Horner fulfils Qatar F1 GP “rogue marshal” offence obligation

Horner agreed to participate in the event as part of his sentence after he made controversial comments to the media following Max Verstappen’s grid penalty at last November’s Qatar GP.

Verstappen received a five-place grid penalty and two superlicence penalty points for failing to respect double yellow flags in qualifying after Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri stopped on the pit straight.

Speaking to Sky F1, the frustrated Horner blamed a “rogue marshal” for incorrectly using a double waved yellow.

After his comments were widely reported, the FIA took the matter very seriously, and Horner was called to see the stewards on race day under the provisions of the International Sporting Code.

The ISC specifies that “any words, deeds or writings that have caused moral injury or loss to the FIA, its bodies, its members or its executive officers, and more generally on the interest of motor sport and on the values defended by the FIA” represent a breach of the rules.

Horner subsequently received an official warning, and in their decision the stewards noted that Horner “explained that his reaction was one that was made under the pressure of competition following the penalty imposed on the driver of car 33.

“The stewards explained that the marshal concerned was doing his job in precisely the manner prescribed in the International Sporting Code. Mr Horner offered to apologise to the marshal concerned and to explain to the media that he meant no offence.

“He also offered to participate in the 2022 FIA International Stewards Programme in early February. The stewards unreservedly accept Mr Horner’s offer.”

Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri AT02, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB16B

Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images

This weekend’s two-day programme was attended virtually by stewards from around the world and from many different motor sport disciplines, and was designed as a training course to help make them do their jobs more effectively. Featured speakers included F1 stewards Garry Connelly and Tim Mayer.

In a Q&A Horner spoke about his role as RBR team principal and his team’s relationship with the FIA.

He also took part in a competitors’ panel specifically on subject of stewarding chaired by F1 race director Michael Masi. The panel also featured Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, former Formula E champion Antonio Felix da Costa, Toyota WRC boss Jari-Matti Latvala and Ford WRC driver Adrien Fourmaux.

The two-day programme was preceded last week by a separate race director seminar with speakers including Masi, Scot Elkins from Formula E and new FIA deputy president Robert Reid.