PLUS: DEATH THREATS FOR MAX

MAX VERSTAPPEN received death threats in the wake of the collision with Lewis Hamilton that put him out of the British Grand Prix. As the war between Mercedes and Red Bull continued in the build-up to the Hungarian Grand Prix, Red Bull principal Christian Horner revealed vile messages were sent to his driver as fans of both teams vented their anger. Hamilton received racist abuse which Horner was quick to condemn — but Red Bull fielded death threats sent to Verstappen. ‘They were sent to him and us on social media,’ Horner confirmed. ‘Really vile. Hope he dies in the next crash. Things like that. All forms of abuse online should not be tolerated. Racial abuse unquestionably. As soon as we saw what happened to Lewis, we issued a statement. There was an employee on our team dismissed instantly for racism on social media, too. ‘But it doesn’t stop at racism. Max received death threats. I don’t think he looks at it. But they were there.’ The Red Bull employee was sacked for racist tweets in May that did not concern Hamilton, but it is further demonstration of the sensitivity as the rivalry between the teams intensifies. Horner added: ‘Mercedes are a huge team with massive resources and it’s the first time in years that they’ve been tested. You can see that, you can feel that. There’s been needle off the track all through the season. We’re competitive teams, based within 20 miles of each other, going head to head with the two best drivers in the world. ‘They’ve never faced pressure like this. They were two years ahead of everybody else, and they smashed it. But now our stars are aligning.’