Herbert: Hamilton to Blame for Penalty, Stewards Doing Fine

Former Formula 1 steward Johnny Herbert has backed current FIA officials after Lewis Hamilton aired his frustration over recent penalties, stating the Ferrari driver was solely to blame for his pit-lane speeding infraction at the Hungarian GP.

Hamilton voiced displeasure after receiving four penalties across three race weekends. His latest sanction came in Hungary, where stewards handed him a five-second penalty for exceeding the 80 km/h pit-lane limit by just 0.1 km/h after releasing his pit-lane limiter a fraction too early during a VSC period.

The seven-time World Champion raised concerns about consistency during driver discussions with the FIA, revealing that officials admitted a false-start penalty at the British GP was issued in error.

Baca JugaOliver Bearman Buka Toko Sepeda dan Kafe di Atas Monako

However, Herbert dismissed any notion of official bias and argued that Hamilton must take responsibility for operational mistakes.

"You can't say it was 'just bad luck'. You can't and mustn't penalise a driver simply because you might not like him. That's not how it works," Herbert said. "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."

Herbert further suggested that a younger Hamilton would have avoided such an error. "The speeding offence was Hamilton's fault, full stop. You can't blame anyone else," he added. "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."

Herbert's intervention highlights the continued scrutiny over the stewards and driving standards, with no winners in this lose-lose battle.