Yesterday’s Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix delivered plenty of action from when the lights went out until the checkered flag fell, but not everyone walked away content with the outcome—especially not Red Bull Racing. Hometown hero Checo Perez had another miserable race while championship leader Max Verstappen was handed two 10-second penalties (and two penalty points) for his encounter with McLaren’s Lando Norris in the contest’s early stages. Whether you believe the FIA’s punishment was fair or not, there’s been a lot of noise on social media about a possible conflict of interest with one of the stewards.
Specifically, folks on X and Instagram have highlighted the FIA’s official document listing Tim Mayer as one of the four officials involved in deciding Verstappen’s penalties. The others are former F1 racer Johnny Herbert; lawyer and F1/F3 steward Loïc Bacquelaine; and national steward Alfonso Oros Trigueros. It’s Mayer who is being singled out for his ties to McLaren. See his bio on the official FIA website:
Of course, it’s the “son of former McLaren founder Teddy Mayer” bit that some folks are angry about. Mayer and the rest of the officials were involved with all the other penalties and decisions made throughout the Mexico City GP, and this isn’t their first rodeo either. To think that this is the first and only time this alleged conflict of interest has happened is silly. However, F1 is a highly politicized sport, and while I believe that Verstappen’s penalties were well deserved and the stewards acted with the utmost professionalism, I can also see that the optics of this aren’t ideal.
It’s easy to get sucked into the many storylines surrounding the two drivers, especially when Verstappen and Norris entered the Mexican race with a hefty trail of drama behind them. Their clash in Austin, and the ruling by those stewards, certainly set up a perfect storm for Red Bull and McLaren fans. Then you see this Mayer stuff, and it’s natural to get carried away.
McLaren ties or not, Verstappen was fairly punished for his two questionable moves according to the rulebook—the same as other drivers, and the same as Norris in the previous race. As U.S. Editor of PlanetF1 and F1 contributor to The Drive Elizabeth Blackstock put it, nearly everyone in motorsport has ties to a team, driver, manufacturer, etc.
“F1 is a sport where everybody knows everybody or is related to everybody,” Blackstock told The Drive. “No steward is totally free from ‘bias’ if you go digging. Derek Warwick was a steward last weekend [in Austin], and he has plenty of Honda dealerships, and folks were trying to make a big deal about that!”
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