P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Christian Horner has a warning for McLaren amid the F1 world championship battle.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner has warned McLaren that their drivers could start acting with “self-interest” as the F1 championship battle hots up. Max Verstappen beat the McLaren’s to take a dominant victory at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix after pulling off an audacious move to overtake pole-sitter Oscar Piastri around the outside of the first corner. Red Bull team principal Horner questioned McLaren’s decision to allow their drivers to battle over second place at the end of the race, despite Piastri being on much older tyres than Lando Norris, who pitted under the second Safety Car. Verstappen’s second win of the season has seen him close to within 22 points of championship leader Piastri, who is 13 points clear of Norris. McLaren’s decision not to call for Piastri to move aside at the Safety Car restart, which enabled Verstappen to maintain his lead, drew criticism from 1997 F1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve, who stated that McLaren’s approach showed weakness compared to Red Bull’s assertiveness in pursuing championship titles.
