Christian Horner - FIA could have made a ‘statement’ with Italian GP penalties

Hamilton, verstappen, Italy — Photo: © LAT Images

Red Bull

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Horner - FIA could have made a ‘statement’ with Italian GP penalties

Could both Hamilton and Verstappen have been handed identical penalties?

Sam Hall

Friday 17 September 2021 13:58

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Red Bull team principal Chrisitan Horner has suggested the FIA could have made a "statement" by handing both Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen identical penalties for their crash at the Italian Grand Prix.

Hamilton emerged from the pit lane side by side with title rival Verstappen after both suffered slow pit stops at Monza, with the two coming together at the second part of the Rettifilo chicane.

The stewards viewed Verstappen to be "predominantly" at fault in the incident but although 'accepting' of the three-place grid penalty for the Russian GP, Horner suggested the FIA could have made an example of both drivers.

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"Both drivers knew they needed to be ahead because of the difficulty to overtake. Max was keen to seize the momentum and Lewis was eager to retain track position," explained Horner in his Red Bull column.

"It was an awkward shunt, but both drivers were instantly able to confirm they were ok. With Lewis trying to reverse and get back in the race, even the medical car didn’t see the need to deploy.

"I’m grateful the halo did its job. I think even the most vocal of doubters have now changed their minds about it.

"I still share the same belief today - both played a part in it and it is difficult to apportion blame to one side more than the other.

"If the FIA wanted to make a statement, they could’ve imposed the same penalty on both drivers but the fault was deemed to be more on Max's side and, because he didn’t finish the race, the only option was to give him a grid penalty, which we accept."

Red Bull pit problem "a result of the new technical directive"

Red Bull holds the record for the fastest pit stop in F1 and consistently pushes the two-second barrier.

A recently introduced technical directive aimed at slowing stops in the interest of safety, however, caused Verstappen to suffer an 11-second stop at Monza.

"There was a rare human error in our pit stop, as a result of the new technical directive but nonetheless something we need to learn from," added Horner.

"That slow stop put Max out of sync from where he should’ve been on track. Mercedes compounded that situation as they faltered with their own stop on Hamilton's car, which meant both drivers were neck and neck."