Christian Horner cites Michael Schumacher as he hits back over Max Verstappen criticism
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner referenced Andrea Stella's connection to Michael Schumacher after his comments on Max Verstappen.
Christian Horner used Michael Schumacher to dismiss Andrea Stella’s criticism of Max Verstappen. McLaren team principal Stella was deeply unimpressed with Verstappen following last weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix.
The reigning world champion ended Lando Norris’ race when they were battling for the lead, moving under braking and causing contact. Norris was forced to retire, scuppering a potential second career victory.
Stella argued Verstappen’s actions, which earned him an inconsequential 10-second penalty, were as a result of the FIA not clamping down on him during his epic battles with Lewis Hamilton back in 2021. His Red Bull counterpart Horner wasn’t having any of that.
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And he even referenced Stella’s stint at Ferrari, where he was Schumacher’s performance engineer from 2002 to 2006, to hammer home his point. Horner responded: “I think Max raced hard in ’21.
“It was like a heavyweight bout in every race we went to. He was punished in ’21 if he did something wrong in the same way Lewis was punished for things he did wrong. So I think it’s wrong and unfair to label a driver like that.
“I’m sure, in the heat of the moment, it was frustrating for Andrea. It’s just tough racing. He worked with Michael Schumacher for so many years. Of all people, he should know that.”
Verstappen refused to take blame for the incident and Red Bull gave him their backing. Horner insisted he wouldn’t be changing his approach, and chief Helmut Marko went on to describe Norris as “pathetic” for his complaints on the team radio.
Stella was disappointed with their response, feeling they were being purposefully ignorant. “I see it as the entire population in the world will know who is responsible, expect for a group of people,” he told Sky Sports.
“But the problem behind it is that if you don’t address these things honestly, they will come back. They have come back today because they were not addressed properly in the past when there was some fights with Lewis that needed to be punished in a harsher way.
“You learn now to race in a certain way, which we can consider fair and square. There is many episodes. The fact is that we have so much respect for Red Bull, so much respect for Max.
“They don’t need to do this. They don’t need to do this. This is a way to almost compromise your reputation. Why would you do that?”
Verstappen and Norris cleared the air personally, looking to preserve their good friendship away from the track, and they're set to do battle again at Silverstone this weekend - starting fourth and third on the grid respectively.