David Coulthard tells Christian Horner to expect more criticism

Horner opens up on Red Bull's 'barren spell' amid Mercedes dominance

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David Coulthard has warned Christian Horner to expect more criticism after the Red Bull boss attacked the media for unfair reporting. Horner refused to speak to Sky Sports F1 over the Mexican Grand Prix weekend after claims the UK broadcaster was bias.

The boycott came after Ted Kravitz assessed Lewis Hamilton had been robbed of an eighth world title at the end of the 2021 season. After the incident, Horner called for less “sensationalism” and even suggested Red Bull was a “cheap target”.

It came less than a month after Horner attacked his rivals for making “defamatory” comments over the team’s budget cap breach. He commented: “Accusations of a championship being ‘robbed’, that’s not something we feel is impartial commentary.

“Obviously, we don’t feel that is in any way fair or balanced. Max was very upset about it, and as a team we support him fully.”

However, Coulthard has questioned Horner’s comments, disagreeing that the team had been unfairly treated. The Channel 4 host also defended the media as they had a “right to interpret the situation”.

Speaking to Mirror Sport, he explained: “People are people and you can’t put the genie back in the box. We’ve created all these outlets and, for those who are angry or extremely opinionated, it’s an opportunity for them to talk to those who can be influenced by it. Then there’s the ‘Piers Morgan’ style, where you take an extreme position and, without crossing any libellous lines, it gets talked about.

“You could argue that’s good ‘business journalism’, because you’re dragging people towards your articles and comments. Just because someone is an educated wordsmith, it doesn’t mean they are not commercially driven. A little bit of controversy is a good way to build some hype. I think we all agree that everything which publicly or privately threatens an individual cannot be a good thing and cannot be accepted.

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“I would never want to spread hate or wish ill on anybody. Of course, I’m like anybody else and there are people that I warm to and others that I don’t, some of it based on good reason and with others it’s a gut feeling. That’s just the way we are.

“For Christian, part of being the figurehead and in the spotlight means you become a focal point and that’s no different whether you’re team principal of an F1 team or captain or coach of a football team. It’s part of the arena.”

Red Bull returned to speaking terms with Sky Sports F1 in Brazil after negotiations were held between both sides between events. However, Red Bull were back in the headlines that weekend after Verstappen blanked team orders to allow Sergio Perez through.

Despite the controversy, the team dominated the 2022 season with Verstappen securing a record-breaking 15 wins.

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