Christian Horner has waved away criticism from Max Verstappen 's dad Jos after Red Bull were accused of 'favouring' Sergio Perez over the defending champion in Monaco.
The Mexican won the race after taking advantage of a Ferrari pit-stop error which caused leader Charles Leclerc to fall to fourth at a track where overtaking is notoriously difficult. Carlos Sainz finished behind in second, while Verstappen kept his championship rival at bay to complete the podium.
The result was a good one for Red Bull as they out-scored Ferrari again and won their fourth race in a row, but Verstappen Snr was less pleased. He wrote a column slamming the team for working to give Perez the win while his son was "not helped".
"Red Bull achieved a good result, but at the same time exerted little influence to help Max to the front," wrote the 50-year-old. "That he finished third, he owes to Ferrari's mistake at that second stop of Charles Leclerc.
"The championship leader, Max, was not helped in that sense by the chosen strategy. It turned completely to Checo's favour. That was disappointing to me, and I would have liked it to be different for the championship leader. I would have liked them to go for Max, but of course I am not entirely objective. I think 10 points from Max have been thrown away here."
Despite that very public criticism from his driver's father, Horner said he is unconcerned about the issue and declared that neither of his racers would be given priority over the other while they are both in title contention. "Dads and fathers are never totally objective," he told Sky Sports F1 with a smile.
"What wasn't apparent was all of the information that we have during a race. If Max had pitted, then he would have come out behind I think George at the time. Jos is his own person and personality. He's got opinions and that's absolutely fine, that's his opinion. The reality for us was obviously slightly different... it's no issue.
"The No.1 driver is the driver that's ahead, it's as simple as that. That's why Checo got the call on the pit stop, Max wouldn't even have had track position for example on that lap. But, our fight isn't between the two drivers, we've got a very competitive Ferrari with two fast drivers in it. Collectively as a team, we've got to take the fight and take the challenge to Ferrari, who are looking very quick this year."
Meanwhile, the younger Verstappen revealed that he had spoken on the subject with his father, and also played it down to reporters on Friday. "He just wants to see me win. It's his opinion," said the championship leader. "I also told my dad that Sunday's events were a result of Saturday, when that red flag ruined my qualifying. That was the biggest problem, because in Monaco you can't overtake. Fine, that was one race, we'll just move on now."
