Horner questions FIA after 'screwed' Stroll crash

Christian Horner has questioned the FIA's decision-making in Sao Paulo after a costly red flag delay during qualifying.

Lance Stroll eliminated himself from the session with a crash at Turn 3 with 1 minute and 36 seconds left on the clock in Q2.

However, race control opted to throw a red flag when there were just 46 seconds remaining, ensuring no other attempts could be completed.

It meant Max Verstappen, along with team-mate Sergio Perez, ended the session in 11th and 12th respectively.

Horner asserted he was left baffled by the lengthy delay to deploy the red flag.

“In a session like that, there's obviously a huge amount going on,” Horner told Sky F1. “I don't understand why it took so long for the red flag to come out.

“There’s obviously a big accident in Turn 3, one of the most dangerous corners on the circuit.

“40 seconds it took to throw the red flag. It's a second day in a row now that we've had very late calls, whether it was a VSC yesterday or the red flag today, the other red flags were all instantaneous.

“It’s very, very harsh but it is what it is. We've got to try and try and fight back this afternoon.”

Verstappen points to 'screwed' Stroll

An engine penalty for Verstappen means the Dutchman is set to start the race in 17th place - bar any further penalties post-qualifying.

It nevertheless marks a key moment in the title fight with his main rival Lando Norris starting from pole position.

With the red flag decision going against the Red Bull driver, Horner highlighted safety should take priority when it comes to such decisions.

“It’s not about letting cars finish laps or not - as soon as you have an accident like that, it should be an immediate red flag, because you've got a driver in the wall,” he said.

“You’ve got cars coming through - you can't say, ‘well, we'll just wait for the others to finish their laps’. It doesn't work like that.

“But Lance Stroll wasn't trying to get that car going again. It was screwed. It hit the barrier hard. He was in the middle of middle of the track there at Turn 3, that’s a red flag.

“There's two elements to that. Obviously, we've fallen foul of it. If they red-flagged it immediately, Max would have been 10th. If they red-flagged it immediately, there's time for another lap.”