Mercedes apology 'bizarre' during Austrian GP - Horner

Christian Horner says Mercedes threw a key team member "under the bus" during last week's Austrian grand prix.

With Lewis Hamilton complaining about a bungled strategy, strategist James Vowles went onto the radio to issue a grovelling apology.

'Fairly bizarre thing'

Red Bull boss Horner says it was a "bizarre" mid-race incident.

READ: Winning becoming harder for Mercedes - Horner

"It seems a fairly bizarre thing for somebody to feel they need to do - to throw themselves under the bus to motivate a driver to go from fourth back into the lead.

Our philosophy is collective responsibility rather than individual. There has to be accountability, but that is dealt with in the right environment behind closed doors and not in a public forum," he told the Sun.

Horner said he thinks the main issue is Mercedes struggling to adapt to life now that Ferrari and Red Bull are fully competitive.

"It becomes very easy to become complacent and then it is an adjustment," he said.