Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has suggested McLaren should have allowed Lando Norris to win the Hungarian Grand Prix.
McLaren forced Norris to pit first, allowing him to take the lead in the final stint, ahead of Oscar Piastri.
Initially, the British driver refused to give up his position, but after some communication over the team radio he let Piastri pass with three laps to go, giving the Australian his first Grand Prix win.
Questioner Sky Sports News Asked what he would have done in the situation, Horner said: “Lando is an experienced driver and I think he’s the number one driver. It’s standard practice to give the lead driver the first pit stop and I think Oscar could have done it easily.”
“But they gave Lando an undercut by two laps, so they obviously wanted him ahead of Oscar. It’s hard for a driver to say, ‘I want you to get behind my teammate,’ because they put him ahead.”
“If this championship is lost by seven points at the end of the year, every single point counts in the end. Different teams race differently but Lando is our closest challenger and we have to take a gamble at some point.”
Verstappen and Lambiase have a frank discussion
Another controversial incident in Hungary was Max Verstappen’s angry outburst over the radio on his way to fifth place.
Verstappen grew increasingly frustrated during last Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix and his communications with Red Bull have been a hot topic ahead of this weekend’s race in Belgium.
The reigning world champion insists his language towards his team is part of his approach and that he “says what he wants to say”.
Verstappen and his engineer Giampiero Lambiese held frank discussions at Spa-Francorchamps on Thursday.
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Max Verstappen reflects on the Hungarian Grand Prix and reacts to his ‘voices’ complaining over team radio
“We had a group discussion and the strategy was criticised a bit,” Horner said. Sky Sports F1.
“You don’t want to be conservative for fear of getting bitten in the neck. I think everyone on our team knows Max and we know how he reacts to situations. It wasn’t a big deal, to be honest.”
“It’s like, ‘OK, let’s let him have his say.’ If I could have taken out the radio I would have done so at that point. It’s against the rules to do that, so that’s how it is.”
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Karan Chandhok details Max Verstappen’s frustration at the Hungarian Grand Prix and whether his anger was justified.
Horner made the radio comments during the infamous “Multi 21” incident, when Sebastian Vettel ignored team orders at the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix.
But in Hungary he said nothing to Verstappen because he felt it wouldn’t help.
“At that point it’s completely pointless because it’s just baiting,” Horner explained.
“Max is driving with all his might, he’s driving with immense passion and all we have to do is fuel that passion,” Horner said, explaining why he did not speak up over the radio himself.
“So I let him get the emotions out of his body and he calmed down immediately. Even when we got to the airport in the evening, he was already completely calm. Every driver is different.”
“When you listen to Oscar Piastri on the radio, he doesn’t say a word. When you listen to Max, it’s a different experience.”
Horner: Drivers are right to complain
Verstappen, who leads Norris by 76 points ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, has been a vocal radio presence throughout his career.
The Dutch driver said F1 was unique in that the whole world can hear the radio conversations between the drivers and the teams, a point echoed by Horner.
“I know Max is a very passionate guy and that’s part of what makes him such a great person,” he said.
“When he gets frustrated, he sometimes vents his frustrations and we hear it many times.
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Christian Horner was surprised when McLaren replaced Lando Norris with Oscar Piastri to win the Hungarian Grand Prix.
“If you put a microphone on every player in the Premier League you will hear them venting their frustrations. The problem in the sport at the moment is that there is one microphone before they get in the car, one in the car and one when they get out. Of course it was terrible to hear him vent his frustrations but he is a driver who is very passionate about his job.”
“He has his ups and downs. GP and him have known each other for a long time and know each other really well, so I spoke to him on Thursday and honestly I think this is just a temporary thing and we’ve bounced back from it.”
“Thursday is the day to say, ‘OK guys, let’s get through the weekend’. Whatever the issues, the best thing to do is talk it out. GP and Max have done that. We’ve turned the page. Let’s just focus on this weekend and get into the summer in the best possible shape.”
Sky Sports F1 Belgian Grand Prix Live Schedule
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Take a look back at the Belgian Grand Prix’s most dramatic moments so far
Sunday, July 28
7:25am: F3 Feature Race
8:55am: F2 Feature Race
10.40am: Porsche Supercup
12:30pm: Grand Prix Sunday – Belgian GP Preparations*
2pm: Belgian Grand Prix*
4pm: The chequered flag: Belgian GP reactions
5pm: Ted’s Notes
* Live coverage on Sky Sports Main Event
F1 racing continues this weekend with the Belgian Grand Prix, the final race before F1’s summer break, being held on Sunday at 2pm. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership – No contract, cancel anytime
