Max Verstappen targets FIA steward Johnny Herbert for 'pretty extreme accusations' around his driving in Mexico

Max Verstappen has hit back at Johnny Herbert's comments about his driving in Mexico and questioned the extreme accusations. The race in Mexico had a few controversial moments when the Red Bull driver battled title rival Lando Norris on track.

The McLaren driver had lined up his rival out of turn 4 and outbraked him around the outside for a move only to be pushed off-track. After being pushed off, Lando Norris emerged on track ahead of Max Verstappen, and in turn 7, he was once again pushed off by the Red Bull driver, who was lunging down the inside for a move.

As a result, Verstappen was given two 10-second penalties that left him in a compromised position for the race. After the race, the driver hinted that there was bias in stewarding when it came to adjudicating his incidents. This was further exacerbated by his father Jos Verstappen's comments who questioned the presence of Johnny Herbert in the Stewards panel.

In the days leading up to the race in Brazil, Herbert replied to the comments about the bias in his stewarding and called them preposterous. In the pre-race press conference, Verstappen was questioned about Herbert's comments, to which he said that a driver intentionally pushing another driver off-track was an extreme accusation. He said, via PlanetF1,

“Well, now you know where he stands. It’s pretty abnormal for him to say this, right? People act like I’m doing it all on purpose. But they can’t see inside my head. They are pretty extreme accusations. Yes, we raced hard. That’s right. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.”

The driver also questioned why Charles Leclerc had not yet been penalized for using the F-word during the press conference in Mexico while Verstappen was penalized promptly after he had used the word. He said,

“Then [Herbert] had his big opinion ready. That what I said couldn’t be done because five-year-olds hear that too. After Mexico, I didn’t hear him when Charles Leclerc said the same thing at a press conference that was much better watched. Then again, it was late in Europe by then, maybe the thought was that those five-year-olds are all asleep by then.”

Johnny Herbert's reply to Max Verstappen's comments

Johnny Herbert had replied to the allegations of British bias against him and said that such claims were ridiculous. The former British racer said that there were multiple stewards in the panel, and all of them were of different nationalities. When the decision was made, it was done unanimously.

Herbert said, via PlanetF1:

“The attitude in the Stewards’ room was really good and our decision was clear because the guidelines tell us what to look at and how to deal with the situation. When we applied the two 10-second penalties to Max Verstappen, we were all in agreement. Always remember, there are four stewards who make these decisions.”

It remains to be seen how the race weekend in Mexico pans out because the stakes continue to be higher as the season comes to a close.