Criticism of Horner after controversial statement: 'Very unprofessional'

On Sunday, Max Verstappen's nineteenth win after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix took centre stage, but in the days before, the paddock was really only focused on one thing: Christian Horner's remarkable statements about Lewis Hamilton. Christijan Albers, a former F1 driver with 46 Grands Prix, calls it 'a pity'.

What was the situation again? Horner had revealed in the British media that someone from the Lewis Hamilton camp had contacted Red Bull to discuss the possibility of a switch. Lewis Hamilton firmly refuted this, as did Toto Wolff. They charged Horner with spreading disinformation. However, Horner stuck to his position and was also backed up by Helmut Marko.

Albers does not understand Horner

Albers, does think something of this whole soap opera. "You know whether it happened or not, that is actually secretly not relevant at all," he tells his story in De Telegraaf's Formula 1 podcast. "What is relevant is the professionalism you have to exude as a team. If you have such a big team under your belt and you are team boss there with such good results, you don't need this at all."

According to the former Formula One driver, it is "just gasping for attention". "I think it's just not done. Long story short: I just find it very unprofessional. You have to make sure you are classy and that this stays within the living rooms. You shouldn't bring things like this out, because now other drivers do watch out, they will think twice if they are with a team like Ferrari or Mercedes or another top team and they start talking to another team."