Christian Horner insists Max Verstappen will not change after again defending his driver following his clash with Lando Norris at last weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix.
The reigning world champion was handed a 10-second time penalty for the incident on lap 64 as the two drivers battled for the lead, leading to a collision and allowing Mercedes’ George Russell to take the win.
Speaking at Red Bull Racing headquarters in Milton Keynes ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix, team principal Horner backed Verstappen’s approach and expects closer racing between him and McLaren rival Norris.
“I understand they’ve talked already, I don’t think there’s a problem,” Horner said. Sky Sports News. “Certainly, on Max’s side, he’s not going to change.
“I think Lando is learning to drive Max and they are figuring it out. Inevitably there will be some closer racing between the two of them because the cars look very close over the next few races.
“Max is a hard rider – he’s probably one of the hardest riders on the circuit and everyone knows that if you’re going to race against Max, he’s going to give his best.”
Verstappen eventually finished fifth in Austria, although the clash ended Norris’ race and McLaren team principal Andrea Stella was among those to vehemently criticise the Dutchman amid the fallout at the Red Bull Ring.
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Anthony Davidson was at the SkyPad to give his verdict on whether Max Verstappen or Lando Norris were at fault for the crash that saw both of them give up their chance of victory.
However, Horner refuted Stella’s claim that this was a direct result of Verstappen not being punished for incidents when he and Lewis Hamilton were battling for the world title three years ago.
“He raced incredibly hard in 2021, he’s a tough rider, and he hasn’t really raced with anyone in two years because he’s been in front so much,” Horner said.
“The conflict between the two men built over two, three, four races where they were battling it out in a tight, fierce manner, and at some point it was always going to boil over – and that’s what happened at Turn 3.
“He was punished in 2021 if he did something wrong, just like Lewis, who he was racing so hard against that year, was punished for things he did wrong.
“I think it’s wrong and unfair to put that label on a driver and I’m sure in the heat of the moment it was frustrating for Andrea, but it’s a tough race. He worked with Michael Schumacher (at Ferrari) for so many years – he of all people should know that.”
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Norris was furious after his collision with Verstappen forced him to retire from the Austrian Grand Prix
As one of three British drivers on the grid, Norris is likely to have plenty of support at Silverstone when Formula 1 visits the Northamptonshire circuit for the British Grand Prix this weekend.
Horner is not worried, however, about the possibility that Verstappen will face a hostile reception.
“I’m sure it will be a partisan crowd for the British drivers as it was for Max in Holland, but I think every time we go to these tracks there is always respect for the other drivers,” said Horner.
“I hope Max gets a reasonable reception and I’m sure everything will be orange again this weekend – maybe not Max Verstappen fans, but more McLaren fans.
“It will be like a stone’s throw away for him, he will have his head down and won’t change. That’s the rider he is and I’m sure he will race just as hard this weekend.”
F1’s summer triple-header concludes with the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Watch every session live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Showcase, with Sunday’s race at 3pm. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports monthly subscription – No contract, cancel anytime
