Red Bull boss Christian Horner believes more instant judgements from F1’s race director during races would prevent teams having to “second-guess” the decisions of stewards after the tumultuous end to Max Verstappen’s Spanish Grand Prix.
Verstappen’s contentious lap-64 collision with George Russell – which on Monday the four-time world champion accepted responsibility for and admitted “shouldn’t have happened” – occurred on the lap Red Bull asked him to cede position to his Mercedes rival.
That was because, three laps beforehand in a hectic restart to the race after a late Safety Car, Verstappen had run wide off track and stayed ahead of Russell after the two cars had touched wheels as the Briton attempted an overtake into Turn One.
That original incident had been placed under investigation by Race Control and, anticipating a time penalty for their driver, Red Bull soon asked Verstappen to cede the place – a call an already-frustrated Dutchman disputed over team radio. He then hit Russell’s Mercedes in their lap-64 collision soon afterwards, which he was given a 10s penalty for.
However, it only transpired after the race in the release of the FIA’s official documents on the respective incidents that stewards would not have imposed any penalty on Verstappen for the original Turn One incident.
Stewards stated that Russell had triggered the contact having “momentarily lost control of the car” and thereby forced the Red Bull off track, meaning no further action was warranted.
Ant Davidson was at the SkyPad to analyse Max Verstappen and George Russell’s collision on the final laps of the Spanish Grand Prix.
Speaking on Sunday night, Horner explained why they had told Verstappen to drop behind Russell in the first place before any official decision by the stewards had been communicated.
“The way that these regulations are now, it’s all about where that front axle is,” the Red Bull team principal told reporters in reference to F1’s revised Driving Standards Guidelines document.
“The drivers know the rules, and they’re the rules that they’re playing to. The argument is, was George under control at that point in time? Would he have made the corner?
“Now, we’ve seen so many occasions this year where penalties have been given. We’ve seen it been noted. We’ve seen it gone to the stewards. The next thing is you’re expecting to get a penalty, so that’s why it was, ‘OK, do you know what? We’re going to have to give this place up.'”
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner in conversation with Max Verstappen
Asked if it had therefore been a mistake in hindsight to ask Verstappen to cede the position, Horner said: “Yes, but I think that’s where it would be nice, as the referee, as the race director, to either say play on or you need to give it back.
“I think it’s very hard for the team, subjectively, to try and make that call because you’re going on historical precedence. You’re looking at what you have in front of you, and you’re trying to pre-empt what the stewards and the race director are thinking.
“So I think it would be beneficial to the teams, in that instance, for the race director to make that call and say you either give it back or you get a penalty, rather than having to try and second-guess what the stewards are going to do.”
Horner calls for more communication with Race Control
Watch new footage of Max Verstappen’s onboard as he and George Russell come together in a controversial moment during the final laps of the Spanish Grand Prix.
In-race communications between F1 teams’ pit walls and the race director were again restricted to just sporting directors from the 2022 season after the increasing prevalence of direct interjections from team bosses – notably Horner and Mercedes counterpart Toto Wolff – became an increasing and contentious feature of the 2021 campaign when Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton vied for the world title.
Asked if teams were still able to contact the race director, who is now Rui Marques, Horner said: “Yes, but you get nothing back. So you ask the question, but you get nothing back.”
He added: “You used to get some guidance, but now it’s very subjective for the team to make that call.
“We looked at all the slow-mos, and it was really 50-50. And the argument was, is George under control of the car? Would he have made the corner? It looked like he would have made the corner.
“So you make the call to say, look, we need to give this place up.”
Asked if he would take up the matter with Marques, Horner said: “I think it’s something in the SAC [Sporting Advisory Committee] that should be discussed.”
The 2025 Formula 1 season pauses for breath after the European triple-header before resuming live on Sky Sports F1 with the Canadian Grand Prix from June 13-15. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime.
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