So Horner's behavior gave Qin Miao every reason to believe he'd come over specifically to block his way.
And that was indeed the case—after hearing Qin Miao would be in the paddock today, Horner had come over from the team side just for him.
After all, Qin Miao's contract expires this year; a sugar daddy like this who's only 21, a double world champion with almost unlimited growth potential.
If Horner doesn't at least try to poach Qin Miao to Red Bull right now, he'd feel kind of guilty about the fat salary Red Bull pays him.
What if it works?
As for whether Verstappen and Qin Miao might end up brawling on track? That's not important!
It's not like nobody's done their homework on Qin Miao—give Qin Miao and Verstappen differentiated pit strategies and Horner simply doesn't believe those two can still end up fighting on the track.
...
By the time he got back to the Mercedes garage, Qin Miao had been run ragged and was sweaty all over.
