“I’m disappointed Toto would say it would be a professional foul” – Red Bull team principal Christian Horner finds it unfair Max Verstappen is being blamed for taking out himself and Lewis Hamilton.
It was all for nought in the championship battle as Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen both took home zero points from Monza on Sunday. This still keeps the latter in the championship lead, albeit by a very slender margin.
After the horrific crash between the duo, there have been suggestions from multiple quarters that Verstappen took a calculated decision to collide with the reigning champion.
It’s days like today, I am reminded of how lucky I am. It takes a millisecond to go from racing to a very scary situation. Today someone must have been looking down, watching over me! #TeamLH: I’m so thankful for each and everyone of you, you are truly the best. Still we rise! pic.twitter.com/H2sGtXPKrr
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) September 12, 2021
Max Verstappen gets grid penalty for collision with Lewis Hamilton
It all started after Verstappen had a shocker of an 11-second pit stop, followed by a slightly slower 4-second one from Hamilton, leading to the latter coming out right in front of the Dutchman.
Damon Hill suggested it was foul play by Verstappen, something Mercedes boss Toto Wolff seconded. But Horner has come in the first line of defence of his driver, arguing he deserved more space from Hamilton.
“I think he had earned enough to be given a bit more space to work with on the left there.
“So I think you can probably argue it from both sides. I think if you take a middle ground on it you would say it’s a racing incident, but I genuinely think you could argue Max should have bailed a bit more to the left, you can argue Lewis should have given him more space.
“So to apportion blame in favour of one side or the other, I genuinely think in that incident, very difficult to do.
“I’m disappointed Toto would say it would be a professional foul, but I think it’s a racing incident and thankfully nobody was injured today.”
