In a recent revelation, Christian Horner, the team principal of the Red Bull Formula 1 team, confirmed that Max Verstappen offered an apology during the debrief following the Spanish Grand Prix for his controversial clash with George Russell. The incident, which occurred in the final laps of the race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, resulted in Verstappen receiving three penalty points along with a 10-second time penalty.
During the race, Verstappen was in third place when a late safety car came into play. After pitting for hard tires—the only fresh compound available to Red Bull at that moment—he found himself behind Charles Leclerc following the restart. As the race progressed, Russell attempted to overtake Verstappen at Turn 1. Despite being advised by his race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, to relinquish the position, Verstappen initially resisted the move. However, he eventually appeared to concede the place, leading to a collision with Russell.
On Monday, Verstappen took to social media to express his regret about the incident, stating it “should not have happened.” However, he did not extend a formal apology at that time. In contrast, Horner emphasized that the reigning world champion had expressed remorse in the immediate aftermath of the race. In his own Instagram post, Horner shared insights on the team's performance, stating, “Spain closes out the triple-header and we leave Barcelona frustrated that we didn’t take more from the race.”
Horner elaborated on the strategic choices made by Red Bull during the race, noting, “As a team we attacked on the three-stop, which was the better strategy. It was only the safety car that hurt us.” He explained that the timing of the safety car was detrimental to their strategy, as it forced the team to choose between older tires or new hard tires. “Hindsight is always 20/20, but we made the best decision at the time with the information we had,” he added.
Despite the challenges faced during the weekend, including the incident involving Verstappen and the impact on Yuki Tsunoda's race, Horner remained optimistic. He stated, “It was a tough weekend, but we will be busy working hard over the next weeks to make some set-up improvements to the car and come back strong in Montreal.” The unpredictable nature of racing, he noted, is part of what captivates fans around the world.
As the Formula 1 season continues, all eyes will be on Red Bull Racing as they aim to bounce back and improve their performance in the upcoming races.
