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The rift within Red Bull Racing appears to have widened after Max Verstappen’s father, Jos, warned that the team is “at risk of breaking up” if Christian Horner remains in charge amid an ongoing dispute over team principals. ” will be.
Horner remains in the headlines after a tumultuous few days in Bahrain to start the new Formula One season. Although Verstappen secured his eighth consecutive Grand Prix victory with an impressive performance, beating teammate Sergio Pérez by more than 20 seconds, his father spoke publicly about the division within the team as the position became one of the most contested in the sport. A bigger story remains.
The situation became public in early February when Red Bull Racing’s parent company Red Bull GmbH announced that it had begun an investigation into allegations of inappropriate behavior against Horner, which it said was taken “extremely seriously. Is.”
On Wednesday, Red Bull announced that the complaint had been dismissed due to an investigation conducted by an external party, noting that the complainant had the right to appeal. The following day, a cache of messages purportedly between Horner and the female complainant were anonymously leaked to high-ranking F1 officials and the international media. athleticWho directly received the email leak has not been able to verify the contents, and Horner has repeatedly declined to comment on the messages.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Jos Verstappen warned: “There is tension here as long as (Horner) remains in post. The team is in danger of collapse. It can’t continue as it is.
“It will explode. He is playing the role of victim while he is the one creating the problems.
Chalerm Yovidha (centre), whose family owns a 51% stake in Red Bull, joins Christian Horner (second from right) and his wife Geri Halliwell-Horner (right) for the Bahrain Grand Prix podium ceremony. (Andrej Isakovic/AFP)
Jos Verstappen raced in F1 between 1994 and 2003 and has been central to his son’s career and success, although he has no formal role in the team. He made similar comments about the controversy in a separate interview with Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, also published on Saturday night after the race.
Asked about Verstappen’s comments, a Red Bull spokesman said, “There is no problem here, the team is united and we are focused on racing.”
stress increases
Jos Verstappen’s comments publicly put the father of the team’s star driver at odds with its team principal.
He attends most of his son’s races. Although he is not an employee of Red Bull Racing, his closeness to Max means he is considered to have some degree of influence. On Thursday, he was seen wearing a Red Bull team jacket while watching the second practice session in Bahrain, during which the anonymous email was circulated.
After the race, Horner said he would “not comment on what motive any individual may have had for the leak”.
Jose denied to both the Daily Mail and De Telegraaf that he was involved in the leak, telling the Daily Mail, “It wouldn’t make any sense. Why would I do that when Max is doing so well here?”
There are growing signs of discord within the team following the death of Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz in October 2022. Mateschitz was the undisputed leader of the company’s F1 efforts, and his absence has led to increased tensions among senior figures. company.
After the race, Horner said he was “absolutely” confident that he would remain in charge of the team and that his “focus is on the coming season and our further races” once the investigation process is complete.
“The complaint that was raised was dismissed,” Horner said. “End of. Move on.”
He said it was “not pleasant, unwanted attention”, but talked about the “tremendous support” he received from within the team and the wider Red Bull company.
On the grid before the race, Horner spoke to Chalerm Yovidha, son of Red Bull co-founder whose family owns a 51% stake in Red Bull GmbH. Horner and his wife, Geri Halliwell-Horner, joined Yovidhya and his wife to watch the podium ceremony after Max Verstappen’s victory. Jose stood a few rows behind them during the ceremony.
Max Verstappen has said throughout the Horner investigation that he is fully focused on what is happening on the track and that the situation has not distracted him from preparations for the new season.
asked by athletic On whether he still had full confidence in Horner’s leadership after taking pole position on Friday, Verstappen said: “When I look at how Christian works within the team, he has been an incredible team boss.
“So absolutely, from the performance side of things, you can’t even question that.” Verstappen said he spoke to Horner “a lot” and that the Red Bull team principal was “fully committed to the team”.
However, his father’s comments will give rise to new questions about the dynamics with Horner ahead of the second round of the season in Saudi Arabia in a few days.
Max is under contract at Red Bull until 2028 after signing one of the longest and most lucrative contracts in F1 history following his first championship success in 2021.
The nature of the growing tension at Red Bull led Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff (who has called for transparency into the investigation) to ask if there was a chance that Verstappen could drive for the team for 2025 as Lewis Hamilton’s replacement. Can.
Wolff said: “A driver will always choose the fastest car. That’s basically all. At the moment, Red Bull is the fastest car, so in my opinion, it will always be the priority.
(Main photo of Max Verstappen with his father Jos Verstappen before the Bahrain GP: Clive Mason/Getty Images)
