Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner would have been expected to see Max Verstappen standing on the top step of the podium for the eighth time this season after a Grand Prix just before he came in for his second and final pit stop.
Max Verstappen’s team have a reputation for being incredibly consistent when it comes to changing their car’s tyres.
However, on this occasion, they encountered a problem and suddenly a race that Verstappen was controlling from the McLaren of Lando Norris was under threat.
The gap closed to less than two seconds and an unfortunately placed Visa Cash App RB gave Norris the DRS he needed to start the battle that ultimately ruined both of their races.
Norris tried time and again to overtake Verstappen heading into turn three and on more than one occasion nearly got ahead of his title rival.
The Dutchman is notorious for getting his elbows out and Norris had to try a couple of audacious moves to try and take the lead.
The McLaren driver eventually pulled up alongside the outside of Verstappen and when the triple world champion came across the track before turning right, they made contact with both cars ending up with punctures.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the race, Red Bull chief Christian Horner shared his thoughts on the battle and whether the penalty Verstappen was eventually given was harsh.
Martin Brundle believed Verstappen was at fault, while eventual race winner George Russell couldn’t hide his emotions when watching the incident back in the cooldown room.
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Red Bull chief Christian Horner gives verdict on Max Verstappen and Lando Norris crash
Asked about the incident after the race, Horner said: “For me, it looked like there was enough space for Lando [Norris] and he’d already had the violation with the four strikes of track limits.
“It’s one of those things, we’ll bounce back next weekend.”
Sky Sports reporter Ted Kravitz pushed Horner on the matter and asked if Verstappen just wasn’t prepared to finish second on Sunday and Horner replied: “Look, I mean, you’ve got hard racers and I think that Lando got his elbows out and there had been contact before with them. In the end, it cost both of them.
“He picked up a puncture, he got a penalty, I thought the penalty was harsh, that’s racing sometimes, it’s frustrating. That’s the way racing goes sometimes.”
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella had a very different view unsurprisingly of the incident and believed that ‘the entire population of the world’ could see who was responsible.
He also said that if you don’t address these issues ‘honestly’, they will come back and then referred to Verstappen’s battles with Lewis Hamilton in the past.
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Max Verstappen extends lead over Lando Norris in Drivers’ Championship despite Austrian GP crash
Lando Norris will be understandably frustrated with not only missing out on a guaranteed podium and potentially a race win but also that Verstappen still went on to finish 5 and secure the fastest lap.
Several drivers in the past have clashed with Verstappen and learned that the Dutchman is unlikely to ever give anyone an inch during wheel-to-wheel battles.
It’s also no surprise that their relationship off the track didn’t factor into either driver’s thinking heading into turn three at full pelt lap after lap.
Verstappen was delighted for Norris when he won his first race in Miami earlier this season, but was unwilling to budge when the Brit attempted to double his tally.
The post ‘Harsh’: Christian Horner weighs in on Austrian GP crash that ruined Max Verstappen and Lando Norris’s race appeared first on F1 Oversteer.
