Christian Horner to talk to Max Verstappen over ‘IGNORED’ Red Bull team orders

Max Verstappen

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Horner admits talks will be held with Verstappen over ‘IGNORED’ team orders

Matthew Hobkinson Lead Editor

F1 Editor & Journalist

Tuesday 6 June 2023 07:57 Updated: 12:02

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Christian Horner has revealed that he will talk to Max Verstappen after the Red Bull driver seemingly ignored team orders to avoid pushing for fear of exceeding track limits during the Spanish Grand Prix.

Verstappen led from the start and did not look back as he claimed victory in Barcelona, his fifth of the season.

Things could have got a little less comfortable for the Dutchman however, after he was shown a black and white flag for exceeding track limits.

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Despite being warned about the issue by engineer Gianpiero Lambiase, Verstappen was pushing for the extra point for fastest lap and came close to receiving a five-second time penalty if he would have crossed over the white lines one more time during the race.

Although relaxed about the whole situation, Horner revealed that the two of them will sit down and have a discussion over the incident.

"He and his engineer have a relationship like an old married couple,” he told Sky Sports. “You could hear them talking over the radio, almost like arguing over which channel shall we watch.

Verstappen, Hamilton and Russell celebrate on the podium after the Spanish Grand Prix

"Having had three strikes, the next one was a time penalty and if there was a safety car or something like that, that could have been extremely painful.

“The engineer is trying to manage Max and say, 'Don't take any risks, bring it home and keep it between the lines'. Max, I think he wasn't aware he was exceeding the limits and he just wanted that extra point for the fastest lap.”

'We'll talk about it'

When asked if he plans to sit down with Verstappen to talk about his driver ignoring team orders, the Red Bull team principal was relaxed, but admitted it is a conversation that needs to be had.

"He's in the car and he knows,” Horner added. “Of course, we'll talk about it – in a situation where there was more to lose than that then we'd talk about it very firmly.

“All we can do is pass on the information and what he chooses to do with that information, he's in control of that."