Max Verstappen accused of having a 'horrible mindset' by F1 steward who punished him

has been accused of having a 'horrible mindset' by the Formula One steward who punished him at last weekend's Mexican Grand Prix.

Verstappen lost ground in the Drivers' Championship title race to rival after being handed two 10-second penalties for separate clashes with the driver.

Additionally, Verstappen was also hit with a two-point penalty on his F1 super licence earlier this week.

Unsurprisingly, Red Bull came rushing to the defence of their talisman, with the Austrian constructor adamant Verstappen's treatment has been too harsh - something steward Johnny Herbert vehemently disagrees with.

Explaining the decision to , Herbert said: "We followed the guidelines and the teams agreed with our decision.

"The right decision was made, the 20-second penalty for Verstappen was not too harsh. Was his driving on the edge or even over it? Yes.

"His driving was harsh, especially because he drove another driver off the track. It is an absolute no go for me, the current drivers, former drivers and the stewards."

Continuing, Herbert went on to question Verstappen's mindset: "I'm a big fan of Verstappen and it frustrates me enormously when he drives like he did in Mexico. He doesn't have to do it and he's so incredibly good. At this point in the championship he just has to stay out of trouble and drive as well as he can.

"If Verstappen gets the horrible mindset to drive a driver off the track, take advantage of that and give Ferrari a one-two, he has to know that he can't do that. Just win in the most decent way!"

However, the Brit admitted he doesn't believe the punishment will impact Verstappen's behaviour in the future.

He added: "The punishments in Mexico will not prevent Verstappen from driving Norris off the track in the future. His intention was to ensure that Ferrari took a 1-2.

"That is certainly what Max intended and tried to achieve. I understand why he did it, but I do not agree with it. Norris previously mentioned 'fair racing', that is the kind of fight he wants.

"I do not see Verstappen's driving behaviour changing. His goal is to prevent Norris from closing the gap in the drivers' championship. There are potentially many interesting races to come."

Racing continues this weekend in Sao Paulo at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace for the .