Christian Horner forced to intervene after Max Verstappen angers F1 bosses
David Coulthard has said he is "sure" Christian Horner will have felt the need to intervene in the light of Max Verstappen's comments about the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Verstappen, who has already wrapped up the drivers' championship for 2023, claimed another race win in Nevada. However, this didn't stop him displaying negativity towards the grand prix itself, dubbing it "99 per cent show and one per cent sporting event".
The champion later took his critique further with unfavourable comparisons to the long-standing Monaco Grand Prix. Coulthard, who had multiple race wins during a Formula 1 career spent mostly with McLaren, made clear how he felt about the comments - and how he expects Horner will have reacted.
Coulthard weighed in on how he expected Formula 1 owners Liberty Media to take the comments after their hefty investment in the Vegas GP. “Of course, they won’t like it," he said on Channel 4 (via Crash ).
“They will just think about bottom-line investment. They are cold, hard business people, at the end of the day. One shoe doesn’t fit all. If Max fits into the grumpy, 85-year-old ‘freaky Friday’ - if that’s who his character is, then be true to yourself.
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He was then asked about Horner's potentially having a word, saying: “Yes, I’m sure he [Horner] would have had that conversation. But Max believes in freedom of speech.”
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Max Verstappen was very vocal about the Las Vegas Grand Prix (Hollandse Hoogte/REX/Shutterstock)
Verstappen said he had "a lot of fun" in Las Vegas as he missed out on pole but battled back to cross the finish line in first. He had been less positive after qualifying third, though, saying: "Monaco is Champions League... this is National League".
"I can go on for a long time, but I feel like of course a kind of show element is important, but I like emotion," he added during a lengthy assessment. "For me, when I was a little kid it was about the emotion of the sport, what I fell in love with and not the show of the sport around it because I think as a real racer, that shouldn't really matter.
"First of all a racing car, a Formula 1 car anyway on a street circuit, I think doesn't really come alive. It's not that exciting. I think it's more about just proper racetracks. You know, when you go to Spa, Monza, these kind of places, they have a lot of emotion and passion. And for me, seeing the fans there is incredible and for us as well, when I jump in the car there, I'm fired up and I love driving around these kinds of places.
"Of course, I understand that fans need maybe something to do as well around the track, but I think it's more important that you actually make them understand what we do a sport because most of them just come to have a party, drink, see a DJ play or a performance act."
Verstappen has just one more opportunity to add to his huge points haul in 2023. The season finishes in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, with one final chance for all the drivers to lay down a marker going into the off-season.
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