Johnny Herbert has reacted critically to Lewis Hamilton’s statements after the Hungarian GP. The former F1 driver and ex-FIA steward believes that the Brit unfairly blames the stewards for the time penalty he received after a speeding violation in the pit lane. According to Herbert, this – contrary to what Hamilton himself suggested – has nothing to do with bad luck and he would never have made such mistakes ten years ago.
Hamilton received a five-second time penalty in Budapest after he turned off the so-called pit limiter too early and thereby exceeded the maximum speed. Afterwards, the seven-time world champion reacted frustratedly. “Every time I give these stewards a chance, they give me a penalty.” According to Herbert, however, that criticism is misplaced because it was an automatic penalty where the stewards had no discretion.
“The relationship between stewards and drivers is generally very good,” Herbert responded to a betting platform. “The guidelines for drivers are well known. It is a collaboration between the FIA, the stewards, and the drivers and reflects how the driver field wants certain situations to be judged. If something happens on the track and a driver, for example, exceeds the speed limit, it does not matter if it is by half a kilometer per hour. A penalty is a penalty.”
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Ten years ago Lewis Hamilton did not make these mistakes
Herbert emphasizes that the stewards act according to fixed guidelines and not based on personal preferences. “You cannot say it was ‘just bad luck.’ You cannot and must not give a driver a penalty because you might not like him. That’s not how it works. The guidelines are there. There are four stewards in the room who work closely together. You cannot ignore the rules and guidelines because that leads to all kinds of other problems. Moreover, you upset the drivers. Consistency in handing out penalties is therefore crucial, and that is exactly what teams and drivers always strive for. In my opinion, the stewards do that excellently.”
The former FIA steward believes Hamilton should look for the blame more at himself. “The speeding violation was Hamilton’s fault, period. You cannot blame anyone else. Would the Lewis of ten years ago have done something like this? Probably not. Why he made that assessment so completely wrong, I do not know. In the end, there are no excuses. It’s not like the stewards have something against Lewis. That’s not how it works. He simply has to unlearn these kinds of mistakes.”
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