The Red Bull CEO believes Verstappen's fines in Mexico were excessively severe.
In the first of two incidents at the Mexican Grand Prix that resulted in the Dutchman receiving a 10-second penalty, Christian Horner questions if Lando Norris would have survived his duel with Max Verstappen at Turn 4 without straying off course.
After closing in with DRS, Norris moved outside Verstappen at Turn 4 of lap 10, and the two were in the same position at the top. After then, it was determined that Verstappen had led Norris wide into the runoff and into the grass.
This happened before the second incident of that lap, in which Verstappen shoved Norris, who was now leading, off the track at Turn 7 as the Red Bull driver sped into the turn.
In an interview with the media, Horner used printouts of GPS traces to support his claim that Norris braked far slower for the corner than he did on his quickest lap later in the race.
"First of all, I think it was very harsh to give two 10-second penalties," Horner stated. "I believe there's a deeper issue; after all, there has undoubtedly been a response to last weekend.
"I believe it is crucial that both the drivers and their stewards take a seat. Due to the fact that [according to] the GPS, this is near Turn 4.
In reality, this is Lando against Lando. Lando is braking for Turn 4 and then clearly executes the bend in his quickest lap of the Grand Prix.
"He was 15 kilometers per hour quicker and later on the brakes than his quickest lap of the Grand Prix on the lap when he had the collision with Max.
"He would have gone off course and missed the turn. His onboard steering lets you view. Naturally, he has about 80 kilograms more gasoline at this stage of the race than when he completed his best lap.
"Going around the outside used to be a prize for the boldest. We run the risk of overturning the overtaking restrictions, in my opinion, so that cars will simply attempt to pass at the top and then argue that they need to be granted space on the way out.
"You can see quite clearly, he's effectively come off the brakes, gone in super late to try and win that argument, as far as the way these regulations are written, and then at that point, you're penalised."
According to Horner, the subsequent incident was a more reasonable punishment, implying that Verstappen was anticipating Norris to relinquish the position and was eventually irritated that his title opponent hadn't.
He also urged the rulemakers of Formula One to refrain from "over-complicating" the racing regulations and emphasized the significance of possessing the inside line.
Read Also: Lingering After Verstappen Vs Norris In Austin
"The Turn 7 event is different, in my opinion. Since Lando has clearly gone up the inside and they have both ran wide, I believe Max was expecting him to slow down.
"I see why there would be a penalty for basically forcing the automobile wide there.
"However, I believe that was the annoyance that Lando might not have returned the location after this occurrence. You know, these things only get worse.
"I simply believe that we could be making things too complicated. And when you need to go back to an overtake's instruction manual...
"You control the corner if you have the inside line, which has been the racing tenet for years.
"And I think the way the regulations or the guidelines have evolved is encouraging a driver to have his nose ahead at the apex, irrelevant of whether you're going to make the corner."
