‘Penalty not too draconian’: Christian Horner reveals reason behind Max Verstappen’s grid penalty at Monza

‘Penalty not too draconian’: Christian Horner reveals reason behind Max Verstappen’s grid penalty at Monza

Christian Horner(on the left) and Max Verstappen(on the right)

Red Bull have decided that Max Verstappen will be taking a five place grid penalty. This came along as a surprise ahead of the weekend as it wasn’t in the script. The decision was taken on the advice of their engine partner, Honda. Everyone was expecting Max Verstappen to fight for pole after the kind of form that he has shown in the last few races but, unfortunately, that won’t be the case.

Does that mean that Max is out of the contention to win the race? Absolutely not. The Flying Dutchman has been the fastest man on the track despite not having the fastest lap time in the fastest two practice sessions. He would have definitely had the fastest time in FP1 had it not been for the obstruction by his friend, Lando Norris. The two Ferraris, who were on a different set up, were definitely the fastest in FP2.

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But, Max Verstappen has once again bounced back to claim top position in FP3. The reigning world champion was ahead of Charles Leclerc by 3 tenths. This is a considerable gap if he can keep that up going into the race. This will also mean that he might be able to make light work of proceedings just like Spa. But the Monza circuit is not friendly when it comes to overtaking.

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Max Verstappen’s penalty not that big of a deal, according to Christian Horner

Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen

Red Bull’s Team Principal Christian Horner talking about Max Verstappen’s penalty said, “We’ve elected to take the penalty here [for Max] on the advice of our engine partner. To take 5 places here isn’t too draconian.”

“Max has certainly found a balance that he is happy with and I think Checo is getting closer and closer to that now. We predict the difference is less than a tenth of a second difference.”

“What he misses out on in the floor, he gains on in other elements. It evens its self out.”

Max Verstappen leads the championship by 109 points going into the race but would want to remain focused. Do you guys think that the Dutchman can emulate the heroics of Spa and win the Italian GP?

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