Horner vs. Stella: A Clash of Integrity in F1

The ongoing feud intensifies as Stella openly doubts Horner’s integrity, sparking a fierce exchange between the two F1 bosses.

Everyone remembers the relentless controversies between Christian Horner and Toto Wolff in 2021… Are we, in 2024, heading towards a similar rivalry between Christian Horner and Andrea Stella?

Earlier today, we reported on Christian Horner’s offensive remarks towards Lando Norris. For the Milton Keynes boss, the McLaren F1 driver needed to “learn to drive an F1 car” against Max Verstappen – that is, the tough (but fair, according to Horner) way of the Dutchman.

Horner also highlighted Norris’s responsibility in the incident: “It was as if [Norris] was just trying to cause something at turn 3,” Horner commented on Norris.

As a reminder, it was Max Verstappen who was found guilty of the accident in Austria by the FIA: the Red Bull driver lost two points on his license and received a 10-second penalty.

Understandably, Christian Horner’s statements did not sit well with Andrea Stella. Not at all!

The McLaren F1 boss went as far as to question the integrity of his Milton Keynes counterpart today…

“Such a statement is quite inconceivable, I would say. And to some extent, I think it reflects the integrity of the person who made it.”

The accusation is serious, and the war of words is indeed launched between Red Bull and McLaren F1… just like three years ago, between Toto Wolff and the same Christian Horner, the nostalgic will say.

But for Stella, Max Verstappen and Red Bull are not the only ones to blame: the FIA could also have acted earlier. For example, by waving a black and white flag at Red Bull’s overly aggressive defenses to prevent the incident.

“The whole battle was very entertaining, it was great to see this kind of battle to win a race, and it’s a pity we weren’t in a condition to see this battle continue to the checkered flag.”

“It was a tough battle – to a certain point in respect of the rules – but at one point, we started to have maneuvers that should have been addressed immediately, so that both drivers were aware of the situation. They should have been told ‘we are checking that you stay within the limits of the regulations’. I particularly think that Max should have been informed that some movements during braking maneuvers were not possible.”

“From there, there would have been more caution in the maneuver that eventually eliminated both drivers. And unfortunately for our championship, this also means that Max was able to score 10 more points than us.”

“The battle itself was indeed fantastic, but the fact that we did not address the issue of driver behavior… I think that led to an escalation.”

“It’s a missed opportunity, because if you clarify earlier, and categorically, how to race… then you can prevent these kinds of incidents from happening.”

“We are aware of the difficulties under which the stewards operate.”

“They have to monitor everything, they have to understand what’s going on in the minds of the world’s top drivers – these drivers know how to do things, they know how to hide things, and they know how to play with the limits.”

“So it’s a tough task for the FIA and the stewards. But it’s an opportunity to review everything we’ve learned over the weekend and assess how we can quickly reinforce what needs to be. So that we can enjoy this type of racing and, hopefully, have the cars involved in this type of battle fight to the checkered flag.”

Stella wants Max Verstappen to soften his driving

Stella then addresses Max Verstappen: you must accept letting a car pass when your pursuer is faster!

“In general, we have a lot of respect for Max. What he achieves is incredible – he’s a great driver. There is no need to defend in such a manner.”

“Sometimes, you just have to accept that the car behind must have an opportunity, and that’s what would have happened if Lando had overtaken with the DRS. Then on the next lap, with the DRS as well, Max would have gone for it and it would have been an incredible spectacle. We didn’t have that spectacle, but hopefully, we can see it in the future, with regulations that are enforced and drivers who compete in accordance with the rules.”