Andrea Stella questions Christian Horner’s ‘integrity’ after Lando Norris claim

Andrea Stella and Christian Horner at an FIA press conference

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has questioned Christian Horner’s “integrity” following comments he made in the wake of last weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix drama.

In the midst of a season in which McLaren have chased down Red Bull on the track, Lando Norris and Max Verstappen went wheel-to-wheel for the race win at the Red Bull Ring.

Andrea Stella: Speaks for the integrity of the person that said that

Although Verstappen rebuffed Norris’ first few attempts at taking the lead, their battle came to a head on lap 64 when Norris tried to overtake around the outside into the braking zone for Turn 3.

Verstappen shut the door as he turned to the left and the two collided with both cars suffering rear-wheel punctures.

Verstappen was blamed for the incident by the stewards and was handed a 10-second time penalty, but still finished in fifth place to extend his championship lead.

Horner reckons Norris should shoulder the blame as he “was trying to cause something up at Turn 3”.

The Briton’s team boss Stella wasn’t impressed with his Red Bull counterpart’s comment.

“I think this kind of statement is pretty irreceivable, I would say, and to some extent I think it speaks for the integrity of the person that said that,” he told SiriusXM.

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Andrea Stella: Drivers hide things from the stewards

But while Stella insists he has huge respect for Verstappen, he feels the triple World Champion’s antics in Austria crossed the line.

“In general, we have so much respect for Max,” he said. “What he is achieving is unbelievable — he is a great driver. There is no need to defend like this.

“Sometimes you just have to accept that the car behind needs to have an opportunity, and I think that what would have happened if Lando had passed, then the next lap, with the DRS, Max would have gone for it, and it would have been an incredible spectacle.

“Which we missed, but hopefully we will be able to see in the future, with regulations that are enforced and both drivers fighting within the regulations.”

He reiterated his opinion that stronger action is needed from the stewards, especially as the drivers “know how to hide things”.

“I think there’s a little bit of missed opportunity here, because I think the earlier and the clearest way you can address the way we go racing, the more you will be able to prevent this kind of thing happening,” he added.

“But the FIA, the stewards, the race director, they do a tough job. We recognise the difficulties in which they operate.

“They have to monitor, they have to understand what is in the head of the best drivers in the world — these drivers know how to do things, they know how to hide things, and they know how to play with the limits.

“So it’s a tough job for the FIA, the stewards. But I think this is an opportunity to review everything we’ve learned during the weekend and judge how do we rapidly tighten up what needs to be tightened up, so that we can enjoy this kind of racing and hopefully have the cars that are involved in this kind of battling until the checkered flag.”

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