Christian Horner has taking a jab at a Sky Sports pundit following his comments about Max Verstappen ahead of his incredible Brazilian Grand Prix victory.
Red Bull driver Verstappen completed an incredible drive on Sunday at the Brazilian GP, coming back from 17th on the grid to clinch a victory that all but confirms the 2024 title as his.
Ahead of the race, the reigning champion had been subject to criticism from several Formula One pundits commenting on the battle he had with rival Lando Norris a week earlier at the Mexican GP.
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But in the wake of Verstappen's victory in Brazil, Red Bull Racing's team principal Horner took the opportunity to hit back at one of the driver's fiercest critics live on Sky Sports.
Ahead of the race, former driver Damon Hill criticised Verstappen's aggressive driving style, blaming it for the penalties that were handed to the reigning champion in Mexico.
However, after his performance in Brazil, the pundit was much more positive about Verstappen, as he told Sky Sports: “We sort of conjected at the beginning that maybe this was a day when he could show everyone his brilliance, and he’s absolutely done that today.”
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And Horner, who was standing alongside Hill at the time, wasted no time in getting a slight dig in because of the pundit's earlier comments, saying: “I think we’re gonna have to get that on record that Damon said something nice!”
The comments from Hill came shortly after the Mexican GP, when Verstappen was handed a massive 20 seconds of penalties after an on-track clash with McLaren's Norris.
“The problem that Max has is he simply refuses to concede any turf at all, to anyone, in an overtake,” Hill stated.
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After analysing the on-track actions that led to Verstappen receiving the penalties, Hill added: “It is possible to race fairly and that is something I’m not sure that Max is capable of.
“It’s not in his repertoire. It’s not in his philosophy. His philosophy is that ‘you’re not coming past.’”
Verstappen himself responded to Hill's comments shortly after, brutally stating: "I don’t listen to those individuals. I just do my own thing.
“I’m a three-time world champion. I think I know what I’m doing."
Topics: Max Verstappen, Sky Sports, Formula 1, Red Bull Racing
Ben McCrum