Jos Verstappen airs ‘conflict of interest’ FIA stewards concern after Mexico penalty

Jos Verstappen is concerned that ‘the FIA may appear to have a conflict of interest’ because of their choice of stewards for an F1 weekend.

It follows his son, the Red Bull driver and three times Formula One world champion, being given two ten-second penalties during Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix.

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

Red Bull star Verstappen was penalised 20 seconds because of two infringements involving McLaren driver and F1 2024 competitor Lando Norris at the Hermanos Rodriguez circuit.

The first was on lap 10 where Verstappen forced Norris off the track as the McLaren driver attempted to overtake him using the outside of Turn 4.

The second one happened only a few corners later when Verstappen tried to overtake Norris at the fast Turn 7 down the inside, both cars went off track and into the runoff area, and the Red Bull rejoined in front.

Analysis: Mexican Grand Prix

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.

Red Bull hasn’t won a race in 10 races, and Verstappen Sr loudly criticized the team in recent months, the last race victory of the World Championship leader took place during the Spanish GP on June 23.

Of the rest of the classified runners, Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez finished at the back of the field Sunday in 17th after getting eliminated during the first stage of qualifying on Saturday at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico.

Verstappen Sr added that Red Bull is slow and this is his son’s biggest worry in the final four races in Brazil, Las Vegas Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

He added: In Max Lugers view, what matters most is that the foundation or the chassis, as they call it, is not good.

That one, you could see it in his team-mate. Now even Haas was quicker than Red Bull in the race.

F1 driving standards have been a cause for concern in the last two races and the FIA will be presenting a new version of the guidelines for racing in the F1 sport to the drivers at the Qatar GP next month.

Meanwhile, Mr Verstappen believes that introduction of gravel traps at such turns would prevent drivers from using the run-off areas when two cars are fighting on the track.

He said: ‘They are now asking a bit for it themselves. This is actually true because 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.

“If there was a gravel tray there its such a different situation.”