Formula One F1 - Bahrain Grand Prix - Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain - March 30, 2019 Former driver Johnny Herbert interviews McLaren's Lando Norris REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/ File Photo
LONDON (Reuters) - Formula One's governing body was right to drop Johnny Herbert as a steward because of the former racer's media work, according to Red Bull boss Christian Horner who denied his team had influenced the decision.
Herbert, a former pundit for Sky Sports television who has continued to offer opinions for a betting website, was axed as a steward on Wednesday when the FIA ruled his activities were 'incompatible' with the race role.
The Briton was critical of Red Bull's four-times world champion Max Verstappen last year and was on duty in Mexico when the Dutch driver was handed two 10-second penalties for clashes with McLaren's Lando Norris.
Verstappen and his father Jos had expressed their unhappiness.
"It has absolutely nothing to do with Max. But it's absolutely the right decision," Horner told Sky Sports television.
"You cannot have stewards working in the media.
"You don't have it in the Premiership, you don't have it in any other form of professional sport. It's totally inappropriate. You're either on the sporting regulatory side or you're on the media side.
"You can't have a foot in both camps."
McLaren boss Zak Brown said this week that the Liberty Media-owned sport should have professional full-time stewards, rather than the current race-by-race system that relies heavily on unpaid volunteers.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
