Breaking news
Formula 1 Bahrain GP
Horner: Verstappen letting Hamilton past was "the right thing"
Red Bull Formula 1 team boss Christian Horner says Max Verstappen "did the right thing" by following race control and letting Lewis Hamilton through in the final stages of the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Filip Cleeren Jonathan Noble
Edited: Mar 28, 2021, 8:42 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
With four laps to go in F1 2021's season opener, Verstappen went off track in Turn 4 in an attempt to snatch the victory away from leader Lewis Hamilton, forcing him to hand the position back to Mercedes' world champion.
Verstappen questioned Red Bull's call to give the position back, claiming he would have preferred to risk a potential five-second penalty and try to gap Hamilton on the final three laps.
Instead, Verstappen was unable to launch another attack and had to settle for second place, less than a second behind Hamilton.
Horner said Verstappen "did the right thing" to follow race control's instructions as there was no way of knowing if the Dutchman would have been able to pull out a large enough gap in just three laps.
"I think it's very difficult," Horner commented on the call. "We had an instruction from the race director to give the place back immediately. Max was very sporting and did that.
"It was frustrating and Lewis had just enough to retain his position to the end of the race but look, there's no guarantee we could have gotten the five seconds if that had been the penalty. So he did the right thing."
Read Also:
- Hamilton: Final few laps of Bahrain GP were "horrifying"
- Hamilton: Bahrain GP "one of the hardest races"
Horner rued the fact that Red Bull couldn't convert a convincing pole position into a win but believed Verstappen's pass vindicated the team's choice to cede track position and try to overtake Hamilton on the track.
"I think that Mercedes had very strong pace at the beginning of the race," Horner explained. "Their degradation looked impressive, so Max could never get more than two seconds clear of Lewis.
"Going into the race we very much fixed our strategy on a two stop. They obviously went early again on their last stop. We stayed out ten laps longer so we had a better tyre for the final stint, but unfortunately Lewis had just enough to be able to hold on.
"Obviously, we managed to get the pass done at one stage and got wide at Turn 4. Max was very sporting, he gave it back immediately.
"It's tough to lose a close race like that, but we have to take a lot of positives out the weekend."
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
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Verstappen explains why he could not re-attack Hamilton
Next article Wolff: Track limit rules can't be "a Shakespeare novel"
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Filip Cleeren
Winners and losers from F1's chaotic Brazilian Grand Prix
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
2 h
Winners and losers from F1's chaotic Brazilian Grand Prix
F1 Brazilian GP: Lando Norris wins in mixed conditions, Mercedes clinch constructors’ title
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
6 h
F1 Brazilian GP: Lando Norris wins in mixed conditions, Mercedes clinch constructors’ title
More from
Lewis Hamilton
‘I’ll try to win, somehow’ – Can Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen fight back for F1 Brazilian GP victory?
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
12 h
‘I’ll try to win, somehow’ – Can Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen fight back for F1 Brazilian GP victory?
F1 Brazilian GP: Sunday schedule, weather forecast and how to watch
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
F1 Brazilian GP: Sunday schedule, weather forecast and how to watch
Latest news
Final NASCAR Cup points standings after 2026 Homestead finale
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
1 h
Final NASCAR Cup points standings after 2026 Homestead finale
Official race results: NASCAR Cup Homestead season finale
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
1 h
Official race results: NASCAR Cup Homestead season finale
Ryan Blaney wins Homestead NASCAR Cup finale as Kyle Larson claims 2026 title
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
1 h
Ryan Blaney wins Homestead NASCAR Cup finale as Kyle Larson claims 2026 title
Winners and losers from F1's chaotic Brazilian Grand Prix
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
2 h
Winners and losers from F1's chaotic Brazilian Grand Prix
Feature
Discover prime content
How F1’s rules got to be so complex
Formula 1
By Pat Symonds
How F1’s rules got to be so complex
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
Subscribe