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“Max Verstappen has been fully supportive of Lewis Hamilton”- Christian Horner speaks out against Nelson Piquet and Juri Vips publicly ahead of British GP

Somin Bhattacharjee
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"Max Verstappen has been fully supportive of Lewis Hamilton"- Christian Horner speaks out against Nelson Piquet and Juri Vips publicly ahead of British GP

Nelson’s Piquet racist remarks on Lewis Hamilton left the entire F1 community shocked and outraged earlier this week.

Most of the F1 community immediately came out in support of Hamilton as soon as Piquet’s comments resurfaced. However, the two major names missing from that list were that of Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen.

The latter was under scrutiny, because Nelson Piquet is his girlfriend Kelly’s father. As a result, it led to fans demanding that either Verstappen or Red Bull make a statement regarding the matter.

They didn’t do so on social media. However, ahead of the British GP Verstappen spoke out publicly in support of Hamilton, and admitted what Piquet said was no right. Following on that matter, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner too condemned what happened, and explained why they didn’t make a statement.

“First of all, because we are appalled by Nelson’s comments,” he said. “And it is from an interview some time ago. But we had an incident with one of our young drivers. Earlier or at the end of last week, and we took very definitive action.”

Also read: “British Grand Prix under chaos”- Silverstone GP faces major disruption as police warn protesters planning to invade the track

Red Bull and Max Verstappen are behind Lewis Hamilton

The incident Horner talks about is that of young Estonian driver Juri Vips. He was part of the Red Bull academy and driving in F2 this year. On a recent stream, he used a racially inappropriate slur, which led to his contract with the Milton-Keynes team being terminated.

This was a defining moment, and fans wanted to see Red Bull take a similar stand against Piquet. However, Horner explained why they didn’t do so.

“We feel that action speaks louder then works,” the 48-year old said. “And the action we took with Juri which was draconian but in line with the policy that we have.”

“Max has been absolutely clear that he is fully supportive of Lewis, as he stated in the press conference yesterday. Not just Lewis, but any form of racism or discrimination in the sport.”

Verstappen goes into this week’s British GP, leading the World Championship with 175 points to his name. Hamilton meanwhile, is P6 in the standings, with 77 points.

Also read: “This 40-year old guy was booing me when I don’t even know him”- George Russell shares experience after being jeered by fan first time ever

About the author

Somin Bhattacharjee

Somin Bhattacharjee

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Formula 1 Editor Somin Bhattacharjee fell for the sport as well as Fernando Alonso on the same day — during the Spaniard’s thrilling victory at the German GP in 2010. Over the years, the passion magnified manyfold, and metamorphosed into a writing career in 2021. Though holding a bachelor's degree in marketing, Somin discovered his true calling in writing. He has penned over 2,700 articles for TheSportsRush, presenting a diverse range — news reports, opinions, and exclusives. A true Tiffosi, Somin never gives up on a chance to defend the Ferrari boys as a fan. As a sports writer though, he remains objective to the core and relishes opportunities to follow and engage in dissecting the action during races. That’s where the real thrill lies for him. Beyond the racetrack, Somin plays different sports including soccer. He enjoys exploring other sporting events and proudly supports Spanish soccer club Real Madrid.

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