The good old days of Mercedes vs Red Bull are back. However, this time it’s not Lewis Hamilton but George Russell who has a brawl with the Dutchman. After Max Verstappen’s harsh word toward George Russell and the Briton’s jab back at him, Christian Horner has arrived at the party in support of his favorite son. The Red Bull appreciated his champion’s non-violent tactics and called Russell lucky. Why was George Russell lucky and how did Horner defend Verstappen?

George Russell got an amazing start at the Azerbaijan sprint following Max Verstappen ahead and went on his inside into turn 3, overtaking him. However, the Mercedes driver left quite a big hole in the side of Max Verstappen’s car, which hurt him throughout the race. Verstappen managed to get past Russell at the safety car restart but was unable to catch Charles Leclerc, who was struggling for tire wear towards the end. Christian Horner suggested that Verstappen was losing about 3 quarters of a second a lap because of George Russell’s shunt.

Just before the post-race interviews, George Russell confronted Max Verstappen to apologize to him. However, Max had a different idea and blamed Rusell for hampering his race. The Dutchman even asked the Briton to look out for the same in the future. Later, Christian Horner came to Max Verstappen’s defense, saying that his driver was frustrated, understandably so, and voiced his frustration out to Russell. The Red Bull TP went on to suggest that the Briton’s idea to leave his helmet on was a good one.

According to RBR Daily’s Tweet Christian Horner while defending his driver said “He was understandably annoyed with that, and voiced his opinion to George. It was probably good that he left his crash helmet.” The comments about Russell leaving his helmet on suggest that Verstappen was in so much anger that things could’ve escalated if he saw the Briton’s face.

Read More: “Such a Crybaby”: Max Verstappen Incurs the Wrath of Fans Over Another “Terrible” Rant

Thankfully, things did not escalate as Max Verstappen kept his cool, somewhat. When asked whether things were sorted between him and George, Verstappen replied “No” during the post-race interview. Nevertheless, George Russell also voiced his thoughts about the same.

George Russell on how Max Verstappen could’ve avoided the contact

George Russell explained how he was here to win and that Max should have known the risks of going on the outside. Further supporting the statement, the Briton gave examples of Go Karts and how the divers are taught that it’s the guy on the inside who has an advantage and will take the corner. Russell suggested that Verstappen could’ve been a little smarter and should have avoided the contact, waited, and tried overtaking the next lap with the pace advantage.

According to FastestPitstop’s Tweet, George Russell said “In go-karts when you are on the inside, it’s your corner. You know the risks you are taking. We are all here to fight and not crash into one another. We know the limits. He has a lot more to lose than me. He could have just waited for one more lap to get past me with their speed.”

Watch this story: Most Dangerous Crashes in F1 History

Was Christian Horner right to defend Max Verstappen’s actions?