Horner Hits Back At Hamilton's "Nonsense" Claims

Mind games are a part of the title race in F1 and it has been a vital component in all the biggest rivalries in F1 history. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen are the two title protagonists this year and many feel that the gloves are finally coming off after Lewis Hamilton made some comments about Max. Both Max Verstappen and Red Bull team principal Christian Horner have now responded as well

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0:00 - Horner Dismisses Hamilton’s “Nonsense” Comments
2:00 - Fast Feed

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Horner Dismisses Hamilton’s “Nonsense” Comments

This particular war of words was set in motion when Lewis Hamilton was asked about McLaren CEO Zak Brown’s suggestion that Lewis and Max might not always give each other space when racing wheel to wheel

“I think I've done well to avoid all the incidents so far, but we've got 19 more [races] to go and we could connect, hopefully not. I think the good thing is that I think there is a nice balance and amount of respect between us”

He further explained how he and Max are at different points in their careers

“I think perhaps [Max] feels he has a lot to prove. I'm not necessarily in the same boat there and I'm more long-term, 'it's a marathon not a sprint' sort of mentality, which is ultimately why I have the stats that I have. So, I'll continue with that and I'll do everything to make sure that we avoid connecting”

Max Verstappen responded to Hamilton’s “a lot to prove” comments and gave his thoughts about the two possibly crashing into each other

“I have nothing to prove. Avoiding contact is something that comes from both sides. So far it has gone well. I don't know what else to say either, we haven't crashed yet, have we? Apparently, such statements create headlines”

His team principal Christian Horner didn’t hold back when reacting to Hamilton’s comments

“Lewis loves that nonsense, just let him do his thing. Max is doing his own thing. And the fact that Lewis has to do that probably shows that Max has him under his thumb”

He summed up his words by looking at the excitement factor associated with this rivalry

“And we're just at the beginning. Can you imagine what it will be like if these two are still so close in the final races?”
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Red Bull’s Sergio Perez has stated that “all the pressure is coming from [himself. He] really wants to deliver to the maximum

He added that “the team hasn’t put [him under] any pressure. [He knows] what kind of job [he has] to do”

Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi feels that their driver “Esteban [Ocon] is doing everything to make [Rossi] consider keeping him in the team”

He also revealed that “at the moment, he's considering obviously Esteban as [they] mentioned earlier on”

Furthermore, “Fernando [Alonso] is here next year with them]. So, if [they] want to carry on on the momentum [they] have, [they’ll] do that”

Christian Horner has stated that McLaren CEO Zak Brown has said that Max and Lewis will crash “so many times now that you’d almost get the impression, he wishes it!”

Horner added that “Max and Lewis have come close a few times in recent races, and they’ve shown it’s possible without crashing”

He also added that “if the battle for the world championship remains as exciting as [they] all hope, then the pressure will be higher and with it the chance of contact”

He further thinks that it “always brings a lot of risk, but both drivers are smart enough not to do stupid things”

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has pointed out that “there have been similar situations in the past [where the grey areas in the regulations have been questioned, as was the case] with the DAS”

He also added that “the door is open for a protest [with regards to flexible rear wings], that’s not only for [them], because there are at least two more teams” who feel wronged

“However, a protest creates a messy situation, just when the FIA wants to come up with a solution” surmised Toto

McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl has stated that “from [their] point of view there is no reason to announce it now” regarding the flexible wings

He added that “several teams have already taken advantage of something that [McLaren] think is against the regulations”

“They have already had that advantage for a number of races and [McLaren are] really not happy about that”

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto has confirmed that “yes, [they] are exploiting” the regulations around flexible wings

He thinks that “all the teams are exploiting somehow what's possible, and what [they] believe is right”

He further feels that “the [FIA] technical directive is clarifying furthermore, and [they] will need to slightly adapt”
Will Ocon be racing for Alpine again in 2022?

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