Christian Horner Complains About George Russell Picking Podium Without Getting Penalized for His Forbidden Act

Tanish Chachra | 05/06/2023
Christian Horner Complains About George Russell Picking Podium Without Getting Penalized for His Forbidden Act

The Spanish Grand Prix result couldn’t have been better for Mercedes, as they got to pick a double podium on Sunday. However, Christian Horner objects to Mercedes driver George Russell walking away with the P3 podium without getting penalized.

At the start of the race, Russell went outside the track limits to prevent any damage to his car amidst the race start traffic. Considering he was staring from the heart of the grid, it was given that he would be surrounded.

But what he did is not permitted under the rules of the sport. Therefore Horner isn’t pleased with the Briton taking away a podium finish while Sergio Perez had to settle with a P4.

Christian Horner is not happy with George Russell going away unscathed

The new upgrades by Mercedes have definitely brought a positive influence. But at the same time, Russell ‘unfairly’ getting away from the traffic irked the Red Bull boss as his deputy driver lost a podium place.

“George [Russell] running off the track, getting on the track, not getting any penalty from that,” said Horner to SkySports. “I think that was the difference at the end of the day.”

Horner then adds that in the end, Perez was getting back stronger. However, he wasn’t left with enough laps to overtake Russell, who was only a few seconds away by the end of the race.

Red Bull boss isn’t bothered with Mercedes’s progress

After the end of the race, Horner was asked about the improvement made by the Silver Arrows this weekend. The Brit, in response, remarked that Red Bull still finished 23 seconds ahead of them.

Moreover, he is unfazed about their progress as he reveals that his team is introducing new upgrades in the coming weeks. Therefore, we would see a faster Max Verstappen in the coming race days while he is still unstoppable.

There is no doubt that Red Bull can’t be toppled this year. But with Mercedes solving their problems, 2024 could be a year on which fans can pin their hope for more competitive races.

Post Edited By: Tanish Chachra
Christian Horner George Russell Mercedes Red Bull

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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