Red Bull Racing’s team principal, Christian Horner, is publicly defending his driver Max Verstappen following a dramatic clash with McLaren’s Lando Norris at the Austrian Grand Prix.
Verstappen’s aggressive racing style was a focal point after the race, with many discussing if moving under braking directly caused the collision between himself and Norris.
George Russell took a surprising victory after Verstappen and Norris collided in the closing stages on lap 64 at Turn 3. Both drivers sustained tyre punctures, but only Verstappen managed to continue after a pit stop to finish fifth.
Norris retired due to severe damage to his McLaren.
The incident left McLaren’s team principal Andrea Stella furious, accusing Verstappen of overly aggressive driving and moving under braking, leading to the collision.
Stella claimed that Verstappen’s driving was a result of his 2021 battle with Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, implying that the Dutch driver had not been penalised appropriately for his aggressive moves throughout that season. However, Horner was quick to dismiss these claims and defend his driver.
Horner described the criticism from McLaren as “wrong and unfair.”
He noted that Verstappen’s aggressive approach is a well-known part of his driving style, and it is not something that has changed, or will change.
“Certainly, from Max’s side, he’s not going to change,” Horner told Sky Sports News.
“There’s an element, I think, of Lando learning how to race Max and they’re discovering that.
“Inevitably, there is going to be more close racing between the two of them as the cars look so close over the forthcoming races.
“Max is a hard racer — he’s probably one of the hardest racers on the circuit and everybody knows that if you’re going to race against Max, he’s going to give as good as he gets.”
The Red Bull boss also claimed that the two drivers had already spoken post-race, suggesting that the tension had cooled and there was no lingering animosity between them.
Horner also addressed Stella’s comments about the 2021 season, defending Verstappen once again.
“He raced incredibly hard in 2021, he’s a tough racer, and he hasn’t really been racing anyone for two years because he’s been out front so much.
“The conflict between the two of them has been building over two, three, four races where they’ve been racing each other closely and hard, and at some point, that was always going to spill over — and it did at Turn 3.”
The Red Bull boss also mentioned Stella’s past experience with racing legend Michael Schumacher at Scuderia Ferrari as they worked together from 2002-2006, implying that someone who worked with a driver known for his aggressive style should understand the nature of hard racing and pushing the rules and boundaries to the absolute limit.
“He worked with Michael Schumacher [at Ferrari] for so many years — he of all people should know that.”
