Verstappen once again faces criticism from a Steward: Has the FIA learned nothing from Herbert?

In the beginning of 2025, it became clear that Johnny Herbert was sidelined by the FIA. The governing body stated that working as a steward could no longer coincide with working as a ‘pundit’.

This came after Johnny Herbert had repeatedly criticised Max Verstappen and Jos Verstappen in various gambling sites interviews. Stewards are not full-time employees of the FIA, allowing them to take on this type of freelancing. However, the FIA decided to draw a line and part ways with Herbert.

The departure wasn't exactly gracious. Herbert received a call from the FIA thanking him for his services. After the FIA had stated at the end of 2024 that Herbert could continue his work, a conclusion was reached in 2025.

However, internally, the FIA seems not to have drawn a clear line when it comes to conducting interviews. Last week, Derek Warwick did an interview at, you guessed it, a gambling site. Just like Herbert, Warwick made statements about the last race weekend in Spain, putting Max Verstappen in the spotlight again.

Although Warwick kept a much lower profile compared to Herbert, it remains remarkable that a steward is allowed to alternate his duties with a role as a commentator at a gambling site. Not only did Warwick analyse the incident between Max Verstappen and George Russell, but the steward also analysed Verstappen's future plans.

In 2024, the FIA and Herbert stubbornly maintained that you can combine these activities. A referee giving his opinion on various drivers during the week, but being able to judge objectively on the weekend. It obviously looks bad, and the FIA should always prevent such conflicts of interest.

Thus, it's not a call for Warwick's dismissal, but rather a policy change within the FIA. Mohammed Ben Sulayem proudly presented the 4.7 million euros profit the FIA made in 2024, yet, meanwhile, stewards in F1 are glorified volunteers. Perhaps it's time for these individuals to no longer feel the need to moonlight at various gambling sites and act fully, neutrally, in the service of the FIA and Formula 1.

After the first two free practice sessions in Canada, the FIA decided to suspend Derek Warwick. The steward was already in Montreal and had been serving during the first two sessions, but the FIA announced a suspension in response to comments Warwick had made — over a week earlier.

"Following recent unauthorised media comments, the FIA has taken the decision to suspend Derek Warwick from his duties as driver steward for this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix. He will be replaced by Enrique Bernoldi who will be officiating from the Remote Operations Centre in Geneva for the remainder of the event," read the FIA’s statement.

The timing of the suspension remains odd. Warwick’s comments were made more than a week ago on a betting website — giving the FIA ample time to prevent him from traveling to Montreal. In fact, GPblog submitted the following question to the FIA on Tuesday: Why was Warwick allowed to make such statements, while Herbert was put aside for the same reason? No answer was provided.