Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has warned there is no guarantee the team will be able to retain three-time world champion Max Verstappen if he chooses to leave, as the fallout from another tumultuous weekend remains.
After a fiery race in Saudi Arabia, Red Bull’s off-track misery far overshadowed Verstappen’s second dominant win of the season in Jeddah, which included the 26-year-old world champion Threatened he might quit Red Bull. Horner admitted Red Bull could not stop Verstappen if he wanted to join another team. Asked about the possibility of Verstappen leaving before his contract expires in 2028, Horner admitted it was still a real possibility.
“Like anything in life, you can’t force someone to go somewhere just because of a piece of paper,” he said. “If someone doesn’t want to be part of the team, then we’re not going to force them to be here against their will. That applies whether it’s a machine operator, a designer or someone in a support function across the entire business.”
Despite the weekend’s furor, Horner insists his relationship with Verstappen remains strong, even though the driver appears to be on the other side of the split within the team.
“Max is absolutely fine,” Horner said. “He works well within the team. No tension, no pressure. You can see how relaxed he is in the garage with everyone in the team and that translates to his performance on the track as well. So we don’t There’s no problem seeing Max. I know all this noise, but it doesn’t distract from the team and we’re a team now.”
Verstappen’s future and potential move to another team is just the latest crisis facing embattled Horner and his team in another tumultuous weekend at Red Bull. Still dealing with the controversy surrounding Horner’s investigation into alleged misconduct by a female employee, a complaint that has since been dismissed, what appears to be a very real schism and power struggle between Red Bull Racing and its parent company Red Bull GmbH continued throughout the weekend, The calm ahead of the Australian Grand Prix on March 24 shows no signs of abating.
Red Bull motorsport director Helmut Marko said on Friday he was under investigation and faced suspension because he was believed to have leaked information relevant to the investigation. Verstappen immediately defended Marko and warned that the Dutchman would consider leaving if the 80-year-old was ousted.
Marko subsequently met with Red Bull GmbH chief executive Oliver Mintzlaff and announced the matter had been clarified and concluded, but this already revealed a schism at the heart of the team, when Verstappen’s father Jos launched an attack on Horner In the second attack, someone further emphasized that he believed the team leader should resign.
Horner hit back sharply after the race in Jeddah, saying, “We are a team, no one is bigger than the team”, apparently willing to call Verstappen’s bluff in threatening to leave. Horner has repeatedly called for a line under the controversy, but if anything, the weekend only exposed the extent of the team’s distortions, which now involve the parent company’s Thai majority shareholder (who supports Horner), the Austrian side said The company is believed to be favored by Verstappen and Marko, Horner and his rivals and, of course, sponsors and partners who are watching it all with increasing unease.
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British rookie Oliver Bearman made his F1 debut in Jeddah and brilliantly finished seventh for Ferrari, but received little praise despite entering the race with just two hours behind the wheel. dispute. He was a last-minute replacement on Friday morning for Carlos Sainz, who was suffering from appendicitis. Lewis Hamilton has paid tribute to the 18-year-old from Chelmsford who became the youngest British driver to compete in a Grand Prix.
“To be pulled out of your class and straight into Ferrari and then straight into training, he’s done a fantastic job and shows he’s a really bright star for the future,” Hamilton said.
