Automotive

Red Bull may consider imposing team orders if Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen collide again.

After Baku, bosses Christian Horner and Dr Helmut Marko were furious, but said they remained committed for now to always letting the team's drivers race.

But Marko now tells Sport Bild: "At the next collision, we will have to do a team order, although we are actually against it."

Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda put the blame on Verstappen at 70 per cent.

"He zig-zagged," the F1 legend told Bild newspaper. "That's completely pointless. He does not learn."

But Marko insisted Red Bull has no regrets about signing Dutchman Verstappen, notwithstanding his troubles in 2018.

"We got Max because of his speed and his aggressiveness. Then you have to live with the fact that sometimes sparks fly," he said.

As for whether his relationship with teammate Daniel Ricciardo might be broken, Verstappen said no.

"No, no," he told Austrian broadcaster Servus TV. "We talked immediately after the crash and I cannot imagine it will change our good relationship.

"It was not the first time we have fought, and with one exception everything always went smoothly. Our fight before the accident was tough but always fair," Verstappen added.

And so he said he is "staying positive" ahead of the Spanish grand prix.

"We're getting numerous improvements to the car for Spain so I'm assuming we'll be very competitive there," he said.

Meanwhile, Germany's Suddeutsche newspaper reports that at Baku, official talks between Red Bull and Honda kicked off.

"It was positive," Honda's Masahi Yamamoto is quoted as saying. "This is the beginning of a potential future."

Source:  www.grandprix.com

www.grandprix.com