Red Bull star Max Verstappen may have ended up extending his lead at the top of the Drivers’ Championship at the end of the Austrian Grand Prix, but the end of his race wasn’t without controversy.
His battle with Lando Norris earned him a ten-second time penalty – and a puncture – but he had built up enough of a gap that even a slow run into the pit lane and a tyre change wasn’t enough to help Nico Hulkenberg in 6 close the gap to him.
Meanwhile, Norris was forced to retire from the race and Charles Leclerc’s disastrous run in Austria saw him come away from the Grand Prix without any points as well.
Red Bull were defiant in their messaging around the incident both on the team radio and after the race.
Christian Horner had his say immediately after the race on who was to blame for their collision.
His comments were followed up by Helmut Marko who believed Norris was more at fault than Max Verstappen despite what the stewards decided.
Speaking on the Sky Sports F1 Podcast, commentator David Croft suggested that a trio of Red Bull personnel need to be summoned to the stewards for talks ahead of the British Grand Prix.
Christian Horner, sporting director Jonathan Wheatley and Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase are the three Red Bull staff Croft thinks could do with some guidance from the stewards.
He believes it might help with some of the messaging over the team radio and during media sessions across the weekend.
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David Croft tells stewards to speak to trio of Red Bull staff
Reflecting on the aftermath of Verstappen and Norris’s collision, Croft said: “What I think I’d like to see happen, I’d like to see Christian Horner, Jonathan Wheatley and GP, Gianpiero Lambiase just called in for a chat with the stewards when they get to Silverstone.
“Because one thing I did listening and watching I did feel was the way that the Red Bull team, obviously protecting their driver because any team would do that, kind of made it out that it was all Lando’s [Norris] fault and that Max [Verstappen] had been sinned against, when I don’t think that was the case.
“You could argue Lando shouldn’t have had his car there, but Max definitely moved twice in those braking zones and was causing the issue, as far as I saw it.
“But, I’d just like a chat that says to the Red Bull team, look we know you’re trying to protect your driver but you’re not doing him any favours.
“If you keep saying, this is allowed, this is tolerated, this is absolutely fine, he’s going to keep doing it.
“And if he keeps doing it, eventually, it’s going to cost him way more than it cost him on Sunday.
“So, you can either have an honest chat with him, or you can keep on mollycoddling, it’s up to you.”
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Martin Brundle and Damon Hill left unimpressed with Max Verstappen and Red Bull
It was very interesting after the Austrian Grand Prix to see how several former F1 drivers reacted to the battle.
Martin Brundle admitted he was very worried about the message Red Bull sent to Verstappen over the team radio.
He believed they were enabling his behaviour by suggesting that Norris was solely in the wrong despite his aggressive defensive driving that occasionally went over the line.
Damon Hill agreed that Verstappen was more at fault than Norris and all eyes are now on what’s going to happen at Silverstone if they end up battling again.
The post ‘Like to see’: David Croft names three key Red Bull staff he wants stewards to talk to after Verstappen crash appeared first on F1 Oversteer.