Jun 15, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen (1) during the F1 Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images

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Christian Horner Praises “Squeaky Clean” Verstappen for Avoiding “Potential Gamesmanship”!

Here are Christian Horner's views on the Canadian GP.

Jun 15, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen (1) during the F1 Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images

Christian Horner will be rather happy with the results his team has brought in from Canada. Max Verstappen brought in yet another podium with a P2 finish behind George Russell. Red Bull Racing were quicker than the McLarens and Ferraris this weekend. However, the start of the Canadian GP wasn’t exactly perfect.

Their lead driver was under the danger of a potential race ban. If they lost Max Verstappen to a race ban, they would lose their chances in the drivers championship. Throughout the race, Red Bull Racing fought hard but they had no answer to Mercedes’s straight line speed. Max Verstappen’s attacks on George Russell were to no avail. At one point, Verstappen was being chased by Kimi Antonelli. Nevertheless, the Red Bull team boss is happy with Verstappen’s race in Canada.

Christian Horner Applauds Max Verstappen for His Race

Max Verstappen was under danger in Canada. The reporters were overexcited about his penalty and frustrating him. To make matters worse, he was starting alongside George Russell. The general consensus in the paddock immediately shifted to his race ban. Everyone was near certain that Verstappen would get into an incident with George Russell.

However, there was no sign of such interference during the race. Verstappen drove a near perfect race in Canada. His only weak point was the lack of performance in his car. It rendered him incapable of challenging for a victory.

🗣️ "It's a teams right to do so"

Christian Horner says he has 'no regrets' over challenging George Russell's Canadian GP win 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/6amTyVb33P
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) June 17, 2025

While talking about the race, Horner explained-

“I think that it’s inevitable that there was going to be some potential gamesmanship. It’s something that we raised after the drivers’ briefing, you know, with the Race Director. Just so that they were mindful of it as well. Because it’s clear that, you know, that kind of stuff goes on. But Max, I thought he’s been squeaky clean all weekend. He drove a very good race today.”

Referring to the safety car crisis between Russell and Verstappen, Christian Horner did not beat around the bush. He was very clear the Red Bull filed a complaint to the FIA in accordance with the rules. Even though, Russell did not get a penalty for “driving erratically” as accused by Red Bull Racing.

Red Bull Racing tried an aggressive tyre strategy in Canada. Unfortunately, it did not work in their favor. Verstappen was facing a lot of tyre graining. The team’s efforts to undercut Mercedes did come to fruition. They were always a step behind the Silver Arrows. Moving on to their home race in Austria, Red Bull Racing will hope to regain a firm standing in the drivers title.

Canadian GP Results

Christian Horner

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Formula 1 2025 Season

Max Verstappen

Red Bull Racing

Rohan Singh

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I work as a Writer at The Playoffs specialising in NHL, Formula 1 and Motorsports. I got into online journalism a couple of years ago. I used to be an intern for a website managing their Formula 1 content and then I served an entire year as a contractual writer.