Herbert criticises "unprofessional and disrespectful" Verstappen on the Jeddah podium

Former F1 driver and pundit Johnny Herbert has said Max Verstappen's behaviour on the podium at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was "unprofessional and disrespectful".

The Dutchman finished the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in second place after a five-second penalty was handed to him for a turn 1 incident with eventual race winner Oscar Piastri, leaving him stationary during the first round of pit stops to allow the Australian to overtake, never relinquishing his lead afterwards.

Despite this being a significant improvement from the Bahrain Grand Prix race weekend, the Red Bull driver was not in a particularly celebratory mood afterwards, keeping very quiet about the penalty that was handed to him in the paddock in Jeddah after the race.

Verstappen's Penalty Justified, According to Herbert

"I saw Max Verstappen on the podium drinking champagne and not really celebrating with Oscar or Charles", Herbert started by saying in an interview with a betting site, not impressed by the conduct of the Dutchman.

"It comes across as unprofessional and disrespectful from a four-time world champion. You have to be gracious in defeat sometimes."

The time penalty Verstappen received in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix caused a lot of discussion in and around the paddock the the chequered flag fell.

Some people were convinced that the penalty for the Dutchman was justified, while others were certain that the steward in Saudi Arabia went too far with their punishment of the Dutchman.

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"I don't know how people will argue that it was an unfair penalty," continued the former Sky Sports pundit, very clear on where he stands in regards to the five-second penalty.

“The people arguing against it have probably never been in a race car, and definitely not in an F1 car, so they have zero understanding," Herbert concluded.

This article was written in collaboration with Kimberly Hoefnagel