Christian Horner has promised Nicholas Latifi an endless supply of Red Bull after the Canadian driver's crash set up a dramatic F1 title win for Max Verstappen.
The Dutchman's dream of a maiden F1 title looked set to be dashed as he trailed Lewis Hamilton by over 10 seconds in the closing laps, with Horner telling Sky Sports live on air that the team needed a 'miracle' to claim the drivers' championship.
But that miracle duly arrived in the form of Latifi when he careered off track and crashed into the barriers, leaving officials little option but to order a safety car.
Red Bull opted to call Verstappen in and give him a new set of tyres, a gamble which duly paid off when on the penultimate lap, FIA race director Michael Masi ordered the safety car to leave the track. He also altered his original instruction that lapped cars couldn't overtake the car prior to it exiting - meaning Verstappen was able to get right behind Hamilton ahead of a thrilling final lap.
And in a moment that will go down in F1 folklore, he overtook the Mercedes man and took the chequered flag, prompting wild celebrations from Red Bull personnel.
Afterwards Horner, 48, made sure to acknowledge the role of the Williams driver, telling Channel 4 : “He’ll be getting a lifetime supply of Red Bull for sure."
It wasn't the only moment of controversy in the race, with Hamilton, who passed Verstappen on the opening corner having started second on the grid, escaping punishment when later on the opening lap he appeared to leave the track and then cut a corner in order to maintain his lead.
Immediately after the race, Horner had argued the decisions had balanced themselves out.
"That just about sums up this year I think,” he told Sky Sports.
“Thank you Nicholas Latifi for that safety car! We felt hard done-by from the stewards early in the race but credit to them for getting the race back underway.”
“This championship came down to the last lap and a great strategy call to take the softs. The stewards called it right.”
Latifi's outgoing teammate though, Mercedes-bound George Russell, wasn't in agreement. He labelled the safety car call "unacceptable" on social media, the call on social media, adding "I cannot believe what we’ve just seen."
