‘I told Verstappen he was F1 champion, then someone said he wasn’t’: at the centre of Japanese GP chaos

I must admit, I didn’t expect to be the one who broke the news to Max Verstappen that he was a two-time Formula 1 world champion. While I prepared for the post-race interviews at Suzuka, I obviously knew about Charles Leclerc cutting the chicane on the final lap, but I didn’t think the penalty would be given as quickly as it was. Even then, the rain delay and how many laps had been completed created confusion over how many points had been scored. I was interviewing Sergio Pérez when I was told in my earpiece that Max was world champion. That’s when I stopped with Checo and called Max back over.

But the confusion continued. When I said he was world champion Max ran off to jump into his team, then when we’d finished one of the Sky cameramen said, “No, he’s not world champion.” What!? When Max walked past me to go up to the podium the team had told him he wasn’t champion too and he said to me, “You only did what you were told.” He still didn’t believe it. I was surprised the teams weren’t aware how many points would be awarded. In all, a strange way to find out you are world champion!

“Can you throw Red Bull and Max out from 2021’s results? No”

But there’s no doubt he’d put in a drive fully deserving of his second title. He handled it so well, which is something he’s shown from his early days at Toro Rosso when people such as Jacques Villeneuve said he was too young for F1. I thought at the time, if he’s good enough he’s old enough. Yes, there were moves that were on the edge, certainly in the early days, but we’ve seen that with most of the top drivers coming through. Now there’s maturity in him too, yet it still excites me to watch him. I can appreciate he’s got that special something, like Hamilton, Prost, Senna, Schumacher. It’s a very rare thing for us to see. Then again, the next generation are better than the last and he’s proven once again that he’s getting stronger. The manner of how he won in those tricky conditions at Suzuka reminded me of Damon Hill’s drive to beat Schumacher in the rain at the same old-school circuit in 1994.

Then the following day we had the story of Red Bull, and to a lesser degree Aston Martin, breaking the cost cap, as we had expected. Christian Horner has said Red Bull has not gone over the budget cap and over the weekend he’d talked about slander, that they had done nothing wrong. Now it turns out they have. It’s called a ‘minor’ breach but to me £1.8m – and it could be more – is not minor. There is a massive amount of speed in that £1.8m, as Lewis Hamilton alluded to.

He’s right. You will find time with money. Some have said it’s the first year, it’s complicated – and it is. But while Red Bull has had a ‘minor’ overspend the others haven’t.

It puts a bit of a bad taste in your mouth because once again it’s the teams sapping all the energy out of the sport, because of what’s happening behind the scenes. Team politics has always been a part of it, of course, but I feel there’s been a swing in their perceived importance. The past two seasons especially there has been so much centred around Christian and Toto Wolff, Red Bull and Mercedes, and Ferrari too. A bombardment of team politics. It used to be more behind the scenes. Now the middle men have a stronger voice, when the ones fans want to see and hear from are the drivers.

So how should Red Bull be punished? It’s difficult. The offence is for 2021 and the problem is they have gained a benefit last year but also this year too, as a team but also for Verstappen. It has favoured both, against a team and someone who was within the budget cap. But can you throw Red Bull and Max out from last year’s results? No. That would look so wrong for the sport. But credibility is at risk here.

It’s awful we’re talking about it in these terms, but it has to be done in a way that hurts Red Bull, because the team has gained an advantage. If £1.8m gains speed, which it does from aerodynamic updates, you have to stop the updates. For me, what it comes down to is this: the team has been judged to have done something in the past, but you can’t punish them retrospectively because it will make a mockery of the sport. The punishment should further limit the team’s wind tunnel and CFD time across not only 2023 but also ’24 because the overspend has influenced two years – ’21 and ’22.

Therefore there has to be consequences in the future. I hope they feel ashamed.

Johnny Herbert was a Formula 1 driver from 1989-2000 and a Le Mans winner in 1991. He is a regular contributor to Sky Sports F1