Christian Horner Seeks Changes To Friday Penalties Post Baku’s Mishap

Christian Horner has basically asked for some tweaks or changes in the rules that govern the qualifying penalties on Friday. And truth be told, it’s not too hard to understand how or why.

The Red Bull team boss was referring to the Friday qualifying penalty that one got to see at Baku, the home to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. During the 2019 race, Pierre Gasly of Red Bull, one of Chrisitan Horner’s key drivers, a first-timer at Red Bull partnering Max Verstappen, was at the receiving end of a harsh penalty.

Surely, one may not have forgotten about that event- right?

Pierre Gasly had received a pit-lane start for Baku’s 2019 Azerbaijan Grand Prix after the French driver failed to stop at the FIA weighbridge during the FP2 on Friday.

It wasn’t too hard to understand why there was a lot of talk surrounding the penalty being a bit too harsh for the young driver, who didn’t anyway register a great race, retiring in round four of the current season.

On that account, Red Bull team principal, one who’s often been part of several debates involving the common topic whether he sided Verstappen during his pairing with Ricciardo, had pleaded to some changes.

In fact, in lines with the penalty extended to his driver, Christian Horner actually raised the issue with F1’s sporting boss, Ross Brawn.

He was quoted as saying,” I think everybody agreed in a meeting we had yesterday [on Saturday in Azerbaijan] with Ross Brawn and all of the teams that penalties on Friday that affect the rest of the weekend need a bit of a revisit,” Horner said.

“I think that penalty was too harsh for the crime that was committed.

“If he had been 15kgs underweight, the penalty would’ve been the same. Unfortunately, he wasn’t!”

The above told, while Christian Horner has presented his case in earnest, whether the upcoming races or those in contention for the next year do undergo more lenient penalties is something that only time will tell, if at all.