Martin Brundle suggests Horner’s ‘ridiculous spat’ with Verstappen’s father impacted crash with Norris

The Inside Line | Episode 555 | SF 04

Martin Brundle has hinted that the row between Christian Horner and Jos Verstappen could have impacted Max Verstappen on raceday in Austria after his crash with Lando Norris.

The three-time F1 world champion collided with Norris in the latter stages of the Austrian Grand Prix and was handed a 10-second time penalty for the incident. However, the Red Bull driver did end up finishing fifth, while Norris was forced to retire as George Russell capitalised to win the race.

Earlier in the weekend, Max’s father Jos claimed Red Bull team principal Horner had blocked him from taking part in a parade of historic F1 cars at the Red Bull Ring, with the dispute one piece in a long-running saga involving the pair, dating back to allegations of “inappropriate behaviour” levelled at Horner by a female Red Bull employee earlier this year. Horner has always denied the allegations and was cleared by an initial internal investigation.

Yet Sky F1 pundit Brundle in seeing Verstappen’s defensive manoeuvres on track – in which Norris insisted the Dutchman illegally moved under braking – stated that the “ridiculous spat” between Horner and Max’s father could have had an impact on track.

“I’ve waxed lyrical about Max’s talent, and I stand by that, he’s one of the very best I’ve ever witnessed in 40 years” Brundle said in his Sky Sports column.

“I’ve also said that he’s calmed down, matured, and plays more the percentage game with three championships in his pocket. But that appears to have been a thin veneer as this race was very much Max 1.0, with his default driving tactics and denials resurfacing.

“I’m making no excuses for him, but I do wonder if the ridiculous spat between his father Jos and team boss Christian Horner has finally surfaced on track for him.

“And to hear the Red Bull team on the radio after the race telling him it was all Norris’s fault was a difficult listen, it damages their credibility all round.

“It was clear Norris would get a five-second penalty for track limits and the whole thing was totally unnecessary for Red Bull.”

Jos told the press in Spielberg: "In the past few days I’ve heard from several sides that Christian Horner did everything he could to not let me drive, and otherwise to make sure nothing would be filmed.

"Then I think, ‘say it to my face’. It doesn’t have to be this way for me, I find it very disappointing."

Horner, in response, insisted there was “no veto from my side.”

“The relationship with Max has always been very good, very strong,” he added. “He’s the one that’s important. I’ve never had an issue with any of our drivers’ fathers in the past."

Both Red Bull and the two drivers will look to move on this weekend at the British Grand Prix in Silverstone.