Red Bull team boss, Christian Horner, has fulfilled his obligations towards the penalty he received during the 2021 Formula 1 Qatar GP.
As a quick reminder, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was given a five-place grid penalty for the Qatari F1 race, for ignoring yellow flags waved after AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly crashed in the dying moments of qualifying at the Losail International Circuit, the yellow flags causing some confusion at the time.
With Verstappen fighting for his first F1 title against Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, the penalty was a big hit for the Dutchman, and his boss, Horner was enraged going on to label the marshal who waved the flag a “rogue marshal” while speaking to Sky F1.
The Red Bull team principal was summoned to the stewards after qualifying because of his comments, after which he was given a warning.
Horner’s remarks were under the pressure of competition
A document published by the FIA following the stewards’ meeting with Horner (document #52, dated November 21, 2021), stated that he “explained that his reaction was one that was made under the pressure of competition following the penalty imposed on the driver of Car 33,” and that the Stewards in return pointed out that, “the marshal concerned was doing his job in precisely the manner prescribed in the International Sporting Code.”
Horner offered his apologies to the marshal according the the FIA’s document, and offered to “explain to the media that he meant no offense,” and “he also offered to participate in the 2022 FIA International Stewards Programme in early February,” as per the document.
“The stewards unreservedly accept Mr. Horner’s offer,” the document also revealed.
It has been reported that Horner took part of the two-day stewards’ training program held virtually over the course of the last weekend, where F1 Stewards Gary Connelly and Tim Mayer featured as speakers.
The 48-year-old also participated in a competitors panel that featured under pressure F1 Race Director Michael Masi, with Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc in attendance alongside Formula E driver Felix da Costa, former Finnish WRC driver Jari-Matti Latvala, and French rally driver Adrien Fourmaux, who currently drives for M-Sport Ford in the WRC-RC1 category.