Formula 1 Italian GP

Horner disappointed by Wolff's 'tactical foul' F1 remark

Red Bull Formula 1 team boss Christian Horner says the Italian GP collision between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton was a "racing incident" and was "disappointed" with Mercedes counterpart Toto Wolff calling it a tactical foul.

Filip Cleeren

Edited: Feb 11, 2022, 5:54 PM

Copy link

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB16B, and Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W12, crash out

In the 26th lap of the Monza race, just before the halfway mark, Hamilton came out of the pits ahead of Verstappen, who had lost time earlier due to a slow pitstop.

Hamilton kept a tight inside line through Turn 1 while Verstappen launched an attack on the outside, which would become the inside through the second part of Monza's tight chicane.

But as Hamilton gradually closed the door, Verstappen ran out of room and mounted the kerbs, which launched him on top of the Mercedes as both cars retired.

Mercedes team principal Wolff called it a tactical foul on behalf of Verstappen, saying that it was clear "that it would end up in a crash" for the Dutchman.

Red Bull chief Horner called the crash a "racing incident" and was unhappy with Wolff's remarks.

"I'm disappointed that Toto would say it would be a professional foul," Horner told Sky. "I think it's a racing incident, and thankfully nobody was injured today.

"I think [Verstappen] earned enough to be given a bit more space to work with on the left there.

"I think you can probably argue it from both sides, so if you take a middle ground on it, you say it was a racing incident.

"But I genuinely think that you could argue Max should have bailed a bit more to the left, you can argue that Lewis should have given him more space."

Read Also:

Verstappen and Hamilton were both summoned to the stewards after the race. Asked if he was expecting any penalties from that investigation, Horner said it was impossible to predominantly hold either driver responsible.

"I can't see how possibly you could apportion blame more on one than the other in an incident like that," he said.

"Of course, I'm going to argue on Max's behalf that he earned more space for Turn 2, but you can understand Lewis probably arguing the other way.

"So I think if you look at it objectively, it's a 50/50 incident. It's a racing incident."

Horner added he was frustrated with the outcome of the race, with Red Bull's second driver Sergio Perez falling just short of the podium after being handed a time penalty for track limits while battling Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.

"Obviously [I'm frustrated] because I think we had a good car today and we felt we should at least have been on the podium or challenging Daniel [Ricciardo]," he explained.

"So, very frustrating to come out of the race. I think the most important thing today is that the halo has done its job, because it's an awkward accident, with him coming down effectively on top of the Mercedes.

"Thankfully, nobody was hurt."

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W12, and Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB16B, crash

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Viber

Previous article Wolff calls Verstappen move on Hamilton a "tactical foul"

Next article Wolff: Halo definitely saved Hamilton’s life in Verstappen accident

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

Latest news

Ducati: Aprilia got “unlucky” in Australian GP, can win every race from now

MotoGP

MGP MotoGP

Australian GP

46 min

Ducati: Aprilia got “unlucky” in Australian GP, can win every race from now

Why Monza win from 19th still isn't the best of Kimi Antonelli's dominant F1 2026 season

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

United States GP

2 h

Why Monza win from 19th still isn't the best of Kimi Antonelli's dominant F1 2026 season

What happened to Austin Hill at the end of Talladega NASCAR Cup race?

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Talladega II

2 h

What happened to Austin Hill at the end of Talladega NASCAR Cup race?

Sesks tight-lipped on WRC future after ERC season finale triumph

WRC

WRC WRC 3 h

Sesks tight-lipped on WRC future after ERC season finale triumph

Feature

Discover prime content

A strategic masterclass: How Kimi Antonelli put himself on the cusp of F1 title at the US GP

Formula 1

United States GP

By Jake Boxall-Legge

A strategic masterclass: How Kimi Antonelli put himself on the cusp of F1 title at the US GP

How Verstappen and Antonelli were both “surprised” in United States GP qualifying

Formula 1

United States GP

By Stuart Codling

How Verstappen and Antonelli were both “surprised” in United States GP qualifying

What we learned from Friday practice at the 2026 United States GP

Formula 1

United States GP

By Jake Boxall-Legge

What we learned from Friday practice at the 2026 United States GP

Max Verstappen’s words explained: Why Red Bull’s turnaround is so different this time

Formula 1

United States GP

By Ronald Vording

Max Verstappen’s words explained: Why Red Bull’s turnaround is so different this time

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Become a subscriber.
Disable your adblocker.

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts