Red Bull boss Christian Horner says the ending of the Italian Grand Prix was against the "principles" discussed and not they want to win Formula 1 races. Max Verstappen was cruising towards the win at Monza, before Daniel Ricciardo's McLaren expired on Lap 48 of 53 at the Lesmo corners. The Safety Car was deployed to help marshals retrieve the stricken car, but they were unable to do so in the time remaining, meaning the race finished neutralised as Verstappen took a 11th win from 16 races. However, Horner says the ending was not what he expected from F1.
Fans robbed of grandstand finish
"We don't want to win a race behind the Safety Car and that's something that we've talked about for many years: that they should should finish racing," he explained to Sky Sports F1. "There was enough time to get that race going. They picked up the wrong car [in] George Russell. "We had the faster car. We would have liked to have won the race on track, not behind the Safety Car, so disappointed for the fans as it took away a grandstand finish. "It goes against the principles of what we discussed." "For me, there was more than enough time to get that race going again with a car that wasn't in a barrier." F1 tries to ensure that all races finish under green flag conditions, hence the ending to the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with team bosses not keen on the sight of the Safety Car leading the field over the line. Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez came home in sixth place after two late pitstops, including one behind the Safety Car having suffered from "safety critical" issues with his brakes early on. The Dutchman now has 335 points to Perez's 210, with Red Bull on 545 in the Constructors.'
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