Christian Horner responds to “comments and opinions” about Max’s driving style

Christian Horner was criticized for his tactics in Austin and Mexico and says Max Verstappen gave the best possible response when he beat the competition in Brazil.

Verstappen’s driving skills have been in the spotlight in recent weeks after his questionable defense against McLaren’s Lando Norris.

Max Verstappen gave the “best possible” answer:

Norris, who was racing wheel-to-wheel in the United States Grand Prix, received a five-second time penalty for leaving the track on lap 52 and gaining an advantage while trying to overtake Verstappen outside Turn 12.

Normally a 10-second penalty, the stewards reduced it to five as they blamed Verstappen’s part in Norris going off the track, as he had forced the Brit to stand in the way and not make the corner himself.

A week later they were at it again, but this time it was Verstappen who was penalized: 10 seconds for pushing Norris off the track at Turn 4, and another 10 seconds for going off the track at Turn 8 and gained an advantage. The latter incident was a repeat of Verstappen’s Austin antics when he again failed to make the corner while pushing Norris away.

He was beaten up for that. Martin Brundle called it “simply dangerous”, while FIA ​​steward Johnny Herbert denounced what he said was the Dutchman’s “terrible mindset”. Another former F1 driver, Damon Hill, said it was “big insidious stuff” that Verstappen had used “fear and intimidation” on the track.

Verstappen replied briefly: “I am a three-time world champion. I think I know what I’m doing.”

And he did that at the Brazilian Grand Prix, too, when he started from 17th on the grid in wet conditions and won by almost 20 seconds. It was Verstappen’s first Grand Prix since Barcelona.

The best and worst of Max Verstappen

👉Rankings: Max Verstappen’s top 10 F1 Grand Prix wins

👉Revealed: The three rules the FIA ​​introduced because of Max Verstappen

For Horner, it was the best possible answer.

“There were a lot of comments made and opinions expressed against Max and his driving, and I think the best way to respond to those criticisms was to show the ride he did,” said the Red Bull team boss.

“We’ve watched the lead narrow since the summer break and after not winning since June, it was great to hear the Rolling Stones play in the garage again in memory of Dietrich Mateschitz. We play that every time we win a Grand Prix.”

Horner praised Verstappen’s mental strength as he revealed that he had not spoken to the driver about the criticism, instead leaving the Dutchman to fend for himself.

“You know when to put an arm around him, but he’s not that kind of driver,” he said. “He can do it himself, his mental resilience is enormous and that is part of his strength.

“But you can see how much it meant to him. I don’t think I’ve seen him so animated at a podium, I can’t remember the last time, so it meant a lot to him. And I really think we had one of the greatest drives in Formula 1.”

Verstappen’s eighth win of the season took him a big step closer to defending the world title as he now leads Lando Norris by 62 points with 86 points left in the game. He could secure the title at the next race in Las Vegas.

Asked what he expects next, Verstappen said: “I just want clean racing, that’s all. I’m not thinking about winning the championship in Vegas or whatever.”

Read more: What the FIA ​​discovered during tire cooling trick inspections – report