Ex-F1 driver and former FIA steward Johnny Herbert had some choice words for Red Bull boss Christian Horner in regards to Max Verstappen’s Jeddah penalty.

Calling out “zero understanding” in the critics of the punishment handed to Verstappen by the FIA, Herbert added that he will “include Christian Horner in this, too”, despite his racing background, for his “load of baloney” attempt to defend Verstappen via a screenshot when he met with the media.

Max Verstappen Saudi GP penalty: Harsh or fair?

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

Verstappen was given a five-second penalty having been judged by the FIA stewards to have left the track and gained an advantage, as he and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri battled for the lead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix into Turn 1.

Piastri gained the inside line with polesitter Verstappen on the outside, as Verstappen proceeded to enter the run-off and rejoin ahead of Piastri.

Verstappen ultimately finished the race P2, 2.8 seconds behind Piastri having served the five seconds at his sole pit stop, and Horner was not impressed.

“I thought it was very harsh,” Horner told the media, including PlanetF1.com, as he came armed with a screenshot of Verstappen’s onboard, showing his left-front wheel slightly in front of Piastri’s right-front as they turned into Turn 1.

“We didn’t concede the position because we didn’t believe that he’d anything wrong.

“You can quite clearly see at the apex of the corner, we believed that Max is clearly ahead.

“The rules of engagement they discussed previously, and it was a very harsh decision.”

However, that is certainly not how Herbert viewed the situation, and the three-time grand prix winner sent some scathing criticism the way of Horner.

“I don’t know how people will argue that it was an unfair penalty,” Herbert told Beste Online Casino Nederland.

“The people arguing against it have probably never been in a race car, and definitely not in an F1 car, so they have zero understanding. I’ll include Christian Horner in this, too.

“I know he’s the team principal and he’s trying to do what’s best for Red Bull, but sometimes you have to just admit you’re wrong and give the place back. Most drivers are very aware of when they should give the place back.

“It was a definite penalty, because when you go into any corner, especially a tight one like that, you’ve got to be on the apex near the kerb. The apex of the turn was not where Verstappen was, who was two metres out.

“Horner then came up with the picture of evidence to show who was in front in Turn 1, which was a load of baloney, but to me, it was passing the buck to the FIA and the stewards.

“It’s wrong, it shouldn’t be like that. Red Bull had a chance to give the place back but they chose not to.”

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F1 teams can appeal the decisions made by FIA stewards through the right-of-review process, but Red Bull has confirmed to PlanetF1.com that they will not be challenging Verstappen’s five-second penalty.

Following the race, Horner had indicated that Red Bull would be unlikely to succeed if they launched an appeal.

“Everything has to be objectively looked at in isolation, and that’s a really marginal call,” said Horner.

“I think the stewards, obviously… we spoke to them after the race, they think it was a slam dunk. So the problem is, if we’re to protest it, then they’re gonna most likely hold the line.

“We’ll ask them to have a look at the the onboard footage that wasn’t available at the time. But, yeah, I think that’s what it is.

“When you look at that, I can’t see how they got to that conclusion. They’ve both gone in at the same speed. Oscar has run deep into the corner. Max can’t just disappear at this point in time.

“So perhaps these rules need a relook at. I don’t know what’s happened to ‘let them race’ on the first lap. That seems to have been abandoned.”

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