Christian Horner, just like Max Verstappen, is furious about the FIA’s delay in raising the red flag following Lance Stroll’s crash. The Aston Martin driver ended up in the wall during the second qualifying session for the São Paulo GP. The race direction waited over half a minute before issuing a red flag, preventing both Red Bulls from improving their times.
The final qualifying session proceeded without Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez. Both Red Bull drivers didn’t get the chance to improve their lap times in Q2, resulting in them finishing in twelfth and thirteenth place. Team boss Christian Horner doesn’t understand why the FIA waited so long to raise the red flag. “It was quite clear that a serious accident had occurred,” he told Sky Sports.
‘Idiotic’
“In a session like this, a lot is happening, of course,” Horner explained. “Why then does it take so long before the red flag is raised? Stroll was even in one of the most dangerous corners of the circuit. Why then does it take forty seconds before we see a red flag?” Max Verstappen, who already received a five-place grid penalty for the new engine in his RB20, was equally angry. “This is just idiotic,” he responded.
Verstappen Furious After Late Red Flag in Qualification: ‘This is Just Ridiculous’
“This is the second day in a row that the FIA is late, they were late yesterday with the virtual safety car as well,” he referred to the final phase of the sprint race. At that time, Max Verstappen did not get the chance to overtake the two McLarens in P1 and P2. “And this is while normally red flags are waved immediately,” Horner added. “The focus should be on safety and not on whether a driver can finish his lap. If a car is stuck in the wall like this, you just raise the red flag.” Horner emphasized that Verstappen would have had time for a fast lap otherwise. “He would have simply been tenth,” the team boss assured.
