Horner insists Red Bull 'care' about Verstappen winning title in right way

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has insisted he 'cares' about the manner in which Max Verstappen could win the F1 drivers' title in the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Verstappen's racing conduct has come under fire with two robust defences of the lead in Brazil and Saudi Arabia in particular causing concern over whether the title battle with Lewis Hamilton will end away from the racetrack.

The fight between the Red Bull and Mercedes drivers has already been labelled one of the best in the history of the sport and many are pessimistic about the championship being given the climax it so thoroughly deserves.

Red Bull has failed to win a title since 2013 and asked if he cared how Verstappen could wrap up the triumph, Horner replied: "Of course we do. We want to win it on the track, not in the stewards' room, not in a gravel trap.

"It's been a tough fight all the way through the year, there has been some fantastic racing between these two drivers and I hope it's a fair and clean race in Abu Dhabi."

On whether there will be an escalation of tensions at the final race, Horner said: "It's winner take all. Whoever finishes ahead is world champion. Let's see, we've got one shot at it. We've got to try and beat Lewis one more time this year.

"The performance is with him at the moment, they've won three races on the bounce, and they're going to be very competitive in Abu Dhabi with the new layout.

"We expected them here to have a big advantage on us and we've fought hard, we've attacked the grand prix and Max was outstanding all weekend."

Related

More F1 news

Latest F1 news

Shock plans for F1 Danish Grand Prix emerge

• 1 hour ago

Nurburgring 24 Hours: Meet Max Verstappen's team-mates for iconic race this weekend

• 2 hours ago

F1 News Today: Aston Martin announcement 'expected' as team reveal major upgrade package

• 2 hours ago

George Russell's brazen F1 claim is already coming back to bite him at Mercedes

• 2 hours ago

Inside Max Verstappen's radical preparation for Nurburgring 24 Hours race: No sleep for F1 star

• 3 hours ago

Red Bull placed on red alert as FIA president confirms multi-team ownership investigation

• Today 13:55