Johnny Herbert secures new role – one day after losing F1 steward job
Johnny Herbert has joined the recently revived motorsport outfit Lola as a brand ambassador – just one day after losing his role as an F1 steward this year.
On Wednesday morning, former F1 driver Herbert, 60, was dropped as a steward for the Australian Grand Prix in March and the rest of the 2025 season.
The FIA, F1's governing body, deemed Herbert's dual role as a steward and pundit as 'incompatible.'
Yet Herbert will be involved with British car manufacturer Lola's Formula E programme – as a powertrain supplier for Yamaha – and future projects in the years ahead, having signed an agreement with close friend Keith Smout, who is Lola's chief commercial officer.
'The nice thing for me is that Lola's return is both a great news story for the motorsport industry and also it almost marries together different eras of racing,' Herbert told The Race.
'Lola's heritage was all about where the engineers came from. They went through Lola, March, Reynard, etc. and at that time it was like a university for engineers.
'In 2025 it's not only back, but it's back in one of the most innovative types of racing you can get – Formula E. And knowing Till [Bechtolsheimer, Lola owner], and guys like Keith this is just the start of a new technical adventure so it's really exciting.
'For Till to come up with the idea to give it another chance to go back onto the racetrack, it's lovely to see.
'It's people like Till that we need to have around to bring these wonderful names back into motorsport and that's exactly what he's doing at the present time.'
Herbert goes into his new role after losing his role in the F1 stewards room, following criticism from Max Verstappen's dad, Jos, last year.
Herbert was critical of Verstappen's driving style in Mexico last year, when the four-time world champion received a 20-second penalty, prompting father Jos to rebuke: 'I think a steward shouldn't talk to the press at all.'
When criticised by the Verstappens last year, Herbert fired back and maintained his views as a pundit could be separated from his rulings as a steward.
'As I have always said, I am Johnny Herbert the steward and the professional during a race weekend and Johnny Herbert a pundit at other times who expresses what he thinks,' Herbert said, in November.
'When I am a steward, I do not express any opinions. Everyone has an opinion. Martin Brundle has an opinion. Why can't I when I am not at the racetrack?'
The 24-race 2025 F1 season starts on 16 March, with a 10-team season launch event taking place at the O2 Arena in London on 18 February.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
Lewis Hamilton risks wrath of his beloved Roscoe after he is seen petting Chief Mouser Larry the Cat at meeting with PM
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) SIR LEWIS HAMILTON has risked the wrath of his beloved dog Roscoe... after he was seen petting Larry the Cat. Formula One superstar Hamilton is well known to be a socially conscious person, and leads his Mission 44 project to support young people in their education. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 5 Lewis Hamilton risked the wrath of his dog, Roscoe, after he was seen petting Larry the Cat Credit: Lauren Hurley 5 Hamilton said his 'heart stops' when he gets a message about his beloved pet pooch Credit: Instagram @roscoelovescoco 5 12-year-old Roscoe is often seen alongside Hamilton Credit: Instagram @lewishamilton 5 Hamilton's visit to Downing Street came for a meeting on education reform Credit: Crown Copyright To that end, the 40-year-old was seen in attendance at Downing Street earlier this week for a meeting with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to discuss education reform. During his visit, the seven-time F1 world champion took some time out from the meetings to introduce himself to Number 10's Chief Mouser, Larry. Larry has served in the role since 2011 after being adopted by then PM David Cameron. Born in 2007, the tabby is as old as Hamilton's F1 career when he started out with McLaren in the same year. READ MORE IN F1 MAX FUR-STAPPEN F1 stars' pets from driver with THIRTEEN cats to Insta dog and a REINDEER Taking to social media, the (un)official Larry the Cat account shared a photo of Hamilton petting the feline as he laid on his bed by a window. He captioned the post: "Thanks for the stroke. @LewisHamilton - love from the sleeping cat to the prancing horse x." It was a bit of a change of pace for Hamilton, who is usually seen alongside his French bulldog Roscoe. And one fan on social media was quick to point out: "If Roscoe ever sees this picture he will never forgive LH." BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK However, Roscoe's most recent Instagram post showed him being given a tasty treat, showing Hamilton knows the way to the heart of man's best friend. Hamilton has not had the best interaction with cats in the past, revealing last year how he had black cats "thrown" at him. Lewis Hamilton's beloved dog Roscoe diagnosed with pneumonia as carer gives health update He also landed himself in trouble with animal rights activists in 2016 when he was seen playing with a tiger and jaguar during a visit to Mexico City's Black Jaguar-White Tiger Foundation. But most fans were loving the crossover of two British icons, with one saying: "Two legends in the same photo." A second said: "Oh what an honour! (For Lewis)." A third added: "Prime Minister Larry deigns to share some of his aura with Lewis. I respect that." Another joked: "Ahh I guess Lewis's demands to Sir Keir Starmer proved futile and Lewis went over Keir's head to the real power in Number 10." The Ferrari star admitted last month that he worries about his 12-year-old pooch following a recent battle he had with pneumonia. Hamilton said: "This is a time where every time I get a text message from the lady who looks after him, my heart stops for a second. "Because I'm thinking, 'What's next?' But he's fine now, fortunately. He is doing well. 