Christian Horner has slammed popular opinions online that say Max Verstappen would as far as to run Lewis Hamilton off the track to land his maiden Formula One title.
The conversation has been heated among teams and fans alike over the recent on-track rows between this year’s closest rivals.
The latest drama unfolded on Lap 37 of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix when Hamilton accused Verstappen of ‘playing a tactic,’ after being told to give back first position to the Mercedes during the race.
The Dutch driver was told by Red Bull to do it “strategically,” and so he slowed significantly at turn 26, however, according to race stewards, it was obvious that neither driver wanted to take the lead prior to DRS detection line 3.
Hamilton damaged his front wing during the incident but still managed to cross the finish line in first to win the race – meaning he and Verstappen are now equal in the driver’s standings ahead of the final round.
Meanwhile, Verstappen was handed two penalty points and a ten-second deduction – but he still managed to hold on to second place despite this.
Since then, fans have been taking to social media to suggest the ‘unsportsmanlike’ lengths the Dutch driver would go to, to beat the British world champion to the trophy.
In a recent interview with The Times, Christian debunked all of them by saying: “He’s certainly not crazy.
“Max wants to win this championship on the track. It’s as simple as that.
“He’s a hard racer but a fair racer, and I expect no different this weekend. Nobody wants to win this championship in a gravel trap or in a stewards’ inquiry.
“To finish first, first you’ve got to finish. That’s been our mantra throughout this season. Remember, it wasn’t Max who crashed into Lewis at Silverstone.
“The stewards found Lewis guilty of driving into Max.
“They’ve both had their moments this year. Inevitably the reverse was found at Monza. They’ve been hard races.
“They’ve gone wheel to wheel. But I think, for all the fans, you want to see a fair and clean fight in this last round and may the best team and best driver win.”
Lewis Hamilton doesn’t hold back on his opinion of Max Verstappen after penultimate battle
