Christian Horner defends Max Verstappen’s FIA criticism, while Helmut Marko admits the driver’s remarks “weren’t very diplomatic.”
Max Verstappen took responsibility for his incident with Oscar Piastri immediately after the Abu Dhabi GP, despite expressing dissatisfaction with the stewards’ decision over team radio during the race.
Verstappen received a 10-second penalty and two penalty points. He served the penalty in the pit lane, venting his frustration over the radio: “Could we ask for 20 seconds? Stupid idiots!”
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner defended his driver at the Yas Marina Circuit.
“Max discussed it during the briefing. He saw a gap and went for it. I don’t think Oscar saw him, and the gap closed. He tried to stay on the curb as much as possible, but contact was unfortunately inevitable. After the penalty, we simply didn’t have the pace on the medium tires today, that’s for sure. It was just one of those things.”
Asked about Verstappen’s radio message, Horner said: “I’m sure in any sport, there will always be frustration from athletes in the heat of the moment. When you’re handed a penalty like that, in other sports, if footballers had live mics, I’m sure there’d also be a few choice words.”
Horner also recalled Sebastian Vettel clashing with then-race director Charlie Whiting in Mexico in 2016.
At the time, Horner had stated that “athletes shouldn’t openly criticize the referee.”
“The circumstances change, but not the drivers,” the Briton responded when reminded of this.
“Sometimes, I find it very unfair. We hear all the drivers lose their temper. Sometimes, we also hear team principals lose theirs. It’s occasionally a bit unjust.”
“One of the advantages of this sport is the access that’s granted. You’ll never find a camera or microphone in a football or rugby locker room, in a team room, or in team discussions. Microphones are in their faces before they get on the grid, as they step out of a car. It’s unique, and sometimes, not all messages are meant to be broadcast.”
And what does Dr. Helmut Marko think? He didn’t believe a penalty would be issued for the incident.
“I think Piastri could have left a bit more space in the first corner. I thought the ‘let them race’ rule would at least apply here. Ten seconds is a harsh penalty, but we wouldn’t have matched McLaren’s pace anyway. They were clearly faster. On the hard tires, we were roughly on par with Ferrari. It wasn’t the season finale we had envisioned.”
As for Verstappen’s insults directed at the FIA over team radio, Marko simply commented: “It wasn’t very diplomatic.”
He likely hopes Verstappen won’t be summoned over it.
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‘Stupid Idiots’? Verstappen Criticizes FIA, Horner Responds ‘Stupid Idiots’? Verstappen Criticizes FIA, Horner Responds ‘Stupid Idiots’? Verstappen Criticizes FIA, Horner Responds
