Christian Horner, Red Bull’s team principal, has argued that Max Verstappen’s sentiments were justifiable after being forced to retire from the Australian Grand Prix.
Verstappen was aiming for his 10th consecutive Grand Prix victory, but the reigning three-time world champion’s challenge ended after four laps.
The Dutchman began on pole but was overtaken by Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari in the early stages.6015362784
Shortly after, smoke began to emerge from the rear of Verstappen’s Red Bull, prompting the Dutchman to slowly return to the pits and withdraw from a race for the first time in two years.
Verstappen looked to have a heated argument with a mechanic after exiting the flaming vehicle, with the 26-year-old appearing to utter the word’stupid’.
I believe he has been really gracious to the squad and all of the mechanics; we are all one team. That DNF hits everyone in the same manner. It’s about learning from it.
‘We’ve gone two years with no mechanical DNFs, which is fantastic.
‘It’s a matter of determining what caused it, learning from it, and going forward.
‘It’s incredible after three races that he’s still leading the world championship after that DNF, but, like I said, there are a lot of lessons to learn from today.’
