not contest it.

“People like Fernando, like Lewis Hamilton or Max Verstappen are real racers, they have a special quality because they can get everything out of the car, but they also have a special psychological attitude and they know how to position the car on the track. Herbert reasoned in an interview with the Spanish newspaper AS. – But rules are rules. In general, stewards have a risky job. And making the right decisions is becoming increasingly difficult.

We have to rely only on the specific techniques developed by the FIA, but we also listen to the opinions of the teams and drivers. The problem is that when even small changes are made to the rules, it only creates more complexity.

The current rules contain many downright stupid provisions that allow for ambiguous interpretations, and then everyone starts complaining. Teams are always in a difficult situation because the rules do not always clearly reflect the reality of racing. This results in multiple games where everyone tries to interpret the regulations in their favor to gain an advantage.

But personally I like this job. It has only one negative side: every time we make decisions, we are inevitably confronted with the harshest criticism. But I am lucky in the sense that I am a strong and broad-shouldered man! (laughs)

If we talk about Fernando, he is so talented that even now, when he is over forty, he can fight for the title, but is Aston Martin able to give him the car he wants?

This team started the 2023 season with podiums, showed excellent results and Alonso was very happy, but now everything is a bit more complicated. Usually he finishes around 8th place, which is not his goal. But in theory the team can modernize the car so much that it will fight on the front row again – we see this in the examples of McLaren and Mercedes.

Fernando sees the results of Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, Max Verstappen, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris and it probably upsets him. He is angry that he cannot win races with his car, although he needs victories. Aston Martin is working hard and bringing in great people to create a fast car, but unfortunately it takes time.”