Red Bull warned FIA of trickery against Verstappen

Red Bull spoke to Formula 1's governing assemblage earlier the Canadian Grand Prix to pass them that Max Verstappen's rivals mightiness effort and lure the Dutch operator into a one-race ban, according to squad brag Christian Horner.

Four-times satellite champion Verstappen arrived successful Montreal with 11 punishment points connected his ace licence, pursuing a collision with Mercedes' George Russell successful Spain, and 12 triggering an automatic suspension.

He volition not shed immoderate points until aft Austria, Red Bull's location race, connected June 29.

Horner revealed aft Sunday's contention that Red Bull spoke to contention manager Rui Marques aft a drivers' gathering connected Friday to explicit their interest and inquire him to ticker retired for immoderate imaginable trickery.

"I deliberation that it was inevitable that determination was going to beryllium immoderate imaginable gamesmanship," Horner told reporters.

"It's thing that we raised aft the driver's briefing with the contention director, conscionable truthful that they were mindful of it arsenic well, due to the fact that it was wide that that benignant of worldly goes on.

"We conscionable said to him 'Look, could they delight support an oculus connected it due to the fact that there's been evidently comments person been raised successful the media'."

Russell said aft qualifying connected rod that helium had much punishment points to play with than Verstappen and that could enactment to his advantage.

After the Briton won connected Sunday, with Verstappen second, Red Bull protested.

A consequent stewards papers rejecting the protestation revealed that Red Bull had claimed unsportsmanlike behaviour by Russell erstwhile the information car was deployed.

Red Bull argued that Russell braked unnecessarily and erratically down the information car on the backmost consecutive and complained implicit the squad vigor that Verstappen had gone past erstwhile not allowed to.

Red Bull said the vigor connection "displayed unsportsmanlike intent" and Russell's braking had taken Verstappen by surprise, leaving him nary alternate but to overtake momentarily.

They besides suggested that onboard cameras showed Russell looking successful his mirrors earlier braking "to unit (Verstappen) to overtake to unit an infringement."

Russell denied it, said helium was not trying to unit an probe and Mercedes pointed retired they had not lodged immoderate complaint. The stewards accepted determination had been nary unsportsmanlike conduct.

Russell and Verstappen person a simmering rivalry and Red Bull person protested doubly successful the abstraction of 5 races against the Mercedes driver.