Horner questions Mercedes' team order decision

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has questioned the motives of Mercedes during the Hungarian Grand Prix. On lap 46 of the race, Valtteri Bottas was instructed to allow teammate Lewis Hamilton by to give him a chance of attacking the Ferrari's.

Due to the overtaking difficulties of the circuit, Hamilton couldn't find a way past and both Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen went on the claim a one-two finish for Ferrari. Horner believes that Mercedes played a dangerous game as it is fighting for the world championship.

"We did the same in Monaco two years ago," he said. "But when you're talking about the title, everything changes a little. Looking at Mercedes, the leader of the team is Hamilton, and at some point you have to choose who to bet on." 

Frustrating Hungarian Grand Prix

Red Bull didn't have the smoothest of days on Sunday, with Daniel Ricciardo retiring on the first lap due to the damage he suffered from a clash with teammate Max Verstappen. The stewards deemed the incident to be Verstappen's fault and handed him a 10-second time penalty which destroyed his chances of a podium finish.

"A very frustrating day for us. After both cars made good starts, Max ran wide at Turn 1 which allowed Daniel to get past on the run to Turn 2 and unfortunately Max made a mistake under braking, locked up and hit the side of Daniel’s car causing sufficient damage for him to have to retire on the spot. Not only did it eradicate one car but it also landed Max with a 10-second penalty for the contact.

"It was particularly frustrating because it was clear we had a very competitive race car despite the time penalty that he had to serve. His pace during the race was certainly capable of being on the podium today and gave nothing away to our competitors. It was pleasing to see Max put his hand up and immediately apologise to Daniel and to the team and we all move on from that."

Fergal Walsh