Red Bulls free to race despite Baku clash

Red Bull has ruled that its drivers Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo can continue to race freely, following their clash in Azerbaijan. The pair collided on lap 40 of the Baku race, with both racers retiring from the Grand Prix on the spot.

The stewards determined that both drivers were at fault for the collision, and no punishment was handed out. Despite not implementing team orders on this occasion, team principal Christian Horner says that cleaner racing is needed, and he will be forced to intervene if it happens again.

"That's not how Red Bull is - and that's why I like the team," said Horner to Sky F1 about team orders. "We will race but with a little more margin - so I guess with a few millimeters more margin!"

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko told Auto Bild: "We'll let them continue racing," "However, we will tell the race engineers in the future that they will have to intervene when we see that it could get out of hand."

Verstappen also spoke about the incident and says that he and Ricciardo quickly sorted things out: "We apologised," Verstappen insisted. "Daniel and I are good together, we have a lot of respect each other so we just try again.

"Daniel and I were OK. We looked at each other and said this is not good. But we immediately shook hands and agreed it cannot happen again. We have a lot of respect for each other and I think we like to race hard - that's how we both are. We will keep doing that, of course with a little more margin."

Replies (1)

Login to reply
  • "Free" to race, methinks. That will certainly be the case if this happens again.

    • + 0
    • May 10 2018 - 18:38

AZ Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Local time 

AZAzerbaijan Grand Prix

Local time 

World Championship standings 2025

Show full world champion standings

Test calendar

See full test schedule

Related news

Give your opinion!

Will Bottas challenge Hamilton for the world championship in 2020?

Formula 1 Calendar - 2025

Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Bahrain
14 - Mar 16
Australia
21 - Mar 23
China
4 - Apr 6
Japan
11 - Apr 13
Bahrain
18 - Apr 20
Saudi Arabia
2 - May 4
United States of America
16 - May 18
Italy
23 - May 25
Monaco
30 - Jun 1
Spain
13 - Jun 15
Canada
27 - Jun 29
Austria
4 - Jul 6
United Kingdom
25 - Jul 27
Belgium
1 - Aug 3
Hungary
29 - Aug 31
Netherlands
5 - Sep 7
Italy
19 - Sep 21
Azerbaijan
3 - Oct 5
Singapore
17 - Oct 19
United States of America
24 - Oct 26
Mexico
7 - Nov 9
Brazil
21 - Nov 23
United States of America
28 - Nov 30
Qatar
5 - Dec 7
United Arab Emirates
See full schedule

Formula 1 Calendar - 2025

Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
14 - Mar 16
Australia Albert Park
21 - Mar 23
4 - Apr 6
11 - Apr 13
18 - Apr 20
Saudi Arabia Jeddah Street Circuit
2 - May 4
United States of America Miami International Autodrome
16 - May 18
23 - May 25
Monaco Monte Carlo
30 - Jun 1
13 - Jun 15
27 - Jun 29
Austria Red Bull Ring
4 - Jul 6
United Kingdom Silverstone
25 - Jul 27
1 - Aug 3
Hungary Hungaroring
29 - Aug 31
Netherlands Circuit Zandvoort
5 - Sep 7
Italy Monza
19 - Sep 21
Azerbaijan Baku City Circuit
3 - Oct 5
17 - Oct 19
United States of America Circuit of the Americas
24 - Oct 26
7 - Nov 9
Brazil Interlagos
21 - Nov 23
United States of America Las Vegas Street Circuit
28 - Nov 30
5 - Dec 7
United Arab Emirates Yas Marina Circuit
See full schedule

Driver profile

  • Country Netherlands
  • Date of b. Sep 30 1997 (28)
  • Place of b. Hasselt (Belgie), Netherlands
  • Weight 70 kg
  • Length 1.8 m
Show full profile
show sidebar