Horner Stands Firm Norris' Overtake Ruled Illegal

Horner Defends Verstappen: ‘Rules Are Rules,’ Norris Penalized

21/10/2024

Christian Horner backed the stewards’ decision to penalize Norris, insisting rules were clear and consistently enforced in Formula 1.

Christian Horner, Red Bull team principal, was naturally asked to share his opinion on the end of the race between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris.

Horner fully supported the stewards’ decision to penalize Norris by five seconds for his overtake on Verstappen. “Rules are rules,” he stated.

“On the radio, the race director was quite clear: we can see Lando going off the track limits, clearly beyond the circuit.”

“I can understand Andrea’s (Stella) and Lando’s frustration (as seen here), but rules are rules, and the drivers know them. They drive accordingly, and Max was fully aware that as soon as Lando crossed that white line, went off the track, and overtook, it was illegal. He was direct on the radio. I think before that, there were also track limit issues, so there were a lot of things happening at that moment.”

“The issue is that you have to consider the nature of the corner. It’s a 90-degree turn, and unless you change the layout or the track limits, you’re always going to have this debate about what’s in and what’s out.”

“It’s tough when you’re on the wrong side of it, but remember, the drivers spend hours and hours discussing these things in drivers’ briefings with the stewards to come to a conclusion on the rules they believe to be fair and enforceable. They all know what these rules are because they’re all immediately talking on the radio about track limits.”

Dr. Helmut Marko, unsurprisingly, shared the same opinion.

“It’s the rule,” insisted the Red Bull consultant.

“We pushed for this, even though I generally prefer the ‘let them race’ approach, sometimes a rule is necessary.”

“We extended Max’s lead by five more points, so we’re more than satisfied. I think this is a turning point.”

“We weren’t as strong in the race as we were in the sprint, but in Baku we made the first step with the car, in Singapore the second, and here another.”

“The Ferraris were incredibly fast, but for us, it was about battling with Norris. The world championship is what we’re after, and we made a big step towards that here. Of course, Max will want to win more races, but in the end, only the title matters.”

Horner Stands Firm Norris' Overtake Ruled Illegal

Horner Stands Firm: Norris’ Overtake Ruled Illegal Horner Stands Firm: Norris’ Overtake Ruled Illegal

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