FIA steward Johnny Herbert has hit out at Max Verstappen’s “horrible mindset” after slapping the Red Bull driver with a 20-second penalty for an “absolute no-no” in battle with Lando Norris in Mexico.

Verstappen was hit with two separate 10-second penalties for incidents with McLaren’s Lando Norris during last weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix, with the Red Bull driver’s conduct in wheel-to-wheel battle coming under scrutiny.

FIA steward Johnny Herbert takes aim at Max Verstappen’s ‘horrible mindset’

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.

Former F1 driver Herbert, who was a member of the four-man steward’s panel who decided on Verstappen’s punishment in Mexico, has defended the decision to hit the Red Bull driver with a severe penalty.

He told Action Network: “It’s the guidelines we followed, the teams agreed with our decisions.

“The right decision was made, the 20-second penalty for Max Verstappen was not harsh.

“Was Verstappen’s driving style on the edge or over the top? Yes, it was.

“Verstappen’s driving style was harsh, especially when he’s taking a fellow driver off the track. It’s an absolute no-no from me, current drivers, former drivers and stewards.

“I am such a big fan of Verstappen and it frustrates me massively when he drives the way he did in Mexico.

“He doesn’t need to do it, he’s so good in the cockpit and at this point in the Championship, he just needs to stay out of trouble and drive as well as possible.

“When Verstappen goes into this horrible mindset of trying to gain an advantage by taking a fellow driver off the race track so Ferrari can get the one-two, that where Verstappen needs to know he doesn’t have to do that. Just win in the cleanest possible way you can.

“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 ten-second penalties to Max Verstappen, we were all in agreement. Always remember, there are four stewards who make these decisions.”

Herbert’s comments come after Verstappen’s father Jos claimed that the FIA risk having “the appearance of a conflict of interest” due to the selection of their stewards’ panels on F1 race weekends.

Dutch publication De Telegraaf revealed that Mr Verstappen’s concerns are believed to be related to Herbert, who previously worked as a Sky F1 UK television pundit, and Tim Mayer, the son of the late McLaren co-founder Teddy Mayer who was also on the panel in Mexico.

McLaren hold a 29-point lead over Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship entering this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix, with the Woking team on course for their first teams’ title since 1998.

Verstappen’s Red Bull outfit, the reigning World Champions, currently sit third, 54 points adrift of McLaren.

Mr Verstappen told De Telegraaf: “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].”