Christian Horner defends Red Bull’s Russell protest, dismissing Toto Wolff’s criticism as F1 tensions flare during Canadian Grand Prix weekend.
Christian Horner was also present at the premiere of the F1 movie in New York and responded to Toto Wolff’s comments made on the same evening, where he described Red Bull Racing’s protest lodged on Sunday in Montreal against George Russell as “petty” and “embarrassing.”
This protest is the latest twist in a series of controversial incidents involving Verstappen and Russell.
Verstappen expressed his frustration over what he called “childish” remarks about his situation in Montreal.
Speaking to the media in New York, Red Bull team principal Horner insisted there were “no regrets” over their actions.
“No, absolutely not [no regrets]. It is a team’s right to do so. You know, we saw something that seemed abnormal to us.”
“We had the option to report it to the stewards, and that’s what we chose to do. Absolutely no regrets.”
As a reminder, Horner had attempted to alert the race director and FIA stewards to a potentially unsporting behavior from Russell towards Verstappen.
“I think you could see from George’s comments to the press in qualifying that his objective was quite clear. I don’t think there were any surprises about that.”
“I think it was inevitable that some scheming moves were going to happen. We raised it with the race director after the drivers’ briefing so they would be aware, because it’s clear this kind of thing happens.”
“But Max, I think, was flawless all weekend and drove a very strong race.”
“We simply asked [the race director] to monitor the situation because, of course, there had been media comments. So, it’s something to keep an eye on.”
Horner’s protest was ultimately dismissed, and he now wants to “move on.”
Asked about Verstappen’s chances of securing a fifth world title this season, Horner said there was still a long way to go. The Dutchman currently sits third in the drivers’ standings, behind the McLaren duo of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
“We’re not even halfway through the season. We had a good weekend in Barcelona. We obviously won at Imola a few races ago, and as Sunday showed, anything can happen. You’ve got to keep pushing. It’s a long championship. We won’t give up, we’ll fight until the end. If anyone can do it, it’s definitely Max.”