Red Bull boss Christian Horner has denied that Max Verstappen played a role in its decision to formally protest George Russell’s victory in the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix.
The Dutchman finished second in Montreal behind the Mercedes driver, who took his first win of the season from pole position.
Russell and Verstappen’s close proximity before the race led to inevitable remarks as to how the pair would battle, given their infamous collision at the previous round in Spain.
The racing transpired to be clean, but during the late Safety Car period which ensured his win, Russell appeared to slow enough to catch Verstappen off guard, which led the Red Bull to momentarily overtake him.
Verstappen immediately complained to his engineers that Russell was driving erratically, and combined with the belief he was more than 10 car lengths away from the Safety Car, it led to the team to issue a formal protest.
However, Verstappen appeared to show no ill will after the race, which led Mercedes boss Toto Wolff to conclude that he played no part in Red Bull’s decision, which he described as “petty” and “embarrassing”.
Speaking after the race to media including Motorsport Week, Wolff appeared to corroborate Wolff’s theory. When asked if Verstappen had pushed the team into protesting, he said: “No, not at all.
“Max was talking to you guys, and I had no idea that, you know, and it’s within a competitor’s right to raise a protest, you know, it’s 2,000 Euros per protest, and we were surprised that they weren’t noted and sent to the stewards, so therefore you have the right as a competitor to do that, and that’s what we’ve chosen to do, which is why Max and, you know, the guys are in front of the stewards now.”
Horner confirms Red Bull asked race control to ‘keep an eye’ on potential goading
When asked after qualifying about a potential fight into the first corner alongside Verstappen, Russell cheekily retorted: “I’ve got a few more points on my licence to play with.”
Horner had opined that Russell’s comments were to be taken seriously, saying he had a “clear objective” to entice Verstappen into something that could incur the 12th that sparked a one-race ban.
He praised Verstappen, saying he had been “squeaky clean all weekend, and drove a very good race”.
When asked if he had formally spoken to Race Director Rui Marques about the possibility of Verstappen being goaded, Horner confirmed he had.
“We just said to them, ‘Look, could they please keep an eye on it, because, you know, there’s been obviously comments that have been raised in the media, just please keep an eye on it.’”
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