Horner reveals immediate Verstappen reaction to Australia DNF

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has detailed how Max Verstappen reacted to his non-finish at the Australian Grand Prix.

Verstappen's 43-race streak of consecutive finishes, which is the second-longest run in F1 history, ended when his right rear brake suffered a terminal issue.

The Dutchman was also denied the chance to equal his record streak of 10 consecutive race wins.

It marked Verstappen's first retirement since the Australian race two years ago, with Horner describing that he accepted the situation compassionately.

“He was really good,” Horner told media including RacingNews365. “He was very gracious with the team as well.

“As he pointed out to me, it was Australia 2022 that he last had a DNF in the car due to mechanical failure.

“So that's an impressive record but it doesn't give excuses for [Australia] and it's something that we'll learn from.

“But it shows how measured [Verstappen is] and you win as a team you lose as a team.”

Horner denies overhanging emotion

Immediately after his retirement, Verstappen was heard uttering the phrase “fucking stupid” over his team radio.

The three-time World Champion clarified the comment was in regard to the team performing a pit stop before the car was retired.

Horner explained that Red Bull was verifying that the car was unable to continue before parking the RB20 in the garage.

“He was very gracious in the garage, he was very supportive of the team and came over to the pit wall and was fine about it,” Horner said when asked about the remark.

“I think that obviously we were trying to understand when he came into the pit lane was it a race retiring incident.”