Verstappen happy with outcome of Spa fallout, says Horner
Christian Horner says Max Verstappen is comfortable with the outcome of Friday morning’s informal discussion with Charlie Whiting about his defensive moves in Spa.
(L to R): Christian Horner, Red Bull Racing Team Principal with Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
XPB Images
The Dutchman, who viewed TV footage of Spa with Whiting, has said little about what transpired, although Whiting has indicated that Verstappen could have been given a black and white warning flag.
A discussion of Verstappen's Spa manoeuvres was expected in the Friday drivers' briefing at Monza, but sources suggest the Dutchman's aggressive defence was not brought up at all.
“I think he [Verstappen] is happy with where he’s at, what he’s seen,” Horner told Motorsport.com. "He’s only 18, he’s in his third year of car racing, and he’s learning all the time. He hasn’t picked up a single penalty yet. We only deal with facts, not ifs and buts.”
Horner suggested that Verstappen was frustrated because Raikkonen had delayed handing back the place after he’d gone off track the previous lap.
“What I hadn’t appreciated was there was a bit going on the previous lap as well, where he was expecting the place to be given back earlier [by Raikkonen], and, of course, that all contributes to the robust defence.”
Meanwhile, Horner conceded that this weekend in Monza will be about damage limitation for Red Bull.
“We expected coming here that of all the tracks on the calendar it was probably going to be our biggest challenge.
"It’s actually been a respectable Friday, we’ve got data from all three compounds, so plenty to look at. I’d say we’re about where we expected to be at the moment.
“The likelihood is that Mercedes and Ferrari will be ahead here, so we obviously have to try and limit the damage. That is what this weekend is all about before some circuits come up that hopefully suit us a bit better.”
Be part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments