Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner expressed his dissatisfaction with the two 10-second penalties given to Max Verstappen during the Formula 1 Mexican Grand Prix, where the Dutchman finished sixth after two incidents with Lando Norris. According to Horner, the punishment was “almost unprecedented” and called for a dialogue between the FIA and drivers to clarify the limits of disagreement in racing.
In an interview with Sky Sports, Horner stated that Verstappen did not leave the track boundaries at Turn 4, and that at Turn 7, Norris opened up space too late, which ultimately led to both drivers leaving the track. “We are entering a dangerous zone where aggressive attack can become acceptable. I think the FIA and the drivers need to sit down and decide what is acceptable and what is not. Today, I thought the 10 seconds was a bit heavy,” Horner said.
Horner also responded to comments from McLaren CEO Zak Brown, who criticized Verstappen's actions as “ridiculous”. “You have to follow the rules. Let's analyze this race and learn from it. On Saturday, our priority was the qualifying pace, but our performance in the race was not identical to that of Ferrari and McLaren,” the Red Bull president said, noting that the focus now is on regaining the competitive pace. For the next stages.
Although Verstappen maintains a 47-point lead over Norris in the Drivers' Championship, Red Bull is feeling the pressure in the Constructors' Championship, falling to third place with Ferrari and McLaren achieving increasingly positive results. “We have to continue to strive and understand the fluctuations in performance that we saw today. It seems that the tires are very sensitive, and if they are not in the ideal window, they will fall behind.”
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