Christian Horner has revealed that Red Bull spoke with the FIA prior to the Canadian Grand Prix about concerns about Max Verstappen, the target of Formula 1 rivals.
Verstappen is walking the tightrope of a race van as it is only one penalty point from causing him to pause after colliding with George Russell of Spain.
The four-time F1 World Champion managed to spend the weekend in Montreal without further problems, but will have to navigate the Austrian Grand Prix before the next penalty point expires at the end of June.
It has been revealed that Red Bull reached out to FIA race director Louis Marquez in an attempt to protect Burstappen from “gamemanship” from “gamemanship” given his unstable penalty point situation.
“I think you can hear from George’s comments on the report (after qualifying). His purpose was pretty clear,” Horner said.
“Look, I think it’s inevitable that there is potential gamemanship.
“Because it was something I nurtured after the driver briefing and then the race director, and it is clear that that will continue.
“But Max, I thought he was a pretty squealing all weekend – and today I drove a very good race.”
Asked what Red Bull had said to Marquez, Horner replied, “We said to him, ‘Look, can you look at it? There were comments that were raised in the media, so please look at it.” ”
Red Bull fails in protest
Red Bull has rejected two protests over Russell’s driving behind Canada’s late-race safety car.
Russell beat Verstappen in his victory in Montreal, but Red Bull felt that Russell had broken the regulations with two counts and believed that the Mercedes driver was deliberately about to be punished by the Dutch.
The steward ultimately refused both charges after a lengthy investigation, and the final race result was not confirmed until more than five hours after the checker flag.
Verstappen is currently a 43-point Adrift for Championship Leader Oscar Piastri and is closed to the 21-point Lando Norris.