Jos Verstappen, the father of Max Verstappen, fears the FIA risk having “the appearance of a conflict of interest” due to their selection of stewards on an F1 race weekend.

It comes after his son, the Red Bull driver and reigning three-time World Champion, was hit with two separate 10-second penalties in Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix.

Jos Verstappen questions FIA stewards after Max Verstappen’s Mexican GP penalty

Red Bull star Verstappen was forced to serve a time penalty totalling 20 seconds after two separate incidents with McLaren driver and F1 2024 rival Lando Norris at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

The first incident on Lap 10 saw Verstappen edge Norris off the circuit as the McLaren driver tried to pass him around the outside of Turn 4.

The second came just a few corners later, when Verstappen launched an aggressive move down Norris’s inside at the fast Turn 7, with both drivers taking to the run-off area and the Red Bull rejoining ahead.

Verstappen was forced to sit stationary for 20 seconds during his pit stop and ultimately came home sixth, his joint-worst classified result of the F1 2024 season.

Norris, meanwhile, finished second to the race-winning Ferrari of Carlos Sainz, reducing Verstappen’s World Championship lead to 47 points with four rounds remaining.

Speaking to Dutch publication De Telegraaf, Mr Verstappen claimed the FIA “should take a good look” at their stewards’ panels, suggesting some stewards could “have more sympathy” for particular competitors.

He said: “Norris may now be thinking even more: ‘I have to be careful [in battle with Verstappen].’

“If you look at Sunday’s actions, Max’s second moment may have been a bit too much, but he is letting this get over him.

“You can start talking about it for a very long time, but it makes no difference anyway. Max has to drive the way he wants.

“He has to do this because the car is not good enough and he is doing everything he can to win the title.

“But Max is not going to change his driving style because there were a couple of stewards present now who don’t like him anyway.

“The FIA should take a good look at the staffing of the stewards, who they put there and whether there is no appearance of a conflict of interest.

“From former drivers, for example, who have more sympathy for certain drivers or [teams].”

De Telegraaf claim that Mr Verstappen is believed to be referring to Johnny Herbert, the former British F1 racer and Sky F1 television pundit, and Tim Mayer, the son of the late McLaren co-founder Teddy Mayer.

Herbert and Mayer made up half of the four-man FIA stewards’ panel over the Mexican Grand Prix weekend, with Loic Bacquelaine and Alfonso Oros Trigueros also on duty.

The clashes between Verstappen and Norris in Mexico came seven days after the latter was hit with a five-second penalty for passing Verstappen off the track in the closing laps of the United States GP in Austin, Texas.

McLaren saw an appeal against Norris’s US GP penalty rejected on Friday at the Mexican Grand Prix.

Verstappen Sr has been a vocal critic of Red Bull’s performances in recent months, with the World Championship leader without a race victory since the Spanish Grand Prix on June 23 – a run of 10 races representing his longest barren stretch since the 2020 season.

Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez finishing last of the classified runners at his home race in 17th place, having been eliminated from the first stage of qualifying on Saturday at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

And Verstappen Sr claimed that Red Bull’s lack of pace is his son’s biggest concern ahead of the final four rounds in Brazil, Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi as he seeks to secure a fourth consecutive World Championship.

He added: “As far as Max is concerned, the most important thing is that the basis, the car, is not good.

“You could see that in his team-mate’s performance. Even Haas was faster than Red Bull in the race.”

F1 driving standards have come under the microscope over the last two races, with governing body the FIA set to present a revised form of the sport’s racing guidelines to the drivers at next month’s Qatar Grand Prix.

Mr Verstappen feels the implementation of gravel traps at various hotspots would stop drivers taking to run-off areas in wheel-to-wheel situations on track.

He said: “’They are now asking a bit for it themselves. There are so many huge run-out lanes on many circuits, so as a driver you then also have the space to drive along the track.

“A gravel tray in that spot would make a big difference.”