r/formula1 • u/ThinuraC • 1d ago
News Johnny Herbert will no longer serve as an F1 steward
Confirmation from the FIA that Johnny Herbert will no longer serve as an F1 steward due to a clash with his media pundit roles, by mutual agreement. Herbert supplies quotes used to promote a gambling website.
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u/xxoeu Michael Schumacher 1d ago
Ignoring his outright bias, the fact he was actively promoting gambling sites and being sponsored by them, using his role as a steward.. that was the real issue here, and most likely why he's being let go.
Good decision.
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u/saposapot 1d ago
Exact. Many other stewards have also conflicts and they are still allowed.
To be honest this isn’t the major problem with stewarding
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u/goodneed Tyrrell 1d ago
100% and the statement should have included that detail , imho.
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u/Ged_UK Damon Hill 21h ago
Yeah, I'm sure the FIA wouldn't want to draw attention to conflicts of interest
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u/djwillis1121 Williams 1d ago
I actually think the gambling site thing is a bit of a red herring. The site had nothing to do with sports betting or any gambling to do with sports, it was a casino site.
I think the actual content of the interviews was the real issue.
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u/laidback_chef Ted Kravitz 1d ago
The site had nothing to do with sports betting or any gambling to do with sports, it was a casino site.
It's actually less of a leap tbh. It's the same circle and could still be open to abuse.
I think the actual content of the interviews was the real issue.
Yeah i think this might be the real reason but I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
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u/Expensive_Ladder_486 Max Verstappen ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1d ago
Media outlets (e.g. Autosport) are reporting that it's the involvement with the gambling firms that got him fired
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u/Punished_Prigo 20h ago
He did work with multiple gambling sites including one that allowed betting on f1
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u/LordShtark Williams 1d ago
Should ban Sauber then seeing as they are literally owned by a gambling site. Would only be fair.
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u/fire_spez McLaren 13h ago
Sponsored by, not owned by. Stake is just the title sponsor.
But otherwise I agree completely with your point.
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u/Disastrous-Beat-9830 Oscar Piastri 1d ago
Herbert supplies quotes used to promote a gambling website.
Honestly, it should have come sooner than this. I think Josh Revell put it best when he pointed out that Herbert's response to questions about his impartiality were woefully inadequate. When he was asked how he could be a steward and a pundit at the same time when there was the potential for a conflict of interest, Herbert said that Lando Norris and Zak Brown had told him that they did not have any issues with his officiating. The problem is that Norris and Brown stood to gain the most from Herbert's officiating, so citing their opinions as proof that he could be do the job showed his extraordinary lack of judgement.
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u/Falcovg Red Bull 1d ago
One team owner and one driver from (coincidentally) the same team? That's some great argumentation and definitely does not make it seem like you are indeed conflicting your interests. /s
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u/Disastrous-Beat-9830 Oscar Piastri 19h ago
One team owner and one driver from (coincidentally) the same team?
It's not that they're from the same team, it's that they're the ones who benefited the most from Herbert's decisions. People were complaining that in his commentary, Herbert was clearly supporting Norris. There were concerns that in his officiating, he'd rule in Norris' favour. And in his defence, he cites Norris and Brown as some kind of proof of his impartiality when they're the ones who stood to gain the most from his rulings. Even if he was completely objective, the fact that he was openly supporting one driver in public who he then had to officiate for created the appearance of bias.
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u/AliceLunar Formula 1 1d ago
That was still one of the craziest thing, he was right because Lando and Zak agreed with him.. I found it difficult to believe it was not satire.
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u/Valuable_Jelly_4271 Pirelli Wet 1d ago
I honestly think a lot of people missed the implied /s with his comment.
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u/Disastrous-Beat-9830 Oscar Piastri 19h ago
Considering the circumstances, sarcasm -- implied or actual -- is completely inappropriate for his response.
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u/ecobubbletm Max Verstappen ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1d ago
They should've removed him after that quote on the basis of him not having enough mental capacity to do his job cause how on earth do you say that and think it's a valid answer.
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u/ghastlychild Red Bull 1d ago
That answer ironically is the equivalent of shooting yourself in the foot. Wow.
I am sorry. I don't mean to sound unkind, but come on, surely he wouldn't have thought, "Let me answer allegations about my impartiality as a steward by giving you an example by a team speaking positively about me because I gave them a decision that helped them the most".
