Struck at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix two weeks ago as Daniel Ricciardo ran into the back of Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen – a cardinal sin in F1. So is it time for Christian Horner to clamp down on his drivers racing each other?
Team orders are frowned upon in a sporting context. Preventing team-mates from racing as designed goes from sport to a Sunday afternoon cruise, but as has been seen down the years, it ends in tears when something goes wrong.
Red Bull have had previous when it comes to team-mates colliding. Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber crashed when battling for the lead in Turkey in 2010, and their relationship never fully recovered.
Heading to Barcelona this weekend for the Spanish Grand Prix, Christian Horner has a decision to make – should he let Verstappen and Ricciardo battle? Away from the track, the pair appear to have a great chemistry. On the track, their styles differ – Ricciardo more a thinker, Verstappen a spur-of-the-moment doer – but both are terrific overtakers, and to remove that from their armoury could dramatically impact on their popularity.
Whether team-orders will come into play in Spain, expect both Ricciardo and Verstappen, who won his first race for the team in Barcelona in 2016, to be on their best behaviour if they catch each other in their cross hairs.