Horner: ‘Childish’ radio talk wasn’t at Verstappen

Crimson Bull staff boss Christian Horner has clarified a radio trade by which Max Verstappen’s race engineer appeared to name the triple world champion infantile throughout Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix.

Gianpiero Lambiase, who has labored with Verstappen for some eight years and is thought for standing as much as the motive force in forthright trend, had a collection of exchanges with an more and more sad Dutchman on the Hungaroring.

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Verstappen had complained about Mercedes’ seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton’s driving after they collided, with the Crimson Bull pitched on its nostril and off the monitor in a battle for third.

“I’m not even going to get right into a radio battle with the opposite groups, Max,” Lambiase stated.

“We’ll let the stewards do their factor. It is infantile on the radio, infantile.”

The remark raised eyebrows for its tone, between people with one of many closest driver-engineer relationships.

Horner stated Lambiase was not really referring to Verstappen, nonetheless, however the radio site visitors from members of rival groups looking for to push the stewards into penalising him.

“I do not suppose GP’s [Lambiase’s] reference at that time was in reference to Max,” he instructed reporters. “Others [were] clearly goading for penalties as a result of clearly the stewards are listening to the radio as properly.”

Verstappen, who completed fifth after seeing stewards who took no additional motion, was not backing down afterwards when questioned about his radio messages and the swear phrases bleeped out for the worldwide tv viewers.

“I do not suppose we have to apologise,” he stated. “I simply suppose we have to do a greater job.”

Horner stated the staff would focus on behind closed doorways what they need to have achieved higher.

He added that Sergio Pérez had loved an excellent race, one in every of his greatest in months, in going from sixteenth on the grid to seventh.

“He had good tempo and made some good passes and hopefully can have taken plenty of confidence out of that,” Horner stated of a driver whose future stays unsure, regardless of just lately signing a contract extension.

Pérez has scored solely 21 factors from the final seven races, in comparison with Verstappen’s 129 in the identical interval, and is now seventh within the standings.

The Mexican can also be the one one of many prime eight and not using a win this season.