“Verstappen is a hard racer but a fair racer, and I expect no different this weekend”- Chrisitan Horner defends his star driver despite the Dutch being criticized for his driving standards in the recent races

Christian Horner aggressively defends his championship-leading driver Max Verstappen claiming that his driver will not attempt to crash out Lewis Hamilton in the title finale at the Yas Marina Circuit.

As everyone witnessed in the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the tensions were high leading to a topsy-turvy finish in which the Dutchman was awarded a ten seconds penalty and two points deduction from his driver’s license.

Horner: ‘To finish first, first you’ve got to finish. That’s been our mantra throughout this season

‘Max wants to win this championship on the track. It’s as simple as that. He’s a hard racer but a fair racer, and I expect no different this weekend. Nobody wants to win this championship in a gravel trap or in a stewards’ inquiry.’

‘Remember, it wasn’t Max who crashed into Lewis at Silverstone. The stewards found Lewis guilty of driving into Max.

‘They’ve both had their moments this year. Inevitably the reverse was found at Monza. They’ve been hard races.

Also Read: Who will win the 2021 F1 World Title if Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton finish the season on equal points?

‘They’ve gone wheel to wheel. But I think, for all the fans, you want to see a fair and clean fight in this last round and may the best team and best driver win.

These were the comments made by the Red Bull team principal leading up to the season finale. The team has come to the limelight as Max has been criticised for his driving standards in recent times.

Gamesmanship, Blame-game an exciting conclusion awaits this weekend

The Red Bull team principal continued by saying: ‘I think there was gamesmanship going on where Max had clearly lifted off and had gone down through the gears, to [a speed] slower than the slowest corner of the circuit, yet Lewis didn’t want to overtake, because he didn’t want to be the first to cross the DRS line.

‘So he was desperately trying to avoid overtaking Max, who had been instructed to let him pass by the stewards, or by the race director and therefore by the team.’

Off the track, during the beginning of the season, Red Bull were miles the better team with superior aero advantages and engine. Mercedes in a blink of an eye came up with an equally competitive car during the middle of the season and in the ending, even Mercedes’s Team Principal came with a mindset that they have the strongest car.

Also Read: “We just keep pushing, never give up” – Lewis Hamilton pays a heartfelt tribute to Mercedes ahead of his biggest race in Abu Dhabi

“But we found out, on a single lap, that we didn’t.” speaking with F1 Planet, Toto was quick to oppose on his thoughts post a stellar final qualifying lap by Max Verstappen who was one corner away from taking the pole.

It feels like we are going back to the Prost VS Senna rivalry era and there is just 1 question in everyone’s mind: “Who will win Max or Lewis?”.

A final conclusion awaits at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi this Sunday.