'I never felt like my voice was heard' - Lewis Hamilton on education reform Hamilton's appearance at Downing Street was for more than just saying hello to Larry the Cat, but in fact was down to his goal of pushing for education reform in the UK. On his visit, Hamilton said: "I struggled in school and never felt like my voice was heard, that's why I know first-hand that ensuring every student feels they belong in school is vital. "I'm grateful that, off the back of this meeting, the government has committed to working with Mission 44 to enact change focused on making the education system more inclusive. "I'm so proud of how far Mission 44 has come in such a short space of time and the opportunity we have to transform the lives of vulnerable students across the country." In a previous interview with the Sunday Times, Hamilton revealed: "When I was in my 20s, I had some really difficult phases. "I've struggled with mental health throughout my life. [I've had] depression. "From a very early age, when I was, like, 13. "I think it was the pressure of the racing and struggling at school. "The bullying. I had no one to talk to.' "He's 12 and a half years old, so he's an old boy and it's unusual for them to live that long." The duo have practically been inseparable for a decade, and even appear together on the front cover of a recent edition of Vogue. When quizzed on Roscoe's next appearance, Hamilton said: "I really want to take him to Silverstone, and particularly Monza, this year. "I plan to put him in a red cape and outfit. I was with him before Miami and he still wants to play. "He's still got that youthful spirit. But he does like to sleep a lot." Roscoe's trainer, Kirstin McMillan, nursed the vegan canine back to full fitness after he fell ill in April, as he was treated with medication and specialist acupuncture treatment. Meanwhile, Hamilton has been struggling to extract the best out of his Ferrari machinery, and - outside of a Sprint Race win - is yet to score a podium with the Scuderia after joining them over the winter. The Brit appeared close to tears during an interview with Sky Sports F1 after he finished P6 at the Spanish Grand Prix. He later showed his class by apologising for snapping at reporter Rachel Brooks. Hamilton will have a chance at redemption at the Canadian Grand Prix on June 15. 5
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
FIA releases statement after driving star shuts down his social media accounts following abuse after pile-up
The FIA has strongly condemned online abuse after rising Formula 2 star Alex Dunne was forced to delete his social media accounts in the wake of a chaotic 11-car crash at the Monaco Grand Prix. Dunne, who drives for McLaren's junior team and currently leads the F2 standings, received a torrent of vile messages following his role in the dramatic pile-up at Sainte Devote, which brought a red flag just moments into the race on May 25. The 19-year-old Irishman collided with ART Grand Prix driver Victor Martins at the first corner, triggering a chain reaction that saw more than half the field wiped out before completing a single lap. 'I got a lot of stuff after Monaco,' Dunne later revealed. 'Normally I'm not someone who reads things and gets annoyed by them. But I think an hour after the race, I deleted social media off my phone because I've never received such bad messages in my life. 'A lot of the stuff I got was really, really bad and quite upsetting to be honest.' The FIA has since responded with a statement under its United Against Online Abuse campaign, urging greater respect towards athletes and their teams. 'On behalf of our teams and drivers, F1, F2, F3 and the FIA firmly condemn abuse and harassment of any form,' the statement read. 'We'll continue to act upon and report abuse to social media platforms. Whether you are a fan or a part of the motorsport world, we are all driven by passion. At the heart of it all, there are humans.' Dunne is not the only driver to suffer from online hate this season. Former Alpine hopeful Jack Doohan recently issued a plea for fans to stop targeting his family after a viral hoax falsely attributed a controversial post to his father. 'They edited the original content to make it appear as though my father posted it, which is entirely untrue,' Doohan explained. 'Please stop harassing my family. I didn't think it would get to this point.' FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem added his voice to the growing concern, stating: 'No one should be subjected to threats, hatred, or discrimination. There is no place for abuse or toxicity in our community. 'We are taking decisive action — raising awareness, providing support, and driving change. We are committed to safeguarding the wellbeing of everyone in our sport.' The first-corner pile-up stood out as the defining moment of the Formula 2 weekend in Monaco. After a slow launch from pole, Dunne lost the inside line to Martins and appeared to understeer into the Frenchman's sidepod. Both cars smashed into the barriers, and the narrow layout meant those behind had nowhere to go. Eleven drivers retired as marshals cleared the wreckage. Dutch driver Richard Verschoor was among those forced out, with significant damage to his front wheel. Anger flared in the immediate aftermath, with a furious Martins asking his team over radio: 'Who does he think he is, Max Verstappen?' After a lengthy delay, the race resumed with a reduced field — and it was Jak Crawford who ultimately took the win, capitalising on a well-timed pit stop under the safety car before a late red flag brought proceedings to an early end. Leonardo Fornaroli, who had led for much of the race, had to settle for second. While Dunne remains in contention for the Formula 2 title, his experience in Monaco has cast a shadow over what has otherwise been a fine breakout season. Nevertheless, he is still top of this season's drivers' leaderboard after six rounds.
