Hill ‘obviously never been a fan’ of Verstappen

Christian Horner hinted that he feels Damon Hill is being biased against Max Verstappen in the title fight, saying “impartiality does get lost” in the heat of the World Championship battle.

1996 World Champion Hill is now a pundit on Sky F1 in the UK, and he and Horner had a frank discussion about Verstappen’s defending against Lewis Hamilton at Interlagos – and Horner was staunch in the defence of his driver’s approach as both went off at Turn 4 to avoid crashing into each other.

After a ‘right of review’ request from Mercedes was denied, Verstappen went unpunished for the incident, and Hill was of the opinion that the Red Bull driver was “over the limit” while trying to fend off his title rival, something to which the team boss took exception.

Hill dubbed Hamilton’s drive in Brazil as “one of the best drives I’ve ever seen in F1,” and the Red Bull team principal thinks there is an imbalance in how the two title challengers are portrayed on TV.

“We’ve got a British driver going for a record-breaking World Championship,” Horner told the Telegraph. “And Damon obviously has never been a fan of Max…if you talk to the Dutch then Max can walk on water.

“That’s just the way things are reported. And, you know, sometimes impartiality does get lost.”

Horner said in Qatar that he and Hill were talking “straight” in Brazil, after the former Williams driver pointed out that he felt Horner had been “punchy” at times with what he’s said about the title battle.

Verstappen currently leads Hamilton by eight points heading into the final two races of the year, but when pressed on why he thinks Hill hasn’t appeared to favour the Dutchman over recent seasons, Horner didn’t offer a concrete explanation of his own.

“That’s something you’d have to ask Damon. But he’s not a big fan of Max from what I can see,” he said.

“It’s something that’s been noticeable over the last couple of years. But everybody has a right to an opinion.

“You know, it’s a free world. And, as I said to Damon, I’m the type of person that, if I don’t agree with your opinion, I’m not just going to roll over.

“If I think somebody is being an arse, I’ll tell them I think they’re being an arse.”

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