Red Bull team boss, Christian Horner says punishing Max Verstappen's "slam dunk" move on Charles Leclerc would have been "incomprehensible".

After three long, agonising hours, the celebrations could begin in earnest, as the stewards finally declared Max Verstappen's pass on Charles Leclerc to have been a "racing incident" that required no further action.

While fans remain divided, the fact is that had the first driver to take the chequered flag in a race been demoted to second for the second time in almost as many weeks, severe damage could have been done to a sport already reeling from fan and media criticism.

Speaking after the stewards decision was announced, team boss, Christian Horner insisted he was never in any doubt, as penalising Verstappen following what was a brilliant performance, considering a fluffed start saw him drop to seventh by the end of the first lap, was "incomprehensible"

"We were completely convinced that it was ok," he told Sky Sports. "But then of course it goes to the stewards and at that point you don't know, but I think the stewards who are up today have made absolutely the right choice. One day it will go against us but I think it was fair racing, it was hard racing. It's what Formula 1 should be.

"Max out-braked him and if you look at it he's ahead at the apex," he continued "At that point he's won the corner, it's for the other guy to back out of it and try the undercut.

"At that point, it's slam dunk," he insisted, "it's checkmate, he's got the corner. And that's obviously how the stewards saw it. I think we're over regulated anyway but they've made the right decision and we're very happy about that.

"It's incomprehensible to think that they would have changed the podium after a race like that. That was just the tonic that Formula 1 needed. A fantastic race."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by The stogie, 04/07/2019 23:48

"The stewards have literally destroyed F1 racing. Nothing ruins a race more than the cryptic announcement that 'the stewards are reviewing that move/pass/collision/whatever'!! And it is also time to get rid of the brain-dead 'out of bound' rules. Does Liberty want to attract more fans? Then let them race everywhere whether it's on the asphalt, on the grass or through the kitty litter. The fans will LOVE it, the drivers will LOVE it but the stewards will go into full cardiac failure."

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2. Posted by *TestaRossa*, 02/07/2019 14:09

"I hate RedBull and Max for bringing action in F1 . I was so used to do a nice nap during the race. I hope they ban RedBull next race.
"

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3. Posted by jcr, 02/07/2019 10:04

"This is the company who threathened to quit
and withdraw their 4 cars if someone did,nt give them a decent engine,
I would have been a brave move (incomprehensible) by the stewards to take away their win on home turf !!!! "

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4. Posted by Stitch431, 02/07/2019 9:52

"Max did have the inside and he did not steer into Leclerc. If you look closely at the video Max has the steering wheel turned right all the time. Only when Leclerc decided not to break and touch Verstappen, Max's steering wheel got a slap to the left by the touch. This one is not only to blame on Verstappen. It is and was a racing incident and I hope we will have lots more of it. Let's skip some of those spoiling rules and see some exciting racing again. Both Verstappen and Leclerc are 21 so there will be plenty more opportunities for fights like these. Let's not spoil these by "rules" and "punishment". I hate dull parades!"

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5. Posted by imejl99, 02/07/2019 8:18

"Correct or not about the move, hats off to Christian authorizing Engine mode 11."

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6. Posted by Thunderdownunder , 01/07/2019 23:08

"And if Leclerc had defended the inside & then ran Verstappen off the track Christian would be saying it’s inconceivable that Leclerc shouldn’t get a penalty!!
I think Leclerc had a plan to defend by deploying all the battery on main straight and through turn one so that Verstappen with DRS could only get alongside into turn three (Verstappen had got the pass done before the corner on earlier passes). Then give up the inside to get better drive out of the corner to retain position, which is exactly what he did on the previous lap. We’ve seen Verstappen defend in a similar way before although much more aggressively. With only two laps remaining Verstappen didn’t have enough time to find another way past so he forced him off track so Leclerc couldn’t do the same as the previous lap. Some drivers reputations were built on their defending, think Alonso v Schumacher, and as mentioned Verstappen himself. Leclerc was denied the chance to do the same and the stewards did nothing.
In my opinion they failed the sport."

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7. Posted by ChickenFarmerF1, 01/07/2019 22:03

"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

(Yes, I know, the line was "inconceivable" in incomprehensible.)"

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8. Posted by Batman, 01/07/2019 18:49

"Short memory! A global problem! Next time baby cries, we'll see the "incomprehensible"."

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A penalty for Max would have been incomprehensible, says Horner

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