Horner: “Ocon is lucky he only got pushed around”

Red Bull Racing narrowly missed securing a 5th victory this year at the Brazilian GP. After a spectacular first stint on the part of Max Verstappen who took the lead in the race by overtaking the Ferrari and Mercedes de Lewis Hamilton, the Dutchman saw his hopes disappear when he was the victim of a collision with Esteban Ocon (Force India) who was looking to get back into the leader's lap.

If Max Verstappen lost his nerve by pushing Esteban Ocon at the end of the race, Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner justifies the Dutchman's behavior.

“I think Max contained himself quite a bit because it still cost him the victory, commented the director of the Anglo-Austrian team on Sky Sports F1. He drove with his heart even though he had a damaged car. Esteban can count himself lucky to get away with a hustle. Emotions put your nerves on edge. »

“I just told him to keep things under control on his return lap because he was very frustrated at having lost the Grand Prix through no fault of his own. We had done everything correctly, we had put Mercedes on the ropes and we had passed the Ferraris”, recalled the Briton.

Si Esteban Ocon believes he was within his rights to try to regain the leader, Christian Horner does not have the same opinion.

“However, it is obvious that a latecomer must not interfere with the leader. So what was going through Ocon’s mind? He was one lap away and clearly didn't have the pace, asked Christian Horner. It's incredible what Max did afterwards by managing to come back to 1''5 behind Lewis with half of the flat bottom missing. He tried everything to put him under pressure. »

Discover the analysis of the Brazilian GP carried out by our special correspondents in AUTO issue 2191hebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms and from this Wednesday on newsstands.