The fallout of the Austrian GP collision is still unfolding in Silverstone ahead of the British GP. Christian Horner had to answer questions about Andrea Stella’s strong comments on the Lando Norris-Max Verstappen crash. While Horner usually keeps a stern demeanor and defends his driver, the Red Bull boss provided a rationale for why the stewards perhaps penalized Verstappen.
Replying to Simon Lazenby’s question, Horner said, “Max [Verstappen] had obviously moved, so they gave him a 10-second penalty. But obviously, there’s always a lot of emotion running high after a race, and I can only imagine it’s not a position Andrea [Stella] has been in before, so maybe there were some high emotions running.”
“He’s not going to change” ❌
Christian Horner has warned Lando Norris to expect the same ‘tough’ racing from Max Verstappen ahead of the British Grand Prix pic.twitter.com/ECdEWKSvyS
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) July 2, 2024
Horner seemingly took a sly dig at Stella for the Italian’s lack of experience as a team boss in managing situations when his driver is fighting for the win. Stella was quite stern in his assessment of Verstappen’s aggressive defending maneuvers against Norris.
The McLaren boss highlighted how the Dutchman’s 2021 collisions and crashes against Lewis Hamilton should have got “harsher” punishment. Likewise, even Horner solidly backed Verstappen and mentioned how frustrating the entire fiasco turned out to be.
The Red Bull boss deemed the 10-second penalty “harsh” after the race concluded in Spielberg. However, it seems quite natural for the two bosses to try and support their driver after a major incident like that.
Will Stella have a verbal tussle with Horner like Toto Wolff in 2021?
In the past few races, McLaren have emerged as a clear contender to challenge Red Bull’s dominance. Norris’ battle with Verstappen in Austria further underscored that he could mount a championship challenge if the Woking outfit can iron out their race execution and find some more pace to tackle the reigning champion.
However, does this leave Stella at loggerheads with Horner? Horner faced the most opposition from Wolff back in 2021 when Verstappen fought Hamilton in a championship battle for the ages. While Norris is far from matching Hamilton’s level, he is certainly setting up well to challenge Verstappen at every race in the second half of 2024.
Thus, if the top two in the championship continue to have more skirmishes like Austria, Stella and Horner may also have a verbal tussle at several race weekends. Usually, the dynamic between team bosses often becomes a key subplot, besides the dynamics between the drivers. However, as Horner said, this is the first time Stella is experiencing this side of F1.
