F1 Canadian Grand Prix: Red Bull warned FIA of potential trickery against Verstappen

Red Bull spoke to Formula One’s governing body before the Canadian Grand Prix to warn them that Max Verstappen’s rivals might try and lure the Dutch driver into a one-race ban, according to team boss Christian Horner.

Four-time world champion Verstappen arrived in Montreal with 11 penalty points on his super licence, following a collision with Mercedes’ George Russell in Spain, and 12 triggering an automatic suspension.

He will not shed any points until after Austria, Red Bull’s home race, on June 29.

Horner revealed after Sunday’s race that Red Bull spoke to race director Rui Marques after a drivers’ meeting on Friday to express their concern and ask him to watch out for any potential trickery.

“I think that it was inevitable that there was going to be some potential gamesmanship,” Horner told reporters.

“It’s something that we raised after the driver’s briefing with the race director, just so that they were mindful of it as well, because it was clear that that kind of stuff goes on.

“We just said to him ‘Look, could they please keep an eye on it because there’s been obviously comments have been raised in the media’.”

Russell said after qualifying on pole that he had more penalty points to play with than Verstappen and that could work to his advantage.

After the Briton won on Sunday, with Verstappen second, Red Bull protested.

A subsequent stewards document rejecting the protest revealed that Red Bull had claimed unsportsmanlike behaviour by Russell when the safety car was deployed.

Red Bull argued that Russell braked unnecessarily and erratically behind the safety car along the back straight and complained over the team radio that Verstappen had gone past when not allowed to.

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Red Bull said the radio message “displayed unsportsmanlike intent” and Russell’s braking had taken Verstappen by surprise, leaving him no alternative but to overtake momentarily.

They also suggested that onboard cameras showed Russell looking in his mirrors before braking “to force (Verstappen) to overtake to force an infringement.”

Russell denied it, said he was not trying to force an investigation and Mercedes pointed out they had not lodged any complaint. The stewards accepted there had been no unsportsmanlike conduct.

Russell and Verstappen have a simmering rivalry and Red Bull have protested twice in the space of five races against the Mercedes driver.