Max Verstappen apology comes to light as Christian Horner issues statement
Christian Horner and Max Verstappen in conversation in the Red Bull garage
Red Bull boss Christian Horner has revealed that Max Verstappen “apologised” to the team for his clash with George Russell in the Spanish Grand Prix.
Verstappen collided with Mercedes driver Russell in the closing stages of Sunday’s race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Christian Horner reveals Max Verstappen apologised to Red Bull
It came moments after Verstappen was instructed by his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase to give fourth place to Russell after cutting the track to stay ahead at Turn 1.
Verstappen finished fifth on the road in Spain, but was demoted to 10th in the final classification after being hit with a 10-second penalty.
The reigning four-time World Champion was also handed three penalty points by the FIA, putting him just one away from a one-race ban.
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Having initially showed little remorse in the immediate aftermath of the race, Verstappen conceded in a social media post on Monday that his move on Russell was “not right and shouldn’t have happened.”
The post was ‘liked’ by Horner, who has now issued his own statement on the matter to confirm that Verstappen apologised to Red Bull during the team’s post-race debrief.
Horner also defended Red Bull’s decision to pit Verstappen for hard tyres during the late-race Safety Car, which left the driver upset over team radio, insisting the team “made the best decision at the time with the information we had.”
He said: “Spain closes out the triple header and we leave Barcelona frustrated that we didn’t take more from the race.
“As a team we attacked on the three stop which was the better strategy and it was only the safety car which had us over.
“We would never have been as close to Lando [Norris] if it wasn’t for the three stopper.
“The safety car came out at the worst possible time for our strategy, we had the choice to stay out on older tyres or take the gamble with a new set of hard tyres.
“Hindsight is always 20/20, but we made the best decision at the time with the information we had.
“The result that followed was frustrating as it was looking to be an easy podium for Max and good Championship points.
“Max apologised in the debrief for his incident with Russell.
“The SC also hurt Yuki [Tsunoda]’s race, he would’ve been very close if not in the points otherwise if you look at the trajectory he was on.
“But that’s racing. It can turn in a split second.
“It is one of the reasons we are all so captivated and in love with this sport.
“It was a tough weekend, but we will busy working hard over the next weeks to make some set-up improvements to the car and come back strong in Montreal.”
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Verstappen had earlier said on Monday: “We had an exciting strategy and good race in Barcelona, till the safety car came out.
“Our tyre choice to the end and some moves after the safety car restart fuelled my frustration, leading to a move that was not right and shouldn’t have happened.
“I always give everything out there for the team and emotions can run high.
“You win some together, you lose some together.
“See you in Montreal.”
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