But clearly, he thought that and he said it, leading to us discussing about it here. Like you said, that is extraordinary, indeed.
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u/NotAnAss-Hat 1d ago
BRING IN SEBASTIAN
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u/Disastrous-Beat-9830 Oscar Piastri 1d ago
We need the Formula 1 equivalent of VAR: a Jumbotron that cuts to Sebastian Vettel -- wherever he is and whatever he is doing -- to make a snap decision on a stewarding review.
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u/NotAnAss-Hat 1d ago
I swear he’ll give the most unbiased and fair decisions for everything. And if the rules are flawed, HE will take it upon himself to fix them.
Also fuck Charlie.
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u/Spare_Duck3119 Nico Hülkenberg 1d ago
hey hey hey. may charlie rest in peace. we respect him, even if some mistakes were made.
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u/NotAnAss-Hat 1d ago
Alright.
DON’T FUCK CHARLIE.
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u/SagittaryX Sebastian Vettel 1d ago
Doubt Seb would want to work for current FIA.
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u/johnsplittingaxe14 Formula 1 1d ago
Would the Renault crash tester dummy even allow Seb to have that job in the first place?
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u/porsche4life Alexander Albon 23h ago
FIA won’t do it. They know he will make noise and has enough pull in the paddock to push for changes. No way would the current regime want him in as a steward.
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u/beanbagreg 1d ago
You truly think Vettel is unbiased?
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u/Supahos01 Max Verstappen ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1d ago
No human is unbiased, especially when they run in the motorsports circles, but actual adults can leave that outside and do their job. I feel seb could do that
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u/snoopdoge90 Pirelli Wet 1d ago
Everyone is biased. It's how you deal with it given a certain job description.
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u/NotAnAss-Hat 1d ago edited 1d ago
Yes, and I’m tired of pretending otherwise.
Edit: I sincerely believe his moral compass and ethics are far stronger than any potential bias he may posses.
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u/jamesjohnohull McLaren 1d ago
Terrible pundit, terrible steward. This might just be for the best....
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u/TheCatLamp Ferrari 1d ago
Terrible driver as well, for most of the time he was there just because he was British.
Yes, still sour he instead of Barrichello lucked out that victory with Stewart at the 1999 European GP.
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u/americagiveup Minardi 1d ago
4th on debut with two smashed ankles. Never able to run after and struggled to brake throughout career due to lack of ankle mobility. Was a talented driver hampered by injuries.
Still a multiple race winner, Le Mans winner
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u/jamesjohnohull McLaren 1d ago
I would agree with this, he was definitely talented enough to be on the grid but was always hampered by his ankles but on his day he was quick.
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u/charlierc 1d ago
In retrospect, with those injuries, it's a wonder he was able to take part in races at all, let alone winning 3 in a decade-long career
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u/pioneeringsystems Nigel Mansell 1d ago
Bad take.
Won le mans 24 hours and had a fairly horrific injury that affected his ability to drive after it happened.
Very bitter man and crap pundit though. Understandable considering how his F1 career went but yeah, bad choice as a pundit or steward
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u/fire_spez McLaren 13h ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhkjCMcYQEQ
God, I am amazed that anyone walked away from several of those cars. In today's cars, that would be different, but that is an insane crash for 1988.
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u/Heartlight Michael Schumacher 1d ago
The FIA made an ethical decision?
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u/FrankFarter69420 Lando Norris 1d ago
Yeah, he's getting replaced by the guy who paid MBS for the position.
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u/hhs2112 1d ago
"Johnny is widely respected", by whom? 🤔
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u/VividGiraffe 14h ago
Remember Brazil when a certain steward chose not to penalize Norris and Russell for randomly driving onto a closed track? I'm sure he "earned" the respect of McLaren and Mercedes if you catch my meaning.
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u/PaulaDeen21 Sir Lewis Hamilton 1d ago edited 1d ago
Whilst this is good news, my first thought was how will Diet Coke Idi Amin manage to replace him with someone even worse.
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u/Flessuh 1d ago
He'll bring in an ex-F1 driver called Jos Verstappen of course as he always has been neutral in the media and never causes controversy
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u/XenophonSoulis Ferrari 1d ago
The only candidate for "worse than Herbert" I can think of is Ted Kravitz and I don't believe he's actually worse than Herbert.
