As Max Verstappen and George Russell duke it out in a war of words through the media, Red Bull Racing team boss has some advice for the best way to handle it.

In fact, Horner thinks that rather than speaking to media, a “wound-up” Russell should simply speak to Verstappen “face-to-face.”

Christian Horner advises Russell to confront Verstappen “man-to-man”

A contentious moment in qualifying for the Qatar Grand Prix has left Max Verstappen and George Russell trading verbal blows well into the Abu Dhabi finale weekend.

Russell was forced to slow down dramatically any take evasive action in order to avoid Verstappen during qualifying in Qatar; both drivers were on slow laps, but Russell alleged that Verstappen was driving so slow as to be dangerous.

The maneuver resulted in a one-place grid penalty for Verstappen, which promoted Russell to pole position.

But Verstappen was outraged, and it kicked off a back-and-forth that continued into Abu Dhabi. Verstappen accused Russell of lying. Russell accused Verstappen of bullying. Christian Horner called Russell hysterical, while Toto Wolff claimed Horner is “yapping like a terrier.”

According to Horner, this isn’t the way to go.

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Speaking to Sky Sports F1, Horner first set out to defend his world champion by saying Verstappen has “no reason to lie. He’s never lied before. He’ll tell you straight.”

Horner was referring to a hotly debated situation in the stewards room while assigning the penalty. Russell alleges that Verstappen told him he would put his head into the wall via an intentional crash, while Verstappen claims otherwise

“And of course, Max wasn’t the only one in that steward room,” Horner told Sky.

“Both the guys that were with him on our side came back, and they were a bit, ‘Wow. That was pretty punchy’ of how George approached that.”

But pop a camera in the changing room of a football match, Horner says and there’s sure to be “a bit of lively language there as well.”

As far as he and his Red Bull team are concerned, Horner said, “We’re just focused on going racing, finishing off the season on a high note.

“George had a bit of a rant yesterday. He was ranting in the car last weekend at his team for putting the wrong tires on or whatever else. He’s obviously a bit wound-up at the moment.”

That ranting is part of the problem. Horner is ready for the two drivers to change their plan of attack.

“Rather than doing it through the media, or through you guys,” he said to the Sky Sports team, “just go and have a conversation.

“Talk about it man-to-man, face-to-face. If you’ve got something to say, say it. And rather than ‘he said, she said,’ far better to address it that way.”

He noted that the two drivers have known each other for years, as they’ve competed in the same circles. Because of that, Horner argued that “many of these situations are often dealt with better on the padel court.”

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