Horner explains Verstappen action: 'That was our only chance'
F1 News
- GPblog.com
Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton got into a lot of trouble with each other during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The Briton drove into the back of his competitor's car, which resulted in a ten second time penalty. Christian Horner is relieved that the Dutchman drove his car over the finish line.
Verstappen passed Hamilton illegally just before the incident, prompting Red Bull Racing to instruct him to leave his rival in front. The Mercedes driver failed to see Verstappen's deceleration and crashed into the back of the Red Bull driver's car. After the incident Hamilton passed Verstappen.
"After Max got a five-second penalty, our only chance to win was to take a five-second lead, but with the diffuser damage it was impossible for him to create such a gap," Horner explained to Formel1.de. "Then he decided to let Lewis go. After that, all he cared about was getting the car to the finish. He had a couple of cuts in the tyre that looked quite deep. So it was 18 points or no points."
Horner looking forward to Abu Dhabi GP
Horner then expresses hope that both drivers will keep it tidy in Abu Dhabi this coming weekend. "You want to win on the track, not at the stewards or in the gravel. It's been a tough battle all year. The two drivers have raced fantastically. And I hope there will be a fair and clean race in Abu Dhabi."