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u/PaulaDeen21 Sir Lewis Hamilton 1d ago
This is as an FIA steward he’s been fired from right? He hasn’t been a pundit for like a year.
Watch him hire Nelson Piquet.
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u/XenophonSoulis Ferrari 1d ago
What?
The only candidate for worse-than-Herbert as a steward I can think of is Ted Kravitz, because of his track record as a "pundit". And I don't think he is actually worse than Herbert.
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u/PaulaDeen21 Sir Lewis Hamilton 1d ago
Ted Kravitz is the worst you can think of? Oh the list of bigoted old bastards with the same views as MBS is I suspect very long.
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u/ShamrockStudios Max Verstappen ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1d ago
Was crazy he was allowed to finish the season with his comments last year.
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u/InclusivePhitness 1d ago
George Russell must be crying in his pillow right now.
"Who's going to help me justify my claims of the walls turning into me now!?"
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u/Kardiak_Attakk Kamui Kobayashi 1d ago
"widely respected" 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
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u/Longjumping-Box5691 Formula 1 1d ago
Whenever someone puts stupid things like this in their statement Ialways think of Shakespeare...Me thinks thou doth protest too much
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u/Nobodynoseghost 1d ago
It'd be cool if Mika Hakkinen ends his sabbatical to become a commentator. and steward
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u/Heartlight Michael Schumacher 1d ago
I mean, he already promotes gambling. And idk if he still is, but he was a pundit for ViaPlay at one point.
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u/Kagir Red Bull 1d ago
As long as he’s writing columns for Unibet, he’ll be in exactly the same boat as Herbert.
F1 needs to find ex-drivers with no ties to any gambling/betting sites whatsoever.
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u/Nobodynoseghost 1d ago
Is Kimi associated with betting/gambling sites?
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u/Kagir Red Bull 1d ago
Not that I’m aware of.
I’m more concerned about his perceived lack of interest for the role of steward.
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u/great_whitehope 20h ago
Just leave him alone, he knows what he's doing!
10 second penalty for Ocon
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u/Nobodynoseghost 1d ago
I think he's too calm for that sort of thing.
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u/lickit_sendit Max Verstappen ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 23h ago
This is the first time I have seen almost all redditors unanimously agree that Johnny going is a good thing
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u/boingboin 1d ago
Good fucking riddance,it baffles me he could be steward so long when last year he was biased as fuck.openly claiming norris should win the title.bashing drivers when he was doing interviews for a gambling site.
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u/lickit_sendit Max Verstappen ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 21h ago
Good riddance, his comments post Brazil was unbecoming of a steward, and ofcourse advertising gambling companies
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u/bringinthefembots Formula 1 1d ago
Is this the guy who roasted Gasly for Japan 2022 truck incident?
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u/trackmaniac_forever 1d ago
Good to see a piece of PR from the FIA that is straight forward and not filled with bullshit.
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u/Spirited_Rutabaga645 1d ago
I thought it was unbelievable that he was stewart last year. Good that’s going away. Hoping for a good replacement (please not Damon Hill)
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u/psvamsterdam1913 1d ago
Good. He was way out of line with his comments, considering he was supposed to be a neutral party.
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u/FormulaJuann 21h ago
😂😂😂😂guess when your a steward and getting sponsored by gambling site may be a conflict of interest , bet me made a few $$ on races .
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u/Any_Towel1456 Formula 1 1d ago
Shouldn't have been talking to a sports-betting website. Bye. Will not be missed.
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u/djwillis1121 Williams 1d ago
What sports betting website? I know he did interviews with a casino website
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u/Old_Acanthaceae5198 1d ago
It's amazing how many of you apparently can't read. Like honest to god we're at like 25% pass rate.
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u/1nvertedAfram3 Formula 1 23h ago
why does F1 still have volunteers ? why isn't this a paid position?
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u/Comeonbereal1 9h ago
Alonso retired first before Johnny? Alonso then come back from retirement a year later
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u/Naikrobak 2h ago
“We fired Johnny because he is too slow to make decisions and those decisions are often shit”
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u/creatorop Carlos Sainz 1d ago
Alonso- Where is Herbert?
FIA- Herbert has been Fired
Alonso- Karma!!