Photo: © IMAGO

Christian Horner has called out the FIA’s stewards and race director for their decision making after a Red Bull team fiasco.

Horner’s criticism comes after Max Verstappen and George Russell’s controversial incident in Barcelona, where prior to their now infamous collision, the Dutchman was told to give fourth place back to the Mercedes Formula 1 star by his Red Bull team.

However, it was later revealed that Verstappen did not need to give the place back after F1’s governing body found that Russell’s overtake into Turn 1 forced Verstappen onto the run-off area and the Brit was not in full control of his Mercedes.

The incident prompted Horner to question the stewards’ decision making after the race, where he asked for more clarity going forwards.

“That’s where it would be nice as the referee, as a race director, to either say, ‘Play on’ or, ‘You need to give it back’,” Horner said to the media after the Spanish Grand Prix.

“It’s very hard for the team subjectively to try and make that call because you’re going on historical precedence.

“You’re looking at what you have in front of you, and you’re trying to pre-empt what the stewards and the race directors are thinking.

“I think it would be beneficial to the teams in that instance for the race director to make that call and say, ‘You either give it back or you get a penalty’, rather than having to try and second guess what are the stewards going to do.”

Red Bull’s strategy blunder angers Verstappen

Red Bull’s decision to give the place back to Russell has been criticised by various figures in the sport, alongside their choice to put Verstappen on the hard tyres during the safety car restart in Barcelona.

The C1 tyre compound was the source of misery for many drivers throughout the race weekend, and Verstappen was immediately furious that he had no grip to fight his rivals on the safety car restart.

Verstappen’s fury boiled over into what appeared to be a purposeful collision into the side of Russell, earning him a 10-second time penalty, three additional penalty points and a major dent to his championship chances.

According to Red Bull chief Helmut Marko, Verstappen’s anger prevented him from joining the post-race debrief with the team, after a weekend where they not only had to review the RB21’s performance but also the decisions made on the pit wall.