‘You Can’t Blame Anyone Else’: Johnny Herbert Defends FIA Stewards as Lewis Hamilton Endures Nightmare Penalty Run

Former Formula 1 driver and ex-FIA steward Johnny Herbert has delivered a firm response to Lewis Hamilton following a frustrating run of penalties that plagued the Mercedes star ahead of the summer shutdown. The seven-time World Champion suffered an unprecedented succession of four separate penalties across three consecutive Grand Prix weekends, drawing intense media scrutiny and reigniting debates over judicial consistency within the sport. Hamilton’s troubled run began with a controversial false start penalty at his home race in Silverstone, followed by a 10-second penalty for causing a collision during a wheel-to-wheel battle with teammate George Russell at Spa-Francorchamps, as well as an impeding infringement during qualifying. The flurry of disciplinary actions culminated at the Hungaroring, where the British driver was hit with another sanction for speeding in the pit lane, leaving him visibly frustrated with the ongoing officiating decisions.

While racing pundits and fans debated whether some of the decisions were overly harsh—particularly the 10-second penalty at the Belgian Grand Prix, which Hamilton himself described as a standard “racing incident”—Herbert insists that the regulatory guidelines leave no room for excuses or subjective interpretation. Speaking in an interview with a gambling platform, the former Grand Prix winner robustly defended his former colleagues in the stewards’ room, arguing that the regulations are applied with absolute impartiality. According to Herbert, attributing the rash of penalties to misfortune or personal bias is entirely misguided, stressing that drivers must take full personal responsibility when they breach established sporting rules.

“You can’t say it was ‘just bad luck’,” Johnny Herbert told a gambling platform. “You can’t and mustn’t penalise a driver simply because you might not like him. That’s not how it works. The guidelines are there, plain and simple. There are four stewards in the room who work closely together. You can’t ignore the rules and guidelines, because that leads to all sorts of other problems. What’s more, it would rile the drivers. Consistency in handing out penalties is therefore crucial, and that is precisely what teams and drivers always strive for. In my opinion, the stewards are doing an excellent job.”

False Starts and Pit Lane Speeding: Hamilton’s Grievances Over Regulatory Consistency

The run of disciplinary decisions triggered significant friction between Hamilton and match officials, particularly following the opening penalty at the British Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver expressed deep grievance after being penalized for a false start at Silverstone, claiming that the stewards went back on discussions held during official briefing sessions. Hamilton revealed that drivers had previously raised concerns regarding the enforcement of start-line movements, asserting that a consensus had been reached where minor movements before the final lights illuminated would not be penalized as long as the car remained within its grid box.

Despite his vocal frustration over what he perceived as shifting goalposts, Hamilton struck a more pragmatic tone following his pit lane speeding infringement in Hungary, acknowledging that he needed to eliminate personal errors to avoid giving officials any justification to intervene. However, Herbert remained unsympathetic toward the driver’s complaints regarding the pit lane infraction, maintaining that telemetry-based rules are completely objective and undeniable.

“We talked in the drivers’ briefing the fact that they’re inconsistent with this stuff,” Lewis Hamilton stated when addressing his Silverstone false start penalty. “Drivers in the past have moved and not been penalised. We discussed that, as long as you’re not moving when the last lights are on, you shouldn’t be penalised. I wasn’t out of my box. And they agreed. So they’re looking into that for the future.”

Following his pit lane speeding infraction at the Hungaroring, Hamilton added: “I’m going to try and make sure I don’t give them any reason to penalise me.”

‘There Are No Excuses’: Comparing Today’s Hamilton with the Driver of a Decade Ago

Throughout his illustrious career, Hamilton has historically maintained a clean disciplinary record, rarely finding himself summoned to the stewards’ office for avoidable driving errors. The primary exception occurred during the tumultuous 2011 season, when the British champion endured a famous phase of repeated on-track collisions and penalty sanctions while battling intensely with Ferrari’s Felipe Massa. Since that turbulent period, Hamilton’s precision and judgment have been hallmarks of his World Championship success, making his recent string of basic errors all the more surprising to paddock observers.

Analyzing the situation, Herbert questioned why a veteran of Hamilton’s stature made such fundamental misjudgments in recent races. While acknowledging that the current driver is operating in a vastly different competitive environment compared to his dominant years, Herbert insisted that experienced racers cannot escape accountability when clear regulatory lines are crossed.

“The speeding offence was Hamilton’s fault, full stop. You can’t blame anyone else,” Herbert emphasized. “Would the Lewis of 10 years ago have done something like that? Probably not. I don’t know why he got his judgement so completely wrong. Ultimately, there are no excuses. It’s not as if the stewards have anything against Lewis. That’s not how it works. He simply has to learn not to make mistakes like this.”

Recharging for the Second Half: Eliminating Errors in the Championship Fight

As Formula 1 enters its mid-season summer break, the pause offers Hamilton a crucial opportunity to reset before the World Championship resumes. With Mercedes locked in a fierce battle against rival teams for podium positions and constructive points, eliminating unforced driver errors will be paramount to sustaining their competitive push in the second half of the season.

With Herbert’s firm critique highlighting the uncompromising nature of modern FIA stewarding, the onus now falls squarely on Hamilton to refine his execution on track. As teams prepare for the upcoming Grand Prix fixtures, the seven-time champion will be determined to ensure that his driving remains strictly within the guidelines, leaving the stewards with no cause to disrupt his performance on race weekends.