F1 News
Horner directly answers Wolff and Brown's queries with the stewards
Toto Wolff and Zak Brown have both questioned the stewards decisions during the United States Grand Prix, but Red Bull boss Christian Horner understands exactly why the stewards made the calls they did. The Brit answered his rivals and praised the rapid response, which saw a conclusion announced in time for the chequered flag.
Verstappen and Norris battled towards the end of the Grand Prix. Eventually, the Briton passed the Dutchman, but Norris received a five-second penalty because the overtaking had happened off-track and Verstappen was ahead at the apex. It ensured that the Red Bull driver got to the podium, and the McLaren driver had to settle for fourth place.
How Horner praised the stewards
Horner cited an earlier moment in Austin as proof that the stewards made the right decision: "We've been on the receiving end of that in fact here, I think against Kimi [Raikkonen] in 2017. So for us it was crystal clear that the pass had been made off the track. He should have given the place back. He chose not to, so therefore there was a penalty. So for us it was a very much a black and white scenario."
The stewards made several decisions for similar events during the race. Mercedes team boss questioned whether the stewards were being 'bias' but Horner has no problems. "I think it's very difficult for the stewards and every incident is different. So you have to look at every incident individually. When you're on the receiving end of it, it's not nice. As I say, we've been on the receiving end of it numerous times, not just at this track but at other tracks."
"I think we’ve discussed these many times. It goes back to Niki Lauda making an impassioned plea to Charlie Whiting of, ‘Just let them race!’ It was agreed then for the first lap it used to be then, now it's very much the first corner. Let them race. That was a classic case of that, and they all know that," Horner added.
Horner praises rapid response
In the case of the race in Austin, Horner is glad the stewards did not wait until after the race to assess the incident: "I think it was a slam dunk. The problem is we then have the arguments of you want the right people on the podium. So you have this, it's happened so many times that I actually think that stewards have dealt with it pretty rapidly and decently today," he concluded.
This article has been created in collaboration with Cas van de Kleut