Christian Horner lays down law for Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez after Red Bull CLASH in sprint race

Horner, Verstappen, Perez — Photo: © LAT Images

Horner lays down law for Verstappen and Perez after Red Bull CLASH in sprint race

Christian Horner has reminded his drivers of the rules of engagement after the incident.

Matthew Hobkinson Lead Editor

F1 Editor & Journalist

Sunday 2 July 2023 07:57

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Christian Horner has reminded Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen that they can "race hard" so long as they give each other space, after the pair narrowly avoided contact at the start of Saturday's sprint race.

Perez took the lead heading into the first corner after he dove up the inside despite the challenging conditions.

A poor exit out of turn one allowed Verstappen back in as the team-mates came very close to making contact in the opening stages.

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Both Red Bull drivers took issue with the actions of their counterpart, with Verstappen taking to his team radio to say: "He pushed me off man what the f***?"

Perez snapped back: "What's wrong with Max man?" on team radio.

Horner: Race hard, but fair

Sergio Perez got the better of Max Verstappen at the start of the sprint race

After the sprint race, Horner was asked about the incident between the pair, to which the team principal admitted that they were free to race so long as they were sensible.

"As they said, they’ve spoken about it," he told Sky Sports. "I think Checo had Max maybe unsighted there on the right-hand side. Thankfully, they didn’t collect each other, and a 1-2 finish is a great result for the team.

"The rules are very fair. Race hard but give each other space. [Turn] one and three, yes, the bit in the middle was where it got a bit tasty. I think [with] Checo, maybe he didn’t see Max."