Horner on Russell and Mercedes: 'They made too big of a deal out of it'
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Christian Horner nearly ran out of superlatives for Max Verstappen, after the Dutchman won his ninth Grands Prix of the season in Qatar. The team principal however was less happy the way George Russell acted on Saturday in qualifying, as according to him, he made a much more of it than it was necessary.
Horner can only praise Verstappen
"Starting second on the grid and still winning the Grand Prix. He managed the race incredibly well, he looked after his tires so that he had the longevity on the medi. As it turned out, the safety car neutralised the race. Even on the hard, despite a moment when the safety car's lights weren't functioning properly, was able to cover the race off and get his ninth win of the year," Horner reacted to Verstappen winning at the Losail International Circuit to GPblog among others.
Horner: 'Russell and Mercedes made a big deal out of it'
Verstappen did all that after he was given a one-place grid penalty, and as a result, he lost his pole position earned on Saturday. That the Dutchman was not happy with the decision is not a surprise, as he voiced his opinion clearly about the matter. Not only did he disagree with the penalty handed out by the stewards, he was particularly unhappy with George Russell's behaviour at the meeting in question. Verstappen said he had lost all respect for the Mercedes driver for allegedly doing everything in he could so he would penalised.
"Let's just say he wasn't enamoured with the decision," Horner stated. "It was a very strange decision because the circumstances of yesterday, both cars were on slow laps. I did feel that George and Mercedes made a big deal out of it. It was unprecedented on a slow lap for Max to end up with a one-place penalty."
Horner then praised his driver for taking the lead already into Turn 1, even as he started on the dirtier side of the track. "He converted the dirtiest side of the grid into one of his best starts of the year and was absolutely determined that wherever George was going to break, he was going to break later. Converted that grid position into the lead by the end of Turn 1," he said proudly.
I think he was disappointed with it," Horner elaborates on Verstappen's grid penalty. "If you look at it objectively, one could argue that perhaps George was driving a little too quickly on a slow lap with two slow cars ahead of him, so maybe he was driving recklessly. It was frustrating to get that penalty, but he was already motivated to win this race and I think it only added to his enthusiasm to get off the line well," the Briton concluded in Qatar.
This article was written in collaboration with Nicole Mulder
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