Horner assures: 'Verstappen and Perez have shaken hands'

Earlier, Helmut Marko indicated that the matter had been discussed internally and that Verstappen will do all he can in Abu Dhabi to help Perez to second place in the championship. Horner concurs with that and, according to the team boss, the issue has now been clarified. He stresses that Perez is in shared second place with Charles Leclerc, who was not swapped with Carlos Sainz despite requests to his team.

Horner: 'Verstappen and Perez have shaken hands'

"We go into Abu Dhabi as a team to do the best we can for Checo to get second place. Max will fully support that. I will not discuss what we discussed behind close doors. The drivers have shaken hands," Horner explained to Sky Sports.

He continued: "We work as a team and we race as a team. Our objective is to see if we can get Checo to finish runner up in the championship. It's a straight fight, if Max can help in anyway, he will do."

Regarding the penalty imposed on Verstappen for the incident with Lewis Hamilton, Horner is clear. "I felt the penalty was harsh. I felt Max got ahead in the left hander, and Lewis could've afforded a bit more room there. I thought it was harsh for Max to get the five seconds, at best it was a racing incident," said the Red Bull team boss.