Alright, so picture this: Red Bull, all hyped up at the Spanish Grand Prix, right? But then, they goofed. Twice. I mean, it’s easy to say that now, looking back. Hindsight’s 20/20, right?
First off, there was this whole drama with Max Verstappen and George Russell at Turn One. Total chaos. Verstappen was like, glued to fourth place. He and Russell got a bit too close and personal—light contact, nothing too wild. And Verstappen, thinking Russell nudged him off, decided to stick it out.
Christian Horner, the head honcho at Red Bull, said they told Verstappen to give the spot back. Why? Because, apparently, “recent experiences” had them spooked. I mean, come on. What’s a recent experience anyway? Maybe they were just overthinking. Who knows.
And then no one from FIA race control buzzed back. Radio silence. One of those awkward waiting moments, you know? So, Red Bull’s like, “Better safe than sorry. Give it up.”
Later on, the stewards chimed in, “Nah, all good. Russell just had a ‘moment’.” I chuckled at that. A ‘moment’? Never heard it put that way for a big ol’ race collision, but hey.
The rules are all sorts of fuzzy too. Something about the front axle lining up with the mirror or whatever. Maybe Russell did that. But still, it’s gotta be “controlled”. Not his finest hour, I guess. Verstappen agreed, obviously.
Horner went on about referees and race directors needing to just, y’know, call it. Just tell teams straight up if they can go ahead or not. Makes sense, actually. But yeah, Horner admitted they goofed.
The other mess-up was when Red Bull switched Verstappen’s tires under the safety car. Fresh hard tires, a big nope from Verstappen when he hit the track again. They should’ve stuck with the soft ones, Horner admitted. But then there’s all this “could he get past McLarens or Leclerc” stuff. It’s wild. They gotta guess on the fly with whatever info they got. Just a circus, really.
Anyway. That’s racing for you. Thrills, spills, and, well, big ol’ brain freezes now and then.
