Christian Horner has clarified the situation after Max Verstappen appeared to have a heated conversation with a Red Bull mechanic following his sad DNF Down Under.
Verstappen started the Australian Grand Prix on pole position, looking to win his 10th F1 race in a row. However, within moments of the race starting, smoke began to seep out the back of his car, and Carlos Sainz easily passed him.
It all ended a few minutes later when one of his brakes caught fire, forcing him to drive into the pits and retire. After exiting the car and removing his helmet, Verstappen was spotted chatting animatedly to a mechanic and appearing to mouth the word “Stupid.”
However, following the race, team principal Horner claimed his driver had been “very gracious” with his colleagues, given the circumstances. He went on to say: “Obviously, a driver is going to be frustrated when he gets out of a car from a retirement.”I believe he’s been quite gracious to the team and all of the mechanics. It harms everyone in the same way. 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 that he’s still leading the championship after three races, despite that DNF, but, like I said, there are a lot of lessons to be learned today.”
Verstappen stated that the brakes on that wheel seized after the formation lap, and that the race start was similar to “driving with the handbrake on”. Speaking to reporters later, he was asked about that talk with his mechanic and remembered what had
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