Max Verstappen’s rivals should be furious with what Christian Horner said to the FIA before the Canadian Grand Prix

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Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen went into the Canadian Grand Prix with the threat of a one-race ban hanging over him.

Max Verstappen had an unfortunate end to the previous race in Spain after getting caught out by a late safety car.

It forced him onto the hard compound tyres and a collision with George Russell followed that earned Verstappen three more penalty points, taking his tally to 11.

Kevin Magnussen was the latest driver to earn a ban after reaching 12 points last season, while Alpine F3 driver Nicola Lacorte is banned from the next round of his championship after earning 18 points in the space of two race weekends.

Red Bull were desperate for Verstappen not to pick up any more points at the Canadian Grand Prix.

It would have seen him banned from the team’s upcoming home race in Austria where hundreds of thousands of Verstappen fans typically flood the circuit with orange shirts every year.

Team principal Christian Horner is well known for doing whatever it takes for Red Bull to win.

However, Verstappen’s rivals might not be happy with what he said to the FIA ahead of the race in Montreal.

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Christian Horner privately warned the FIA about Max Verstappen targeting at the Canadian Grand Prix

Verstappen’s potential ban was a top topic of conversation throughout the race weekend.

The Dutchman was asked about it on numerous occasions in the build-up to the Grand Prix and George Russell made a cheeky dig at Verstappen after securing pole position for Sunday’s race.

In response to a question during his press conference about his penalty points after qualifying, Verstappen said: “I don’t need to hear it again. It’s really p—— me off.

“I mean, you were speaking about it on Thursday. It’s such a waste of time. It’s very childish.

“So, that’s why I also don’t want to say too much because it’s really annoying, this world that we live in.”

As reported by The Race after Sunday’s Grand Prix, Horner admitted having a word with the FIA about other drivers trying to get Verstappen into trouble.

“I think that it was inevitable that there was going to be some potential gamesmanship,” Horner said.

“It’s something that we raised after the driver’s briefing with the race director, just so that they [the FIA] were mindful of it as well because it was clear that that kind of stuff goes on.

“But Max, I thought he’s been squeaky clean all weekend and drove a very good race.

“We just said to him [Marques]: ‘Look, could they please keep an eye on it because there’s been obviously comments have been raised in the media.”

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Max Verstappen’s rivals shouldn’t be happy about Christian Horner’s ban warning

It was telling that Russell mentioned Verstappen’s penalty points after lining up alongside him on the grid in Canada.

Ultimately, Verstappen has put himself in this position with his own actions over the past 12 months and any driver racing against him will know that they have a slight sporting advantage over the Dutchman with the threat of a ban hanging over him.

Therefore, Horner asking for Verstappen’s penalty points to be taken into context by the stewards is unfair on his rivals.

Fans were furious with how long it took to confirm the result of the Canadian Grand Prix after Red Bull lodged a protest against Russell’s victory.

However, Russell was also heard on the team radio stating that Verstappen overtook him briefly behind the safety car.

Ultimately, every team principal will do whatever they can to make sure their drivers aren’t banned from a race.

But Horner attempting to potentially influence the stewards in their decision-making shouldn’t come into play during a race weekend.