Christian Horner has refused to be drawn on whether he agrees with the punishment handed out by the International Tribunal on Friday which has seen Mercedes reprimanded and suspended from the Young Driver Test.
The Red Bull team principal, who was behind the initial protest against Mercedes, was present at the tribunal on Thursday but flew back to the Red Bull factory on Friday where he heard about the punishment.
“It is always preferential to test with race drivers rather than test drivers; however the penalty is not for us to decide,” he said of the decision. “It was for the tribunal to decide and they have made their decision.”
He backed the tribunal process and the clarity it has brought.
“The Tribunal had all the facts presented to them in a fair manner yesterday and made their decision. We raised the protest as we wanted clarity on whether you are allowed to test in-season with a current car, as we believe this was a breach of the regulations.
“Yes [we got clarity] – it was decided that Mercedes breached the sporting regulations and the International Sporting Code.”
He refused to comment further on the decision when probed by The F1 Times.
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