Horner wary pandemic "a present danger" in Hamilton Verstappen title fight

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has warned the Covid pandemic remains "a present danger" as the F1 championship fight between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton approaches its finale.

Just 12 points separate the Red Bull and Mercedes drivers at the top of the standings going into the final five races, starting with today's Mexico City Grand Prix.

With a maximum of 133 points up for grabs, both drivers know that missing a race through illness - as Hamilton did last year with the Sakhir GP after contracting the coronavirus - could decide the battle.

"Look, it’s always a present danger," said Horner. "You see in Europe the numbers are continuing to increase, so we’re just trying to be prudent in the way that we go about racing in these conditions.

"It’s something that we’ve done since the pandemic has been around us and we’re just not relaxing on any of those protocols too much.

"It’s great to see fans coming back in, and Austin felt like a normal race but we still have to adhere to some of the protocols to protect the drivers and the whole team, so I think, as a team, we’re sticking to that process."

Verstappen, though, offered a more pragmatic approach. He said: "If I slide in the shower and break my neck it is the same story, isn’t it?

“If I go out in Monaco and I slip while walking, I break my leg it is also not great so I don’t really think about these things.

“I just keep on doing and living my life like I have been these last two years with Covid.”

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