Christian Horner: Verstappen-Leclerc battle exactly what F1 needs

Austrian GP

Christian Horner: Verstappen-Leclerc battle exactly what F1 needs

There was nothing wrong with the overtake.

Martin Macdonald

Sunday 30 June 2019 17:32 Updated: 17:53

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Christian Horner believes it would be the wrong call if stewards were to punish Max Verstappen for the overtake on Charles Leclerc which saw him win, as it is the exactly the kind of battling which F1 needs at the moment

With two laps to go, Verstappen finally got beyond Leclerc after the duo went wheel-to-wheel to touch, with the latter subsequently sent wide due to the positioning of the Dutchman.

Horner, the team principal of Red Bull, responded in agreement when asked if he thought Verstappen gave Leclerc enough space.

“I think he did,” Horner said.

“Leclerc's got the opportunity. He's fully alongside, he's fully up the inside. And at that point, he [Verstappen] just can't get out the way. Leclerc has to concede the corner at some point.

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“It's clean, he's right there. Obviously he comes in aggressively, but what are you supposed to do?”

The Red Bull chief believes that the battle between two of F1’s young guns, racing wheel-to-wheel, is exactly what the sport needs. His comments come after the French Grand Prix last weekend - one of the dullest races in recent memory.

“This is just what Formula 1 needs,” he added.

“This is hard racing between two guys of the future. And, if they take this victory away from Max here, in my view it would be stealing from Formula 1.

“This is what we need - drivers going wheel-to-wheel and fighting each other.”

Verstappen went on to win the GP at the Red Bull Ring to retain his victory from the 2018 edition of the race.