Rhyl Journal
4 hours ago
- Rhyl Journal
Appleby offers note of caution ahead of Ruling Court's Derby bid
Perhaps unsurprisingly given one is run over a straight mile and the second takes place over a turning mile and a half, few horses have landed the first two Classics of the British season, with only three managing to do so since the great Nijinsky completed the Triple Crown 45 years ago. Nashwan claimed Guineas and Derby glory in 1989, but it took a horse as brilliant as Sea The Stars two decades later to repeat the feat before Camelot did the same in 2012, after which he came up narrowly short in his Triple Crown quest in the St Leger. Appleby, who has trained two previous Derby winners in Masar (2018) and Adayar (2021), is hoping Ruling Court can etch his name into the history books, but said at Epsom on Friday: 'We're just on weather watch. There's not as much rain around – we were forecast showers this afternoon and it's been a lovely, drying day. 'We know what this track can do in these conditions, the horse is in great form and I'm looking forward to him running, (but) I will just highlight that if all of a sudden we get a deluge (of rain) and the ground becomes very testing, then conversations will have to be had during the build-up to the race over whether we participate or not. 'So there is a warning out there, but I think we'll be OK. It looks as though the weather has broken up a bit and the forecast tonight doesn't look as though it's going to be quite as severe as it was first forecast to be.' Like Masar, Ruling Court will be ridden by William Buick, who said: 'He's not too dissimilar from Masar. They have completely different pedigrees, but Masar was a good third in the Guineas and again went to Epsom having not run beyond a mile. They are not similar horses but have not too dissimilar profiles. 'Masar winning the Derby was the highlight of my career. I'd ridden in it enough before and been placed before and I thought I'd know how it would feel to win it, but it was an amazing day.' On whether his mount could be a Triple Crown contender, he added: 'I got asked about it before the Guineas and there were still three races to go! 'Ruling Court is heading into the most important race now. I'll answer the question after Saturday as I don't think I can answer it in a sensible way right now.' The biggest threat to Ruling Court appears to be Aidan O'Brien, who has saddled a record 10 Derby winners, including the last two and eight in the last 13 years. His chief hope this weekend appears to be Delacroix, who has impressed in winning the Ballysax Stakes and the Derby Trial at Leopardstown this spring and is the chosen mount of Ryan Moore. 'Everything has gone well with him, he's won his two trials and we always thought of him last year as a potential Derby horse,' said O'Brien. 'We've been very happy with both of his runs. We found out that he gets a strongly-run mile and a quarter and there's every chance that he will get a mile and a half. 'He has form on all types of ground and he's a big, powerful horse. We feel he has gone the right way every week really.' At the start of the year Delacroix's stablemate The Lion In Winter was at the head of ante-post lists for the Derby, but an interrupted spring campaign and defeat in the Dante at York have dented his reputation. 'He'd only the two runs as a two-year-old, winning his maiden at the Curragh and then winning the Acomb at York. The Acomb is over seven furlongs on a quick track and you're never sure, but we always thought that there was a strong possibility that he could (be a Derby horse),' O'Brien added. 'He's a good traveller, that's what he did in the Acomb and the Dante. I think Ryan was very happy with the way he travelled in the Dante, he travelled down the straight well and as he was getting ready to have a go he just got a little bit chopped and with a horse needing the run as badly as he did, that would be a big disadvantage to him. 'Everything has gone well since York and we couldn't have asked any more from him really.' The Ballydoyle handler's trio is completed by Chester Vase winner Lambourn, of whom he said: 'He had a lovely run first time and then he ran a lovely race in Chester. There's no doubt he looks like a horse that will stay further, he's straightforward and obviously he got the trip in Chester well. 'You couldn't be happier with him at Chester as we knew it would be plenty sharp enough for him, but he still coped with it and we're looking forward to seeing him run again.'
