Max Verstappen denies wrongdoing as Red Bull boss Horner plans to ‘have words’

Max Verstappen has defended himself after ignoring team orders at the Spanish Grand Prix. Red Bull’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase urged Verstappen not to go for the fastest lap towards the end of the race as he had already been issued a warning for cutting track limits.

There was a risk that pushing for a quick lap time could see him cut the line again and be handed a five-second time penalty. Verstappen asked Lambiase what the fastest lap was in an apparent bid to secure an extra point.

But he replied: “We cannot afford any [risks]. Don’t worry about it.” However, the Dutchman set the quickest lap on his next tour to ensure he took maximum points for the weekend.

After the race, Helmut Marko and Christian Horner appeared frustrated at their driver but Verstappen protested his innocence. He said: “I kept it within the white lines, I just went a bit faster on the lap. So I didn’t do anything wrong.

“They don’t know how much pace I have in the car, right, when they tell me this is the fastest lap, don’t bother, but I knew that I could do it. So yeah, I just had to keep it within the white lines but this is something I think we can laugh about already.

“I was laughing about it with Helmut after the race so I’m pretty sure that they’re quite happy.” Team boss Horner warned a penalty could have been “painful” under different circumstances.

As it was, Verstappen was 20 seconds ahead and any punishment would have been unlikely to impact the final result. Horner explained: “He and his engineer have a relationship like an old married couple. You could hear them talking over the radio, almost like arguing over which channel shall we watch.

“Having had three strikes, the next one was a time penalty and if there was a safety car or something like that, that could have been extremely painful. The engineer is trying to manage Max and say, ‘Don’t take any risks, bring it home and keep it between the lines.’ Max, I think he wasn’t aware he was exceeding the limits and he just wanted that extra point for the fastest lap.”

However, Horner confirmed Red Bull bosses would be having words with Verstappen to ensure a similar situation doesn’t arise later in the season. He added: “He’s in the car and he knows. Of course, we’ll talk about it – in a situation where there was more to lose than that then we’d talk about it very firmly.

“All we can do is pass on the information and what he chooses to do with that information, he’s in control of that.”