Johnny Herbert makes his feelings crystal clear about Max Verstappen and Christian Horner being booed during the F1 75 launch event

Johnny Herbert felt that the fans were displaying their frustration at Max Verstappen and Christian Horner 'pushing the boundaries' in F1 by booing them at the F1 75 event. Herbert has been a long-time critic of the Dutch driver and his team, having shared his disagreements with their methods in the media.

The former racing driver has received criticism from many fans, who claimed that it was a conflict of interest for the Brit to be an FIA steward when he had a clear bias against Verstappen and the Red Bull team, including team boss Christian Horner. Herbert was relieved from his role by the FIA in January as they claimed that his role as a pundit on Sky Sports was incompatible with his role as a steward.

Since his termination, Herbert has maintained his criticism of Verstappen and Horner, speaking even more openly than he did before. Speaking recently to Casinoapp.com, he shared his thoughts about the pair being booed by the crowd at the F1 75 launch event at the O2 Arena in London.

The 60-year-old explained that he feels the fans are frustrated with Max Verstappen and Christian Horner constantly pushing the boundaries, on and off the track, and that Red Bull will always be the 'bad boys' in the F1 paddock. He said:

“I guess there’s a feeling now, because of everything that’s going on within the team, everything that’s gone on with Max on the track, that Christian and Red Bull have been stirring it all up in many respects," Herbert said [via casinoapps.com].

"Christian doesn’t hold back when he talks and he will only do things that benefit him, that benefit Red Bull and benefit Max. So, there’s always going to be the bad boy in the pack. Red Bull have historically always been very on the edge, always pushing the boundaries. But I think people did, for whatever their reasons were, show their disappointment or their frustrations, maybe with everything that’s been going on,” he added.

Most recently, Herbert also claimed that Max Verstappen probably learned the 'horrible reputation of driving people off the track', from spending time with Michael Schumacher as a young child. Herbert was Schumacher's teammate at Benetton in 1995 and has previously claimed that the German driver and his team treated him unfairly.

---

Johnny Herbert blasts Max Verstappen and Jos Verstappen for their claims of a British bias in F1

Max Verstappen and Jos Verstappen arriving at the F1 Testing in Bahrain - Day 1 - Source: Getty

Johnny Herbert has claimed that supporting a British driver does not mean he has a British bias, like Max Verstappen and his father have claimed. He also said that the criticism ought to go both ways and it should not be fine for a Dutchman to criticize a British driver as well.

During his aforementioned interview with Casinoapps.com, Herbert seemingly denied the existence of a British bias and claimed that it's ridiculous that he cannot root for a British driver. He said:

"The Verstappens keep intimating there’s a bias. I keep reading about the supposed bias. I read that and then wonder, ‘So I can’t support a British driver because I’m British?’ I can’t support Lewis or George or Lando. It’s ridiculous."

"But coming the other way is fine apparently as was the case in what happened with me. If you’re a Dutchman, you can sort of have a go at the Brits and say the Brits have got no real morals for how they are as race fans. It’s supposed to go both ways isn’t it,” he added.

Meanwhile, Christian Horner claimed that Herbert's termination from his FIA duties was the right decision as he felt that a steward cannot also be a media pundit. Horner also expressed that Max Verstappen had nothing to do with the decision made by the FIA.