Former Sky F1 pundit and steward Johnny Herbert hit out at the “absolutely ridiculous” accusations of “bias” he felt were aimed at him.

That comes after he lost his position as an FIA steward, Herbert claiming he and broadcaster Sky F1 were caught up in the whole ‘British bias’ debate, as he moved to defend his former employer.

Hebert: Sky F1 supporting British drivers like World Cup

Herbert – a three-time grand prix winner – had served as a pundit on Sky F1 since they picked up the live broadcasting rights for the sport in the UK and Ireland in 2012, until his departure ahead of the 2023 season.

Herbert remained on the F1 scene as an FIA steward, though continued to serve as a pundit after his Sky F1 departure. That, though led to the FIA deeming this work “incompatible” with his steward role. Each grand prix sees a panel of four stewards formed to enforce the regulations.

Therefore, Herbert will no longer be one of the stewards available for FIA selection as of F1 2025, that decision coming from the governing body after a 2024 campaign which saw Herbert come under fire for his critical comments regarding four-time World Champion Max Verstappen, the same true for 1996 champion Damon Hill who left his Sky F1 punditry role after the season.

This fuelled claims of ‘British bias’ in the media, a theory which Verstappen made reference to at various points last season, including suggesting he had the “wrong passport” for the F1 paddock.

And Herbert, speaking with CasinoApps.com, pointed out that “the Verstappens [Max and his father Jos] keep intimating there’s a bias”, adding: “I read that and then wonder, ‘So I can’t support a British driver because I’m British?’ I can’t support Lewis [Hamilton] or George [Russell] or Lando [Norris]. It’s ridiculous.”

However, Herbert insisted that his will to see British drivers succeed never impacted his decision-making as a steward, making it clear he “felt that the way it was aimed at me, accusing me of bias, was absolutely ridiculous. Am I biased? Absolutely not.”

He would also point out that there are “three other FIA stewards as well” alongside him contributing to decisions when he was on the panel.

And Herbert would link this ‘British bias’ debate to how Sky F1 has found itself caught up in all of that, insisting the broadcaster is well within its rights if it wished to cheer for the home drivers.

“Sky have been getting it as well,” Herbert continued. “But they’re a goddamn British broadcaster! So, you’re going to favour your own British drivers.

“What happens for instance when the football World Cup happens? Will you support your team? Yes, absolutely. I don’t see any difference from that point of view.”

However, Hill has made it clear that he – and Sky F1 as a whole – never acted with bias, and pointed the finger at Verstappen’s Red Bull team for “unfairly” using the ‘British bias’ card as a tactic against the broadcaster.

“Red Bull fight their corner very forcefully,” Hill claimed when speaking to The Telegraph. “And they don’t like criticism of Max. And they didn’t like, particularly, some of the things that were said.

“On the whole they’ve always taken the view that Sky are British-centric and biased, which is really unfair I think. Actually, I think there is a desire [the other way]. I don’t think Sky want to be accused of being biased at all. I think they want to be a fair broadcaster of the sport – credit where credit’s due and all that.

“They also do not want to be denied access to a very important figure in this sport.

“And I think Red Bull know that, and they apply pressure if they need to.

“I like Max. What I don’t like is jingoism. And I don’t like the fact that it became a ‘You’re against us because we’re not British’ and all that nonsense, which was used as a way of pressuring us. It’s utterly unfair to suggest that there is any kind of anti-Dutch thing going on. What can you do? I thought I was there to express my opinion.”

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The insistence that Sky F1 is a neutral broadcaster has also run through Martin Brundle, who made that point in an appearance on the Sky F1 podcast late last year.

Host Matt Baker put it to Sky F1 co-commentator and pundit Brundle that: “We, as a British broadcaster, we try to tell the story of British drivers just with perhaps a bit more detail. Is that fair?”

Definitely not was Brundle stance on that.

“No, I don’t think we do,” he responded.

“I don’t think there’s any… I mean, I’m a Brit. I’m a former British Formula 1 driver, and we’re broadcasting primarily to a British broadcaster. Others take our feed all the way around the world. So, do we?

“We’re nothing like… When I watch the Olympics or the World Cup or the European Cup, obviously, your commentators are fervently pro whichever country they’re from. I don’t think we do that. I like to think we’re pretty balanced. I really do.

“And actually, we get flak from pretty much everybody, because what I have learned in these 27, 28 years is that you can say 1000 positive things about somebody and one negative will get back to them and their fans get onto it, or their family and friends tell them. And I get a few cool, sideways glances sometimes.

“Nobody ever comes up to you and says, ‘Thank you very much for what you said about us.’”

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