F1 News

Horner responds to Rosberg statements on sim racing Verstappen

Is Rosberg right about 'unprofessional' Verstappen? Horner responds!

21 July at 21:45
8
  • Cas van de Kleut

Nico Rosberg called Max Verstappen unprofessional ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. According to the 2016 world champion, it is disappointing that the Dutchman was sim racing until 03:00 a.m. last night when he was due to race in Hungary the next day. Christian Horner believes conclusions are being drawn too quickly.

Rosberg took Norris as an example of a professional athlete. The German stated that the one-time race winner would have gone to bed at 23:05 and got up again at 08:05. Verstappen thus received less praise from the former world champion.

Horner responds to Rosberg's statements about Verstappen

When Horner was asked, in front of GPblog, if there would be a time when Verstappen would be told that his behaviour in terms of sim racing was going too far, the team boss replied, "People draw conclusions. Max knows what it takes to drive a Grand Prix car, to win Grands Prix and to become world champion. We always work as a team and we have discussions on how to do better will not happen right away."

When then asked if Verstappen has become spoilt because of Red Bull's dominance in recent years, Horner replied, "With stable rules, you get into a curve where it becomes increasingly difficult to win. That is normal. I've been in this business for 20 years, that's what happens. That doesn't mean you have to accept it. You just have to work harder to find the incremental gains and execute good races and be at the top of your game. We feel we have to improve in the second half of the year."

This article was written in collaboration with Ben Stevens.