Red Bull's Christian Horner makes his feelings known about Johnny Herbert's release from FIA stewardship

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said that he agreed with FIA's decision to remove former F1 driver and pundit Johnny Herbert from his role as a steward. The sport's governing body had announced on Wednesday that they and the former British driver would go their different ways, citing that Herbert's role as an FIA steward and a pundit could not co-exist.

Herbert, who raced in the sport predominantly in the 90s with teams like Benetton, Jaguar, and Stewart, had been a pundit since 2012. After his exit from Sky in 2023, he joined other broadcasters and also became a steward in some races.

Recently, Johnny Herbert drew criticism for his role as a steward during the 2024 Mexican GP when the former gave two separate 10s penalties to Max Verstappen for his incident with Lando Norris.

When speaking with Sky Sports during the Autosport Awards, the Red Bull team boss mentioned that Max Verstappen had nothing to do with Herbert losing his role and gave his honest take on the decision, saying:

"Firstly, it has absolutely nothing to do with Max. But it's absolutely the right decision. You cannot have stewards working in the media. You don't have it in the Premiership, you don't have it in any other form of professional sport."

"It's totally inappropriate. You're either on the sporting regulatory side or you're on the media side. You can't have a foot in both camps."

Johnny Herbert was accused of having a bias towards the British drivers after he dished out the penalties to Max Verstappen in Mexico. He also drew flak from the F1 fans for his recent comments on Lewis Hamilton's chances of clinching the title in his first year at Ferrari.

Nonetheless, there has been a call from drivers and team bosses alike regarding the need for having permanent stewards and letting go of the rotational ones, with McLaren CEO Zak Brown giving his take on the same.

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McLaren CEO gives his take on full-time stewards after Johnny Herbert sacking

McLaren CEO Zak Brown said that he was an advocate of having full-time and paid stewards instead of volunteering and rotational stewards.

Speaking with Sky Sports at the same event, the American did not directly comment on Herbert's sacking but reflected on the current stewarding situation and said:

"We're in a multi-billion-dollar sport, with a lot on the line. Stewarding is not easy. I think you need to have full-time stewards, and they need to be paid. I also think we need to look at the rule book.

"I think it's a bit too prescriptive, and if you get some stewards in full time, give them a little bit more leniency. They know what's right and wrong."

Johnny Herbert was supposed to be the steward at the inaugural race of the 2025 season in Australia in March but those plans have been scrapped. It remains unclear whether the 60-year-old will return to his punditry role with one of the broadcasters in the upcoming season.