Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has shared his insights into Kimi Antonelli’s first-lap collision with Max Verstappen and its ramifications for the Dutchman’s championship chances following his retirement from the F1 Austrian GP.
As Pierre Gasly’s spin triggered double yellow flags during his final flying lap in qualifying, Verstappen only lined up in seventh for Sunday’s race. Despite cautious optimism, his fortunes unfortunately took a turn for the worse on Red Bull’s home turf in Spielberg.
Heading towards Turn 3 on the opening lap, Antonelli lost control of his Mercedes under braking. The massive lock-up caused him to slam into Verstappen’s car, with both cars spinning out and retiring from the race.
Forgettable home race with Verstappen’s Lap 1 retirement
Speaking in a print media session after the race, Christian Horner lamented the ill-timed yellow flag in qualifying that put Verstappen into a compromised position on the starting grid for the F1 Austrian GP on Sunday.
Touching on how Antonelli’s collision with Verstappen unfolded, Horner noted that the incident had wrecked their home race despite the young rookie offering an apology to the reigning world champion.
“Well that was a home race to forget. We got unlucky yesterday with the yellow flag that then puts us in a position where you’re unfortunately in the crash zone and Kimi [Antonelli] just lost it in spectacular fashion up at Turn 1. I mean, Max [Verstappen] was basically through the corner and getting back on the power and just got wiped out.
“So you know an unfortunate mistake by Kimi. He has apologised to Max but for us it killed our afternoon.”
Asked if the disappointment was easier to accept since the mistake stemmed from rookie Antonelli and not someone who Verstappen has shared an intense rivalry with, Horner reiterated that the 27-year-old was merely unfortunate to emerge as a passenger in the accident instead of the championship rivals in Sunday’s race. Nonetheless, he clarified that the outcome was frustrating regardless of the apology issued.
“Well look, he [Verstappen] was just unlucky. I mean, of all the drivers, unfortunately it was just Max’s bad luck that he was the one that got collected.
“If he [Antonelli] would’ve collected the front-runners it would’ve been more advantageous. But look, it was a mistake, he’s a rookie, they’ve all done it. He’s apologised, he’s accepted it was his fault; apology accepted but very frustrating.”
Horner believes Verstappen would’ve contended for the podium at Red Bull Ring
Although acknowledging McLaren’s pace advantage over the rest of the field at the F1 Austrian GP, Christian Horner surmised that Verstappen would’ve challenged the Ferraris for the final step on the podium, with George Russell considerably struggling for pace on Sunday.
The 51-year-old also stated that Red Bull would assess the extent of the damage, hoping that it wouldn’t set them back significantly as F1 heads to Silverstone this weekend.
“I don’t think we would’ve had the pace to race the McLarens today so well done to Lando [Norris]. It was certainly entertaining the first few laps between them [the McLaren duo].
“But I think we would’ve had the pace to race the Ferraris hard today and you know George [Russell] had no pace at all. So I think we would’ve been in that fight with the Ferraris.
“But when you’re out on Turn 3, there’s not much you can do about it. We just need to see what damage there is, hopefully it’s not too bad in terms of quantities and so on for Silverstone.”
Red Bull no longer focusing on either championship
In reference to veteran team advisor Helmut Marko declaring that Verstappen’s championship ambitions are over following his elimination from the F1 Austrian GP, Christian Horner expressed similar sentiments.
The Brit highlighted how McLaren have the luxury of allowing their drivers to race, given the comfortable gaps they have built against their immediate rivals. Furthermore, conceding that they are no longer in a position to challenge for either title, he revealed that Red Bull are merely focusing on maximising their potential one race weekend at a time.
“Well, I think McLaren, you can see how they’re [Norris and Piastri] racing each other; they’ve got a cushion to the rest of the field.
“For us, we just focus on one race at a time. So we don’t even think about championships. We just focus on the next race [at] Silverstone, what can we achieve there, same in Spa, same at Budapest.”
